Even though U.S. President Barack Obama’s name is not on the ballot in the upcoming midterm elections, he has hit the campaign trail hard because he desperately needs a win.
So for the first time in 20 months, Obama, who is half black, is reaching out to the black and independent voters whose passion and eagerness to make history, helped propel him into office in 2008.
Never mind that he promised the moon and the stars — and failed to deliver — Obama fully expects black voters to turn out in record numbers at the polls on November 2nd.
“We need to finish the plan you elected me to put in place. And I need you. I need you because this isn’t going to be easy,” said Obama at a Congressional Black Caucus’ annual dinner last month. [link]
A typical narcissist, Obama has made the midterm elections all about him rather than about the politicians whose names are on the ballot. He has made it clear that a loss for the Democrats in November would be a devastating failure for him personally.
“Don’t make me look bad, now,” Obama pleaded at a rally on the campus of historically black Bowie State University last week.
“Two years ago you defied the conventional wisdom in Washington,” Obama told thousands of black supporters Sunday at a rally in Philadelphia. “They said, ‘No you can’t. No you can’t elect a skinny guy with a funny name to the presidency of the United States,’” he added.
But not everyone in the black community hears Obama’s rallying cry. There are some who are suspicious of Obama’s sudden interest in the black community — even if they don’t voice their suspicions out loud.
“We haven’t heard from you in a while,” radio host Tom Joyner said sarcastically to the president at the start of his interview last month. [link]
“You know, I don’t get a chance to do much radio these days,” replied Obama, who records a weekly radio address every Saturday morning.
It’s clear that Obama’s faithful flock doesn’t hold him to the same standards that they held George Bush to. Despite record unemployment in the black community, there are those who still make excuses for O.
“We know that people have short memories, but they have to remember that Barack Obama didn’t create this problem,” Carolyn Pinkney, an African American voter, said at Obama’s rally.
“Of course there’s some disenchantment because the president came in with such high expectations levels,” said Rendell. “But on the other hand there’s still a lot of African Americans who say, ‘Hey, he’s not superman and he can’t change everything in 20 months.’” [link]
