BARACK, THE MAGIC NEGRO

Once again the Republican National Party proves it can’t negotiate the parking lot of the local mall without stepping in a cow pattie. RNC chair candidate, Chip Saltsman, has been sending around a "comedy" CD to fellow party officials featuring the song "Barack the Magic Negro”, set to the music of the 1960s song, “Puff, the Magic Dragon”. Living in one of the nation’s major African-American cities, we have been taught from birth that such mean spirited jokes are rude, hurtful, and, well, just bad manners. However, that’s not what we are concerned about. There will always be people who belittle people outside their group because there will always be ignorant people afraid that aren’t good enough unless someone else is beneath them.

What we are concerned about is the fact that political dissent in this country is being mistaken for racism. We did not support President Elect Obama and we still believe that he is ill suited for the most important job in the world. However, we are encouraged that he has surrounded himself with many people from the Clinton administration, an administration that brought us the most prosperous and peaceful period in our country’s history. Nonetheless, our nation faces the most difficult challenge in our since WWII. If we are to survive we need everyone to do their part and that includes the press. The media must keep a watchful eye on this administration and assure that it stays on the path of recovery.

Our journalists have been asleep at the wheel for the last several years, failing to blow the whistle on the faulty intelligence that lead us into a disastrous war, failing to condemn the loss of our liberties under the Patriot Act, failing to foresee the economic apocalypse that we now face, and failing to investigate the least qualified candidate for President in a 150 years. The sycophantic behavior of news people regarding Barack Obama is frightening. Someone has to risk being called a racist and be a critic, in the true since of the term, of our government, including the President Elect. The American people need their fourth estate to do its job, keep the three branches, all three branches, of government in check.