Yep, I don't understand why we aren't asking Obama any questions now. Things like this should not be left out there by Obama without any discussion. Thanks for at least commenting on this aspect of Obama's rhetoric. It seems to me, to even bring up the fact that Obama is talking like this is to be some sort of hater or worse a traitor.

Heaven forbid that we not only address the inequities that a Anglo-dominated society presents us, but also take account for how our own shortcomings have diminished our ability to progress as a people.  Heaven forbid, Marc.

So, let me get this straight - you really have no problem with what he's saying, but essentially how people will take it?  Huh?  WHO CARES how people - especially Black people - will take it?  We need that kind of talk.  We need our own leaders to put up a mirror so that we may truly see (and care enough about) our own faults to do something to rectify them.  I saw no problem whatsoever with what Obama said here.

Shut the video games off.  Make sure your children are doing their homework and learning.  Keep them well-rested and off the streets.  

And the Popeye's thing...give me a break, Marc.  Popeye's and fast-food restaurants like them prey upon the African-American community.  What rec centers or community programs or aid to the poor have the "good people at Popeye's" ever provided in exchange for the many dollars they reap from the fattening of our people?  Save that nonsense for someone who'll fall for it.

Lastly, you make a gross error in assuming he's aiming his message solely at Blacks.  

You know Dr. Hill, I really do respect you. But, you sound as if you think what Bill Cosby is saying is WRONG? Everyone know what he's said wasn't wrong. But, I guess you didn't like his ' tone'. I saw the reaction of the crowd in Texas, did you? I didn't see anyone sitting on their hands. I saw an audience erupt in applause - BECAUSE THEY AGREE WITH HIM. The same way Black folks agree with Bill Cosby. Sometimes I think you pick stuff out the air just to be disagreeable. There wasn't a darn thing wrong with one word Senator Obama said in Texas.

Alright, ok, settle down. Obama is just speaking off the top of his head like the professional orator that he is. That man is smart like a fox and probably has a photographic memory like another great speaker named Mr. Bill Clinton. Dang... he is a light-skinned mixed-race man with incredible articulation skills. Deal with it, my friend. LisaB. ps. I actually enjoy cold pizza and/or cold chicken for b-fast. Really, who doesn't?

LISAB,

The blogger has a right to criticize Obama without being labeled jealous.  Even white reporters are complaining that Obama has been allowed to skate through his campaign without answering tough questions.  Are they jealous of his light-skin, too?

I can't even believe you would compare the comments above with what Bill Cosby said. Cosby explicitly linked his to a broader conception of barriers to social mobility in American society and argued that certain behaviors-- vulgar language, dress, naming, studying, etc.-- were the actual barriers to black mobility as opposed to generational ghetto poverty, racial discrimination, or access to social and financial capital. He explicitly says this.

Obama does no such thing. Indeed, he sounds like a mild-mannered black preacher on any given Sunday. If you were trying to find the absolute worst and most "blame the victim" part of his speech and this is what you come up with, then it's quite clear to me that you're reaching too far. These things are all more than reasonable and actual, empirically true problems about television viewership, time spent on homework, and dietary habits that disproportionately affect black families, yet don't need a "Marshall Plan" for the cities to overcome. Obama's not courageous or even newsworthy for saying these things, and you aren't being an incisive commentator by "analyzing" them (at least not in the manner above). Try again.

I'm amazed and appalled at the same time by the dust up over the "Cosbyesqe comments."  

Senator Obama speaks of the disenfranchised about making better life decsions in situations they can control.  Yet, he is criticized for not mentioning the oppressive forces in society that contribute to the harmful outcomes?  Conventional wisdom in the black community is to criticize the laws and policies that contribute the problem, without addressing the behavior that needs to be corrected.  Also, the notion that Obama's comments are considred right wing rhetoric is indicative of our unwillingness to have simple kitchen table conversations in public about making better life decisions.  This line of thinking implies that individual improvement can't exist until better public policies are formed.  This line of thinking is self defeatist, reactionary, and counterproductive to forging honest dialogue that could bring about "real change" in our communities.

I don't usually agree with your observations and criticsms of Senator Obama as I am a strong supporter, but I too was a little disturbed by the message and the audience it was delivered to. There are a lot of foks in Texas who weren't African American who needed to hear it as well.   I felt bad for the audience.  The speech gave me the same uneasy feelings as Mr. Cosby's public thrashing of black community.  It is diagnosing a sympton, but  failing to point out the disease that brought about the sympton.  If we can't talk about the disease, how in the world can we find ways to cure it.  You have to understand how you got where you are to change where you're going.  It was politickish and to me, it says to a certain group, I'm not like them.

So, is Ralph Nader going to save us from ourselves?  I'm tired of people bashing Bill Cosby and now Senator Obama for telling the truth.  When we had nothing, we made something out of it.  To cast all blame for bad behavior on "the system" is to deny us the essence of human nature--which is inherently flawed.  To compare our baby-making and baby-leaving pathology with Britney Spears, Dear Dr. Melissa, is specious.  Sure, good food choices are not available in the 'hood.  But Cosby and Obama are pointing at a lethargic mindset that leads someone to bring kids into the world they cannot raise to have better outcomes than they did--a staple of our community ethic for hundreds of years.  The so-called airing of dirty laundry is out there, brother, on the bus, the subway, the streets.  To exhort us to do better is not a crime.  To continually rationalize it is folly.  And by the way, I work for the poor every day.  Now that a gallon of milk costs $3 and crude oil is at $106 a barrel, can you please get off Obama and offer solutions?

the notion of an inherent "flaw" is an oppressive fantasy created long, long ago by a sociopathic minority for political reasons to more effectively enslave whole populations who were not convinced it was in their best interests to be dominated by obvious equals. in other words, it's religious mush. as Tai Solarin said, "Religion is man's childish prop." and it really is; without it, we are seen again as equals, here on earth for a limited time, together, more alike than different. humans are not inherently "flawed." humans are, however, subject to environmental influence even as they influence the environment. some of the more pernicious examples of that influence have been going on for quite some time. we are all inheritors of that peculiarly vile influence. but all such inimical influence has to start somewhere. and it also has to be perpetuated or it will vanish as all lies vanish when people stop listening to them and start directly experiencing the world and begin to take it back. Marc is correct in his observations. Obama glibly glides over the ultimate causes of social inequality in the black community. it is not a candidate's place to preach. in fact, it's quite condescending. it is the candidate's place to--at the very least--make clear the causes, if not offer direct solutions. once again, Obama dropped the ball. once again, Nader would not save us--Nader would serve us. it isn't Nader who sets himself up as a messiah. no, that's Obama all over. beneath the gale force winds of his charismatic oration, he is an insignificant fart. he refuses to keep single payer healthcare on the table. refuses to pledge removal of troops from the middle east. refuses to take nuclear power off the table. he is the wind-up toy of Zbignew Brzezinski. he is more of the same. Nader is not. Nader is US. he has been out there on our side all his life and very probably all of yours. do the research--get outside the noise; go to other sources. go to critical sources. read the one star reviews. see what their point actually is. and ask the questions. collect the data. organize that data. analyze that data. find the answers.

After my entire lifetime of hearing black leaders talk about all the wrongs that white America has done to us, it's refreshing to hear a few of them now address the wrongs that we do to ourselves.  I have NO TOLERANCE for intellectuals who want to chastise others for trying to turn misguided youth toward a better life.   Frankly, I don't care what white folks will make of it.  We have to focus on our own.

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That's what makes me laugh. Look at yourself and I don't know how you grew up, but I'll tell you how I did. I was popular and nice looking young man. But I was scared of having sex......I wasn't eager to get it on.  I wasn't wealthy but I did have a gallon of milk and a box of wheaties. I was always neat but even when I got my first job I didn't get the new J's Jordans for the uninformed) or Air Max that always cost over 100.00. On the flip side I have a friend who not only was his father a millionaire (black) so that his mother didn't have to work, but his mother was a millionaire(black) so that if necessary his father didn't have to work. He had several bouts with the streets and the law before he decided that it was time to straighten up. Choices, choices , choices who got out of the projects in the 70's , 80's and 90's and today those who make the best choices not when you're 20 , or 25. When you're in any age that has teen behind it. There are exceptions those who are orphaned or abused in any way, deserve our help, support, compassion and assistance. But all of these young ladies who just laid down and young men who just smoked it up all day playing games ( Which I did so I know) get off you butt and make it happen. The word STRUGGLE does have a definition by all means if you can AVOID it. But if you find youself in the position that I find myself in educating yourself in your 30's and providing for you family. Then don't hate on Barack b/c he brought it to the forefront. Haven't we all learned the education defeats Poverty everytime. In fact brother if it wasn't for YOUR education could you even write that piece? Just asking.

oh please.  the man makes a comment about taking a modicum of personal/parental responsibility and suddenly he's the BOOGEYMAN...unfairly attacking the black poor and pandering to the white right???  GIMME A BREAK!!!  as someone who teaches low-income children, i see kids who come to school dirty, hungry and attention-deprived on a daily basis.  i've also followed those children home only to find that mama or daddy 'owns' a tricked-out SUV, rims shining in the sun...so don't even go there!  obama--quiet as it's kept and much to  his credit--has OFTEN spoken of the STRUCTURAL INEQUALITY that persists in this nation!  that's one of the main reasons i support him.  but, of course, his so-called cosby moment is the one that the corporate-owned, biased mainstream media decided to loop over and over and over again.  wake up people.  when was the last time you saw an obama town hall meeting on mainstream networks?  yeah...that's what i thought.  and have u noticed that we're currently experiencing a full-on obama media coverage BLACKOUT?  nothing wrong with reminding folks to stop making excuses for not doing the basics when it comes to child-rearing.  get over the embarrassment, shallow excuses and "see, i knew he was bourgeois"  high horse and help a needy child.

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"...As I’ve argued from the beginning, this past weekend’s speech was not a momentary slip-up but a coherent election strategy. Once he fully has the democratic base in his back pocket, we can safely expect Obama to intensify his pursuit of skeptical conservatives in the general election. Rhetoric like this will certainly do the trick. While some will argue that he’s merely “doing what he has to do to win,” I firmly believe that he is giving us a clear forecast of his what an Obama presidency would look like.

I have more to say but I’d rather watch you give Barack hell, Melissa."

I'd rather you, Marc, tell us everything that's on your mind, now! So as for us the better to guage your trajectory. That's all Id say, at the moment.

The Street American -- very powerfully written stuff. compelling. but who is Obama? who's behind him? what does any of what he says actually mean? "be responsible." we need him to tell anyone this? really? does he speak truth to power? or does he merely speak the language of the comfortably powerful? ire at his comments isn't that what he says has no use. it's his assumption that what he says isn't already known--to the degree that it's true--and that in so saying, and saying no more, he neatly sidesteps the ultimate causes of the issues he's merely describing. because that's all he did. he incompletely described things. what he left out renders what he offered meaningless. i have to say, i concur with the major portion Melissa's response on this one.

Dear panopticon:  Humans have the capacity for good and evil.  The predisposition to evil action or evil inaction is the inherent flaw.  Please read something other than Frantz Fanon, like some psychology, or explain to me current African tribal bloodletting, or the "tricked out SUV" a poster describes as more important than feeding and cleaning your children without the crutch of convenient theories of oppression that are so dated and so tired.

While I agree that this type of rhetoric allows conservatives to continue to blame black folk for our own problems, I don't think it's part of a coherent election strategy on the part of Obama and his campaign. In fact, this is the first time I've heard of him using this type of rhetoric on the campaign trail. And as for similarities between Obama's comments and the infamous comments of  Bill Cosby, there's no comparison. Obama is speaking the truth-he just needs to be careful not to give the Clinton campaign any amunition that could be used to turn Black voters against him.

I did not hear the speech, however I have had the oppurtunity to read what was said.  Why are we geeting in such an uproar over the truth?  The comments of in order to solve OUR PROBLEMS we must first address what White America has done to us.  We all know of the struggles and inequalities that have been heaped upon us; the question now is what are WE going to do about! I don't agree with everything in the "Is Bill Crosby, Right?" However, the basic message is soomething I can get on board with and that is stop blaming others for your decisions and live right.  Life is a struggle and all does not come easy; but drive around low-income areas and you'll see the cars tricked out, children wearing the latest sneakers and gear.  I am not saying that being low income means you can't have nice things; but if you don't have a home computer for kids and yet have $2K rims, jewlery, and the Sean John/Roca Wear gear; then your priorities  are mixed up.

Education takes a back seat to sports , entertainment, and the thug life as a means to rise up and be successful.

I served over 20 years in the US Air Force and I have had the chance to observe and intercat with young people of all races and economic backgrounds.  The big differenc in all of them is how they were raised. Money was not the deciding factor in this, but the morals and values that the PARENTS instilled them was the difference.  Wealth does mean high standards of morals or enhanced parenting skills, it just means you have more money than me and can in some cases buy your kids way out of trouble. I could go on for days, but what Obama stated is the truth; we must be responsible for ourselves and stop blaming others. In case no one else has noticed welfare and some government aid programs are in some ways are modern day shackles.

those same white reporters  did not ask gwb jr  tough questions either .the man has been a failure his whole life .all we knew about bush was the money folks gave him a 175 million to run for president.nothing about how he had wrecked everything he has ever touched

the street american hit it on the head.choices folks make.i grew up in inner city baltimore and saw f peers make decisions early in life to compete or  not compete.the folks who got a education are living ok with jobs and homes the ones who blew it off for the fool,s gold of street life have struggled or crashed hard and burned

I support Obama's comments.  Black America has had the black politician who stood up to speak of systemic racism in this country--has that helped?  Let's not be misinformed--the issues of black america are not a secret.  What doesn't exist is empathy for black america's plight--as there wasn't in our distant history.  The reponse of black america's ancestors, was to do all that they could to use what existed in the system to gain ground--and it worked.  That history (for those old enough to remember) was what Bill Cosby refered to--a people that joined together and forced change in spite of oppostion. This is not the time to consistently harp on the conditions, but it is the time for black america to go back to what works--education--strong communities--and a firm decision on what black america stands for and what they are willing to do to re-claim their lives.  Here is a small piece of history:  black slaves who could read and write, literally would write their own pass to freedom--no one suspected--because the belief was that a slave was ignorant and could not read or write.  There was great effort to make sure slaves could not read or write.  But despite the forces against black slaves--they fought to find ways to get the means to help themselves.  Maybe it was because they were not so far removed from their great ancestory.  Africans had a more sophisticated society than America--they even had colleges/universities befoe America.  Black america must re-learn (and for some learn for the first time) the history of black america that is not taught in the schools--and start relaying that history to the young--and some of the old.  People must know where they come from, before they can know where they are going.  There does not exist one black person who can change the plight of black america--and to put expectations on anyone is unfair and wasted breadth.  Rise up black america--each one, reach one.

For MS. Martin and others who may not know, but Obama delivered these same lines to many crowds not just an African-American crowd. I sat in an audience in San Antonio, Texas, which was predominately hispanic and white. These words were also directed to them. So, I do not think his message was only directed at "Black" people. I also do not think that his message was wrong or any way degrading. It is true. Truth hurts. There are many reasons that black people suffer. We all know this. If you read, Obama knows this also. He writes about it is his books. But, agreeing with another commenter to this blog, he was speaking speciofically about factors that we have control over here and now. If you go on to listen to the rest of the speech, he says if you do this and we (meaning government and others in the position to help) do what they have to do then we can accomplish the common goal. As you may guess, I am an Obama supporter. Before I comment and judge from small clips that I see on television, I actually research and find the truth and make educated decisions for myself.

I am a white woman in the deep South who lost custody of my white kids because of my relationship with an AfroCuban man. When I heard Senator Obama's Cosby moment, I thought he was talking to my white ex-husband.

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