Jesse's Obama Hit -- A Blessing in Disguise

The fur flew again between Jesse Jackson and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama after Jackson's alleged quip at a conference in France that an Obama White House will no longer put Israel's interests first. The alleged quip set off furious denials from Obama, loud protests from Jackson that he was misquoted, and screams of horror from legions of Obama backers that Jesse was again trying to sabotage Obama's campaign. The word "again," because Jesse was roundly condemned some weeks ago when he was caught making a disparaging racial crack about Obama on an open mic duriing a taping of a Fox Network news show.

But Jesse's Israel quip was time worn Jackson. He has repeatedly and unabashedly blasted the U.S.'s one sided tilt toward Israel over the years and has demanded a fair, balanced, and even handed policy toward the Palestinians. This position can hardly be called an extremist position, since former Democratic Presidents Carter, Clinton, and a parade of top domestic and foreign policy makers have said pretty much the same thing. Even Bush on past occasions has mildly rebuked Israel for its pulverizing attacks and assassinations of Palestinian leaders. But it's only news when Jackson ties anything he says into Obama, because, well, it's Jackson, and the inference is that anything Jackson says can hurt Obama.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, hard as it is to see, he might actually help Obama.

Jackson is simply not the Jackson of a decade ago or even four years ago. That Jackson could instantly heat up a crowd with a timely slogan, catchy rhyme, or well-timed phrase and he had the instant ear of presidents and heads of state. However, the taint of sexual scandal and his fade from the headlines has wiped much of the luster off of his racial star.

Jackson belongs to the older civil rights generation, and he's found it tough-sledding trying to sell his civil rights pitch to upwardly mobile, younger blacks that have little inkling of past civil rights struggles. Jackson hinted at that in a brief speech endorsing Obama last year when he said that it was time to pass the torch to a new generation of black politicians. This was self-serving and disingenuous.

Jackson never had any intention of passing that torch on to anyone, least of all Obama. Since Obama's rocket launch he has continued to do everything he could to micromanage a role for himself on the national political scene. But even if Jackson was a rock solid Obama man, and still had the sheen on his leadership badge, he wouldn't be much help to him.

Obama is a moderate centrist Democrat who has gotten to the threshold of snatching the White House by being everything that Jackson isn't. Despite his fall from leadership grace, Jesse is still widely and indelibly typed as a polarizing, race baiter.

However, that doesn't mean that Jesse is irrelevant, or even that he isn't an asset to Obama. Obama still needs a massive turnout of black voters in the three absolute must win states of Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania to seal a White House win. The overwhelming majority of black voters there will vote for him. But they will also have to turn out in record numbers. A Jackson could help make that happen. And though Obama would never dare publicly seek his help to insure a record turnout, Obama operatives will tacity and quietly encourage Jackson to rev up the (black) crowds and boost the voter numbers.

But Jackson in another way is manna from heaven for Obama. By criticizing Obama, his Fox TV racial remark, his invisible presence in any capacity in the Obama campaign, his anti-Israel tag on Obama and his vehement denunciation of it, in a back hand way burnishes Obama's credentials as a race neutral, all purpose moderate Democrat, who is unbeholden to and will not be a captive of the old guard race-is-everything civil rights leaders.

Obama's candidacy would never have gotten off the lauch pad if there were even the slightest hint of any allegiance to Jackson and the thinking of Jackson. In the closing days of the campaign the obsessive question that will be on everyone's lips is will enough centrist and undecided white voters do what most of thhem have profusely professed publicly, and that's to punch the ticket for a qualified African-American presidential candidate?

A too out front Jackson in tow with Obama would insure that most wouldn't do that. But a carping at Obama Jackson, whether real or simply perceived, is just the added insurance that Obama needs to ensure that many just might punch his ticket.
Jesse's Obama hit may have been a blessing in disguise.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book is The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House (Middle Passage Press, February 2008).

Comments

[Mabo]

Your funniest comment was that Sen. Obama is a "moderate centrist Democrat". That was a good one.

As an Illinois resident, I assure you that he is nothing more than your run-of-the-mill liberal democrat, pretending to be a centrist until elected. His voting record here shows that yo be true. Your silly statement means that you either believe the ruse or that you haven't studied his voting record here in Illinois.

[McBushMcSame]

I'd rather a liberal democrat than a compassionate conservative who maligns women's health, and gladly sends out sons and daughters off to d i e in a war profittering climate for self-benefit.

Yeah, liberal and democrat aren't the dirty words here. McCain is the most offensive swear here.

[Clavis]

Well, if you "assure" us, I guess we can trust you. You couldn't possibly be biased, since you're an anonymous poster on a comment board! LOFL.

[poomplet]

Jesse Jackson is indeed irrelevant, and has been for some time.

It's clear to me (a lifelong Chicagoan who's seen Jesse at work for 30 years) that JJ's recent..DELIBERATE...attacks on Obama are pure, simple jealousy. I picture him like Don Corleone...sitting in a darkened room waiting for black leaders to come kiss his ring, and ask for his blessings. Then they must bow in public...declare their fielty and admiration to the Great One and only then will JJ give his support (that is unless one of his kids might be a candidate for the same thing).

Obama never did that...never invited him to rallys/media outings, never showed JJ the respect he believes he deserves. Same w/Sharpton, really....I'm sure he's disappointed not to be invited to the party. But he has the decency to set his ego aside for a while for the greater good of his people/the nation.

The days of gospel-preaching , histrionic-laden, rhymin-testifyin' passing for black leadership are over...that's what I mean about JJ being irrelevant. If Obama had one iota of any of those tendencies he wouldn't have made it past Iowa.

By trying to sabatoge Obama's run with insane rhetoric and insults, Jesse has only shown himself to be a traitor to his people, his party and the nation.

[cdub1991]

"The days of gospel-preaching , histrionic-laden, rhymin-testifyin' passing for black leadership are over...that's what I mean about JJ being irrelevant. If Obama had one iota of any of those tendencies he wouldn't have made it past Iowa."

Obama has more than an iota of those tendencies. He's learned well from the black church about cadence and rhythm in his deliver and the power of call and response. He simply uses them with restraint--which makes it all the more effective.

[sueno]

I think you are spot on!
Nice article

[nellie]

Why is it that even African American commentators seem to think that all African American politicians should be hinged together at the hip. These are two independent men with independent backgrounds, opinions, and lives. Why should they be any more connected than Hillary Clinton and Gloria Steinem?

[uheardme]

Thank you. Excellent point!

[cdub1991]

Hey--we're all part of the great conspiracy. Rush Limbaugh said so.

[Clavis]

I don't even understand how a man with a black father and a white mother is "black". If I get three numbers out of the six-number lottery, do I still get the jackpot?

Obama is an American. And a man, I guess. Any other label is just goofy cultural detritus.

[robXdion]

You don't understand, huh? What would you think if Obama was your local mechanic? Or a two-time felon in a halfway house? Racism isn't based on genetics, it's based on appearance. If Obama wasn't in the position he's in now, whites wouldn't "claim" any parts of him no more than the other mixed race "blacks" they usually freely label as "n--g-rs". And of course a mixed race man growing up in the 70s and 80s experienced this. Does that help?

[LetMeUnderstandThis]

Another distraction to keep the issues in the dark

[sdskelton03]

"Obama is a moderate centrist Democrat who has gotten to the threshold of snatching the White House by being everything that Jackson isn't."

While I agree with the larger point of the column, I have to ask:

If Mr. Obama is a "moderate, centrist Democrat,' who would Mr. Hutchinson consider to be a liberal?

Senator Obama believes in using the tax code to redistribute wealth, supported a hand gun ban in Chicago, once opposed "born alive" legislation and has proposed numerous cradle-to-grave entitlements.

I can't think of a single issue where Senator Obama strays at all to the right of liberal orthodoxy.

[P3]

Indeed, it is confussing to hear Obama tell folks "I am not going to take your guns", yet the last
US Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment, which was 5 to 4, had the Justices
that Obama would not vote for in the "5" and the ones he would vote for in the "4".

[KISHAGREEN]

I'm sorry, but I dare anyone posting on here to tell me that gun control in say rural Nevada (where I would imagine not much gang violence is taking place) is the same thing as gun control in inner city Chicago. The number one victims of homicides in this country are African American males. Perhaps that's where Obama is coming from.

Packing a rifle in the Alaskan wilderness is not the same as say South Central Los Angeles where the culture of violence is very, very different. Thereby necessitating different policies. I've heard him speak about his position on this issue in that very way. So before you get all carried away, do some due diligence and check out Obama's position for yourself:

http://www.ontheissues.org/Domestic/Barack_Obama_Gun_Control.htm

[Clavis]

See Jim Webb's endorsement. Jim's such a gun nut, he brought one into the Capitol with him (actually his assistant did, but you get the idea...)!

I don't believe Jim Webb would lie about Obama's commitment to 2nd Amendment rights. If you choose to decide that everybody who doesn't support McCain is a total liar, you're free to decide that. But I don't.

[sueno]

First "liberal" is an "old" 60's term-
Left of being a "liberal" is being a "progressive", which Obama is not.
The Democratic Party is made up of people of differing political stripes
and being a "liberal" is like being in the middle of the pack.
Remember that traitor "Sen. Libermann" ?
When he was a "liberal" Democrat and now he's a "liberal" GOP'er.
The missing part of your analysis is that the GOP has also moved "left",
which is why many GOP Senators are adopting Obama as part of their
re-election speeches.
Finally this country is moving to the left!

[sdskelton03]

You didn't answer my question. If Mr. Obama is a moderate, then please tell me who would be considered a liberal. (You can use your term, progressive, if you choose?)

[Freesia2]

Interesting take on it. Your assumption is that white Americans would see Barack disavow the archetype of the black politician they allegedly fear. A clean break from the past for Obama.

Being white, any aversion I've ever had to Jackson isn't his race, it's his attitude. I don't like sitting down at the table together as King talked of, then having a constant reminder passed along with the rolls that I used to be the only one allowed to sit at lunch counters. I would apologize til the end of days for what white people did before my time if it would help, but if it doesn't help at all for me to sit down and share a proverbial meal then I get the impression the whole point is to make me uncomfortable or guilty for sitting down at all. That's the feeling I've gotten from Jackson - his career is based on making me the enemy or the oppressor - and if you met me in real life you would find me pretty unoppressive so I find him kind of...oppressive.

I don't know Mr. Hutchinson. It could be. But I can't shake the feeling that he's angry at Obama for getting to a place he feels his rightfully his and until Obama is elected to office, I'm going to be glad to see little of Jackson. Unless other people saw the severing of ties to the old guard, then it's just theory. But an interesting one. I hope you're

[Freesia2]

...right. (Post cut off the end)

[uheardme]

Riiiight. Let's pretend that everything is fine and nothing ever happened.. puhleez

[Freesia2]

Excuse me. I didn't deserve that.

I never said pretend that everything is fine and nothing ever happened. I said I object to a political stance that says that nothing is fine and nothing has changed.

We're not where we need to be, but we're not where we were. Barack Obama's candidacy is proof of that. It's changed things, and if he wins it will change things even more.

I don't deserve that sarcasm. You're not being fair.

[cdub1991]

I hear you. the thing is that, sometimes we African Americans tend to lecture because we get a feeling that some folks listen, but they don't actually hear, and that's frustrating. Folks are, instead, doing what everyone tends to do--filtering the words of others through their limited world view. We just really want folks to try to see it through the filter of "the other," otherwise you won't ever really get it.

It shouldn't be about you apologizing and if anyone has asked you to do that then that's unfortunately. It's not about you. What needs to be stressed however is that there is a reason that America is the way it is and it won't change unless we work for change. No one can afford the luxury of ignorance simply because it's more comfortable. Some folks who make this argument can be abrasive--like Jackson. Others can be eloquent, like Obama's More Perfect Union speech. It's the conversation that matters, however, not the messenger.

For the record, I've never been a Jackson fan. Never voted for him when he ran. I'm hoping he continues to keep a low profile for the next couple of weeks. He is, however, a true American and he's done good work in his day.

[Freesia2]

I'm thinking about what you wrote about African Americans feeling like people are listening, but not actually hearing.

I grew up going to a small school in the south. In my class, there was one black student. As we all went through grade school and highschool together, I don't recall anyone in our class treating her any different, so I assumed that she didn't feel any different.

Then we went to college. I remember walking across campus and seeing her with a group of black students and as I stopped to chat there was a new tone in her voice. Further into our freshman year, I noticed that she seemed to be further away in her manner (I noticed it when she was around other former classmates as well) and at first it puzzled me, because I knew there'd been no argument. Then I realized that she'd been literally starved for someone who saw the world from her vantage point. I had assumed that just my open acceptance cancelled out any difference in our life experiences. I was wrong. Looking back, outside the schoolyard, I think she experienced rough things that I'd have to live to truly understand. I'd been naive. I didn't mean to be. She must have been so frustrated, and I never knew.

Anyway, yes, Jackson has done good things. But I like Obama's approach better. His is about the conversation as you say. (My friend and I could have used some of those conversations.)

[theHardTruthFairy]

Bill Clinton needs to invite Jesse Jackson into the Amazon Rainforest where they can work on something philanthropic far away from cameras and microphones until November 6th.

[AContrario]

that's a terrific idea

[uheardme]

I second that idea

[apatheticmoth]

i agree, but i would say that my being part of the new generation of african-americans, i have a good understanding of the civil rights movement, but jackson doesn't come into the picture for me. i have ALWAYS seen jackson as a self-serving clown. he does not represent anything that i am as a young african-american. i perceive him [jackson] as an antithesis to what we have become in this day and age.

[Nommo]

And what, exactly, is it that you've become in this day and age? With good understanding and all, that is.

[uheardme]

Harold Ford

[Pupadup4oBama]

I think this might also help Obama with the Jewish vote.

[robXdion]

Yeah, but many whites and jews can't see that way. They're convinced Jesse Jackson speaks for ALL black people like we're a "hive".

[Wattree]

I don't know, Hutch,

That seems like pretty sophisticated thinking for people who may not completely trust Obama in the first place. Don't forget the Bradley effect--you wrote about it yourself.--and I don't think it's been on Jesse.

Just call me cynical, but I can't get passed the belief that Obama's inaugural is going to coincide with the very worse day of Jesse Jackson's life. I'm watching him age, just thinking about it.

Wattree

[Wattree]

I don't know, Hutch,

That seems like pretty sophisticated thinking for people who may not completely trust Obama in the first place. Don't forget the Bradley effect--you wrote about it yourself.--and I don't think it's been on Jesse.

Just call me cynical, but I can't get passed the belief that Obama's inaugural is going to coincide with the very worse day of Jesse Jackson's life. I'm watching him age, just thinking about it.

Wattree

[larry278]

Double posting for Wattree's comments. Where were HP's monitors/editors at 4:42 & 4:40 pm? These accidental multiple posts are becoming a daily thing on HP, more than once a day. Sometimes there are more than 4 multiple posts on HP on a given day. Where is HP's QC staff? This getting to be more than annoying. Perhaps Ms Huntington & her backers will get concerned about multiple posts on HP. I hope so.
Earl's blog deserves better then multiple comment postings of the same comment. Jessee Jackson, Sr is not aging gracefully. Maybe JJ, Sr needs to talk to Al Sharpton; Rev Al has relevatnt & always lucid moments. Rev Al knows of his duty as a Christian to other Christians. He may be praying for JJ, Sr more often. Rev Al has been known to pray quietly & constantly. Christian charity continues to amaze me.