Soccer Dad

Putting out fires with a gas bag

Barack Obama in his "Rev. Wright" speech (two years ago exactly!):

This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naive as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy -- particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.

I love the display of false humility with the adjective "imperfect," given that the rest of the speech is less a repudiation of Rev. Wright, than a campaign spiel promising how, as President, Obama would heal all racial wounds by making ours a more just society.

But today, that imperfection, especially on matters of race, is manifest. The WSJ reported yesterday:

With his wavy bouffant and medallion necklaces, the Rev. Al Sharpton famously confronted government officials on behalf of black Americans. Now he has found a new role: telling black leaders to quiet their criticisms and give the government a chance.

President Barack Obama has turned to Mr. Sharpton in recent weeks to answer increasingly public criticism in the black community over his economic policy. Some black leaders are charging that the nation's first African-American president has failed to help black communities hit hard by the downturn, leaving party strategists worried that black Democrats will become dispirited and skip November's congressional elections.

Mr. Sharpton has emerged as an important part of the White House response. On his national radio program, he is directly rebutting the president's critics, arguing that Mr. Obama is right to craft policies aimed at lifting all Americans rather than specifically targeting blacks. One recent on-air fight with Tavis Smiley, a prominent talk show host and Obama critic, grew so heated that it has created a small sensation among black leaders.

So to argue that his policies help all Americans, not just African Americans, the President has turned to a man who has made his career by preaching racism (against "white interlopers") and antisemitism (against "Jewish diamond merchants") within the African American community. I guess that if the gig's prominent enough, Sharpton won't turn it down.

But two years ago, when candidate Obama repudiated Rev. Wright wasn't he saying that he was rejecting such people?

Instapundit observes:

Kinda like if Bush had brought in David Duke to solidify things in the South . . . .

Welcome to post-racial America.