The Black Informant | African American Commentary, News and Community Building

Recently I was asked by an editor at the NY Daily News to write opinion piece on the recent “dust up” (if you want to call it that) between Al Sharpton and Presidential candidate Barack Obama. Well I found out this morning that they decided not to use it. While I may be a little disappointed, it still made me feel somewhat special to know that I had somehow gotten the attention of a major newspaper.

While I typically do not agree with Sharpton on many points, I found that after putting my assumptions aside both he and I are saying the same thing regarding how mainstream media expects Black folks to fold under the Obama ticket just because he is Black. (This link will take you to a page on CNN where there are 2 video clips of Sharpton commenting on the situation)

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Like many people who heard about some the recent comments Al Sharpton made regarding Barack Obama, my general assumption was that this was just another embarrassing tantrum by another civil rights icon that refuses to move into the 21st century. However after hearing Sharpton’s explanation of the sequence of events, I tend to agree with him on most points.

While the bulk of mainstream media has focused primarily on senator Obama’s race, you should have noticed by now that very few pieces (if any) actually delve into the substance of his political campaign. After all, here is a candidate who is billed as a “bridge builder”, yet both of his voting records with the state and U.S. senate show that he voted with Democrats over 95 percent of the time. Ask just about anybody why they believe that Obama would make a great next president of the United States and you will quickly find out that most of these individuals can barely list one reason beyond his charisma. As a commenter on a small blog suggested, the real reason why there is so much attention on Obama’s race and not his record is because quite frankly, many folks frankly do not believe he has a chance on merit alone. This is exactly why I have personally dubbed Obama as the “Affirmative Action” candidate.

It would be one thing if Sharpton only exercised caution endorsing Obama. But the truth is that he has never been quick to offer any endorsement to any candidate over the years, yet mainstream media is treating this as an act of jealously on his part. Quite frankly, Sharpton’s desire to grill each candidate on the issues is a refreshing turn to the media love fest over Obama where he is fielded questions mostly about his blackness.

So is Sharpton green with envy over the wide acceptance of Obama? Perhaps. However, Sharpton’s upcoming National Action Network conference will be one venue where simply being Black will not be enough to woo potential voters.