This is the audio version of the commentary Run Barack Run?

See ya next time,
Sunny

Run, Barack, Run?

So, he went and did it!  How could he? He's not ready. Yes, I know charisma just oozes from every pore and he's likable--better yet--sellable beyond any PR firm's wildest dreams.  No, I'm not talking about my son.  I'm talking about what everybody else is talking about, Barack Obama's exploratory committee for President.  While Jesse embraced him in Chicago this week and other civil rights groups are starting to warm to the Obama charm, I'm wishing Mr. Obama had employed a lot more patience.  Patience to wait until his particular shade of green has ripened into a nice shade of jaded, as in been in the political circus long enough to know the game and everyone else's.

I have said for months that I hoped that Obama would not run in 2008.  I truly believe that 2012 would be a better year to mount a winning campaign for the White House.  On this issue, I'm almost embarrassed to say that I line up behind all of those that say, if he should run for the White House, his inexperience is his Achilles' heel.  But he certainly has something that has been lacking in a presidential campaign since Clinton ran for office--excitement, promise, vision, the appearance of integrity and there's that word again "charisma."  But is charisma enough to win an election and lead a country and is a lack of experience enough to keep him from his goal?  The 2008 list of contenders for the White House is starting to grow and as of this date Senator Clinton hasn't even announced the time of day.  These contenders have been at the game a lot longer and are more adept at it than Obama.  Also, what if a 2008 race leaves him licking his wounds, deep in debt and so battle scarred that a run for 2012 is out of the question?  Did you know that presidential elections have grown so expensive that very little public money was used in the primary campaigns of George Bush and John Kerry in 2000 and 2004?  And raising $500 million seems to be the goal of any viable candidate in the 2008 election. So, who's at the head of Mr. Obama's Really Big Contributors line?  He and Senator Clinton have certainly been raking in the loot.  Both are in the top five of democratic fundraisers. In addition Hilary still has $22 million left over from her senate race that can be transferred to her presidential run.

You know it is going to be worth eating my words, just to see how far America has come, if Mr. Obama is elected.  There are those who say that the mixed race Mr. Obama is electable because he is not of the U.S. African-American experience.  That he may look like us, but doesn't come with the mantel of anger and attitude that slavery and racism has foisted upon us.

Perhaps my opinion is too conservative.  Perhaps this is Mr. Obama's time.  He has lived overseas and does not appear to have the clumsy xenophobic notions of some other politicians.  After all, the world is growing smaller.  He must be prepared to take the world stage.  He is young and old enough to appeal to the millinials, the Gen Xers, the Gen Yers and the ever present baby boomers.  Curiously enough, for someone who aspires to live in the White House, it seems as if the Gods handed out committee assignments to Mr. Obama.  He serves on the Foreign Relations Committee, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and finally, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.  For someone who is potentially going to run a post 911 country, these committees will provide a great opportunity to learn if he weren't so focused on running for the White House.

Over dinner late last year, an acquaintance asked why I was so against an Obama run for President.  I responded that it was just the opposite; I want the stars to be aligned and the path to be very clear as he heads for the White House.  I want Barak Obama to be such a clear and overwhelming choice that race will mean nothing and everything.  That his race for and winning the White House will change the yardstick by which America and the world measures the value of Black folks. Our country's collective paradigm would change.  Yes, I know that's a lot to place on his shoulders.

I don't know if I believe Stanley Crouch of the NY Daily News, but I know Obama looks enough like me, sounds enough like me and wants a better world for his kids just like me to make praying for his survival and fortitude a regular occurrence.

See ya next time,
Sunny

Condi's Unattractive Hot Seat

What a difference an election makes! I hope you saw the most unflattering picture of Condi Rice on the cover of the New York Times today (Friday, January 12, 2007).  If you didn't make a point of seeing it.

As I have conveyed before, sometimes the real story is in the picture.  This particular picture conveys more than just a bit of frustration and anger. This is not how Condi is used to being treated when visiting the Hill.  This picture says that it is a new day and Bush administration officials will now have to answer to a newly emboldened Congress.  I hope they can do more than hold the Black girl's feet to the fire.  It'll take more than Boxer's offhanded comment about Condi's lack of children to get the administration to listen to the American people.

Now that Ms. Pelosi is large and in charge, the Dems are selling lots of wolf tickets.  Let's see if they can create a cohesive unit and get some real work done.  The clock is ticking on her 100 hours!  Look, I never said that Nancy was capable of hitting the mark, just that it was going to to fun watching her and the Dems continue business as usually while pretending to be something different.

Brooklyn's Freshman Congresswoman Needs a Little Polish (not on her toes) or a New Handler

While driving to a breakfast meeting several mornings ago, I was listening to an NPR interview with the freshman congresswoman from Brooklyn, New York, Yvette Clarke. Here's what I heard toward the end of a very bland interview--
Question: Do blacks still feel at home in the Democratic Party?

"I think that there... certainly have been challenges along the way, that need to be addressed head on. I'd like to think that we have a new day, a new moment and a new hour. And I can say that, certainly, I'm bringing my unique chemistry to this body. And I will be very vocal in letting folks know when they're stepping on my corns."

What the hell was that?  The congresswoman was speaking to a national audience, she occupies the seat the Shirley Chisholm held with dignity and power and grace and she  uses the very down home expression "stepping on my corns" when she has an opportunity to sparkle for a national audience.  I'll bet there are still people (white folks and/or young folks), questioning what she was talking about--has some other strange Black slang infiltrated the august halls of power?

The ABW Balances Plate and Wine Glass, Lives to Tell the Story

If I'm not careful, I'll turn into a real Washington insider who regularly attend receptions and eats finger food and knows how to juggle my little plate atop my drink glass.  That said, on Wednesday night I attended an AmericanLifeTV-sponsored event in support of Darfur.  In attendance was Martin Luther King III and Nick Clooney, yes George's dad.  George did drop in via satellite.  We had all gathered to watch the documentary  "A Journey to Darfur."  Clooney, Jr. and Sr. had smuggled themselves into Darfur to see first hand the devastation that these people are living in.   It was a splendid evening.  And it seemed to me to be really about putting the genocide and how to stop it out front and not the stars who have attached themselves to this issue--I don't think that was George with a little Black infant on his hip!?

Hip-Hop in the Nation's Capital

For hip hop fans and critics in the Washington, DC area, on January 28 at Busboys and Poets restaurant,  ITVS' Community Cinema is sponsoring a screening of the documentary I have been telling you about for months, Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.  To attend RSVP at www.info.itvs@communitycinema-dc.org.  See ya there and . . .

MAKE SURE YOU LISTEN TO SHOW #25-07

See ya next time,
Sunny!

 

 

Hello 2007 and Welcome to Show #25-07:

Short Takes

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1.  Nancy Pelosi, fights like a big dog, oh yeah, she is a big dog! Lot's of fun going to be had watching the fight in the dog or is it the dog in the fight?

2.  Deval Patrick and the citizens of Massachusetts make me proud, "You've come a long way, Baby."

3.  Lions and Tigers and Muslims, oh, my! Keith Ellison, another 1st for Congress.

4.  Oprah's South African school for girls, vanity project or a heart felt $40 mil?  (see Christian Science Monitor 1/5 edition for GREAT article on educating girls) Also, why would anyone want to extort money from the queen of talk? 

5.  REMINDER: The Washington Post continues its series on "Being a Black Man."  Come on, keep up!

6.  The Kofi Annan era at the UN is over. Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, now in charge, appoints female to 2nd highest UN post.

7.  Hindus take a forgiving dip in the Ganges, the largest religious gathering on the planet!

News for 25-07

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--  President Bush can open your mail without a warrant, the "signing statement" says so. Don't know what that is? Very few do.

--  Gates Foundation causing as many problems as it wants to solve.  The Los Angeles Times

--  New Orleans, bloodied and down for the count?

--  A Louisana's mayor's death, suicide or hate crime?

--  Supreme Court adds race discrimination case to the docket

--  After 10 year absence, American diplomat visits Somali

--  Zimbabwe to White Farmers, "Please come back"

--  Tanzanian woman 2nd highest post at the UN

--  2008, Another White male?

--  A Muslim in da houZ

--  San Franciscans employ the beat down on anything between them and their parking spaces

--  Ladies stop giving your money away to cosmetic companies and their weird concoctions for your face. You can always send it to me--the money that is.

--  My last words on Da Bratz, The WEEK

--  Finally, India's men--smaller needs?

Last Minute Shout Outs:  Dordt College, University of Cambridge UK, US Naval Academy, University of Alabama

See ya next time, Sunny!