Is it possible that the "personal" in Cornell Wests story

[boston bean]

is what brings out the knives against him.

Afterall, many have had the same "political" complaints of Obama, on this website.

West says the betrayal occurred on two levels.

“There is the personal level,” he says. “I used to call my dear brother every two weeks. I said a prayer on the phone for him, especially before a debate. And I never got a call back. And when I ran into him in the state Capitol in South Carolina when I was down there campaigning for him he was very kind. The first thing he told me was, ‘Brother West, I feel so bad. I haven’t called you back. You been calling me so much. You been giving me so much love, so much support and what have you.’ And I said, ‘I know you’re busy.’ But then a month and half later I would run into other people on the campaign and he’s calling them all the time. I said, wow, this is kind of strange. He doesn’t have time, even two seconds, to say thank you or I’m glad you’re pulling for me and praying for me, but he’s calling these other people. I said, this is very interesting. And then as it turns out with the inauguration I couldn’t get a ticket with my mother and my brother. I said this is very strange. We drive into the hotel and the guy who picks up my bags from the hotel has a ticket to the inauguration. My mom says, ‘That’s something that this dear brother can get a ticket and you can’t get one, honey, all the work you did for him from Iowa.’ Beginning in Iowa to Ohio. We had to watch the thing in the hotel.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_obama_deception_why_cornel_west_went_ballistic_20110516/

It sort of hard to defend not inviting the man and his mother and brother to the inauguration after he was an unpaid advisor.

[Fumesucker]

1. You sure are an optimist..

I predict a flood of defenders in 3.. 2.. 1..

[Bonobo]

2. Already unrecced. Someone doesn't want this seen but isn't brave enough to reply. nt

[ProSense]

3. I'll be "brave" for all:

West didn't get a ticket to the inauguration so Obama is a "black puppet."

2010:



Clownish!

West supported Nader in 2000 and 2004, and likely supported Obama to ride the wave.

Here his a comment on Hillary and Kerry from 2004:

<...>

Senators Hillary Clinton and John Kerry are exemplary paternalistic nihilists — contemporary Grand Inquisitors who long to believe in a grand democratic vision yet cannot manage to speak with full candor or attack the corruptions of the system at their heart. So they defer to pollsters, lobbyists, and powerful corporate interests even as they espouse populist rhetoric and democratic concerns. Their centrist or conservative policies on welfare reform, the Iraq war, and justice in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict speak volumes — they are opportunistic efforts to satisfy centrist or conservative constituencies. In this way, both follow the lead of Bill Clinton. Inadvertently, they contribute to the conservative drift of the country heralded by Republicans.

[eilen]

4. I don't have any issue with the quote.

It sounds about right to me. What points about that quote do you disagree with?

[ProSense]

7. Well

it puts West's statement in context:

I said, ‘Oh, my God, I have really been misled at a very deep level.’

Oh brother.

:rofl:

[DURHAM D]

6. So - it seems you are saying that West has poor judgment.

Always has, always will.

Thanks, you made it easy.

[Yupster]

34. Maybe the President didn't understand Dr. West

I rarely do as the Dr. talks at such a high level of intelligence that I rarely have any clue what he's talking about.

[ecstatic]

5. It sounds like Obama was exercising his right not to like everyone

who likes him. I think we've all been in that situation at least once in our lives--when someone was obsessed with us for all the wrong reasons and, though flattered, we tried to avoid that person as much as possible.

I feel sorry for Cornel West, but he has to understand that not everyone is going to agree with him, or even like him. Personally, I've never been impressed by anything he's had to say and I would have done the same thing Obama did (although I probably would have given him tickets... that part is unfortunate). But it's time for CW to grow up and move on.

[Solomon]

8. Oh please. I'm sick of Cornel West. We all got tickets to the

innauguration. It wasn't difficult. I guess he expected Obama to hand deliver front row seats to him. This is the same kind of shit that Tavis Smiley got upset about. Obama sent Michelle to a forum instead of appearing himself. From then on Tavis was trashing the man.

I'll keep on saying it: West needs a shave and a haircut. He's too old to keep worrying about identifying with the hip hop generation.

Ego heads. All of them.

[mfcorey1]

9. Cornel can justify his dislike anyway he wants but the bitter pill he carries will never let him see

any good in Obama and his administration. West's critics of his animated posturing style are also many but some attempt to overlook his faults also.

[boston bean]

10. Everyone has faults. Wouldn't you agree? So, why wasn't he given tickets

to the inauguration, just like a bunch of other faulty people.

He worked to get Obama elected. I can understand his frustration.

What makes it ok to not have Cornel West around, but have a bunch of other really disgusting peeps around?

[mfcorey1]

11. I worked for his campaign but I was ok with being in the crowd in the cold to watch without the need

to be with the people who like to think they are important.

[boston bean]

13. So Cornel West support of Obama was insignificant?

Or was yours more significant?

[mfcorey1]

20. Was mine? nt

[boston bean]

24. yeah you...

Are you as well known as Cornel West?

edit grammar

[mfcorey1]

37. If he is, as he claims to be, a champion for the least of us, fame is unimportant. nt

[phleshdef]

12. Cornell West needs to grow the hell up.

As others have pointed out, he could have gotten a ticket to the inauguration like everyone else did. He is nothing more than a mouth with hair. He speechifies his way through conversations and if he can't win the argument that way, he just yells his way through them. He is so stuck on race that he can't see when he himself is being racist, basically accusing the President of being an uncle Tom and acting like he should get special treatment from the President because of his own perceived stature in the black community.

[boston bean]

14. His stature was good enough to work as an advisore to Obama during the campaign...

[phleshdef]

16. So? Thats not a license to act like a pathetic child.

And to spout his own brand of racism aimed at the President. Al Sharpton was right about Cornell West. He needs to get his mouthy ass out of his ivory tower and stop feeling sorry for himself. Stop playing a fucking victim over an inauguration invite.

[boston bean]

18. you don't think he has a right to say what he felt about the slight? nt

[phleshdef]

22. He has the right to say anything he wants. And I have the right to call him a childish little shit.

[msanthrope]

23. He was never a presidential advisor to Obama. That's part of his beef. n/t

[boston bean]

25. what do you mean presidential advisor??

We might be talking to different things. He was an unpaid advisor to the Obama Presidential Campaign.

[msanthrope]

38. No. He wasn't. Cornel claims all sorts of crap, but I've yet to see documentation.

In fact, can you find a single record of the Obama campaign claiming him to be an advisor?

An FEC filing claiming him as part of the campaign?

Hell, can you find a single donation to Obama from West????

'Cause I searched the FEC databases--not a one....

[JoePhilly]

26. If Obama never called him back, just how much "advising" could he have done?

He can't in one breath make the argument that he was some important adviser to Obama, but in the next claim that Obama never took his calls or called him back.

Makes no sense.

Sounds more like he WANTED to be an important adviser, but was not.

For instance ...
http://newsone.com/obama/casey-gane-mccalla/cornel-west-says-obama-treated-him-like-a-cub-scout/

Its just after Super Tuesday, and West is claiming that Obama treated him like a "cub scout".

Doesn't sound like West was playing a very important role, but definitely wanted to.

[phleshdef]

27. He sounds like this guy in high school that went around claiming he was in everyone's band.

As if claiming it somehow made it so, when in reality, no one could stand to be around the guy for more than 5 minutes.

[cali]

15. I don't have a high regard for West. Never have

I think he spews garbage more times than not.

[phleshdef]

17. He just speechifies. Its what people who are trying too hard to sound smart end up doing.

His Bill Maher appearances are almost unbearable to listen to because of this.

[boston bean]

19. Speechifies??? That's what right wingers say about Obama....

[phleshdef]

21. Yea. The difference there is its not true about Obama but its completely true about Cornell West.

And I'm sure most right wingers in fact will say the sky is blue on a sunny day. Wow, what a big fucking coicidence. I said the same thing! I better be careful lest I be accused of being a right winger.

[Solomon]

28. Don't you think that basing his criticism on lack of tickets is

pretty petty? It's rather childish isn't it?

If I were he I wouldn't even have put the ticket thing in there. It makes him look petty and cheap.

[phleshdef]

30. And he was bitching about Obama in this fashion way before there were tickets to be had.

As a post above points out, this goes back to before the nomination was even secured.

Its really an indication of why he never was a serious advisor and never was taken seriously by Barack Obama or anyone else that was serious about having a political career.

[EFerrari]

29. When you reduce West's critique of Obama to a ticket

what you're doing is inviting personal attacks on West.

[boston bean]

33. Surely not what I was attempting to do.

And I think leaving it out of the conversation isn't a great thing to do either.

He felt slighted. He felt used. Trying to work ones way around defending that I think says a lot about someone.

We will have to disagree, as to what invites what or what.

[rucky]

31. Wow. An extremely intelligent person with poor social skills.

that never happens.

Yes, I mean West. I respect and admire him, but he has flaws. Who doesn't?

[msongs]

32. the guy's only favorite subject is...himself...all the time. insufferable nt

[boston bean]

35. I just don't know what to say to stuff like this. So I'll ask a question....

Do you think he's uppity?

God I hope not!

[msanthrope]

36. Um, can you document Cornel West's claim that he was an advisor????

Because here's the funny thing---

I've run Cornel West's name all over the FEC's database, and I can't find a single contribution to Obama--

Not a monetary one, not an in-kind one, not a named advisory position--nothing.

[JoePhilly]

39. In one breath he claims he was an important adviser, in the next, Obama never called him back.

It can't be both.

Sounds more like he WANTED to be an important adviser, but was not.

For instance ...
http://newsone.com/obama/casey-gane-mccalla/cornel-west... /

The event west describes comes just after Super Tuesday, and West is claiming that Obama treated him like a "cub scout".

Doesn't sound like West was playing a very important "adviser" role, but definitely wanted to.