The So-Called Liberal Media

Continuing my Obama theme today, there was another article in the Chicago Sun-Times about the Democratic debate at Howard. In it, the writer insinuated that Hillary Clinton, not Barack Obama, was the best on issues important to minority voters. Fair enough.

But I found a criticism of Sen. Obama to be ridiculous. The writer took Obama to task for not pandering.

Surprisingly, Obama continued a balancing act in which he points out the unfairness African Americans face in their daily lives but also criticizes the negative behaviors often found among the impoverished.

(Snip)

"We live in a society that remains separated for opportunities for African Americans, for Latinos," he said. "It is critical for us to recognize that there are going to be [expectations] on the parts of African Americans and other groups to take personal responsibility to rise up out of the problems that we face. ... There has to be a political will in the White House to make that happen. That's the reason why I'm running for president."

(Frankly, Michelle Obama, who has been tapped to convince women that her husband is the "real deal," was more passionate on the issues when she spoke at a fund-raising luncheon earlier in the day.)

Obama failed to strike a forceful tone on the race issue, and that's unfortunate since he has to run past a gauntlet of black leaders who are supporting Clinton.

The writer seems shocked that Obama told a minority audience the same thing he tells every audience. That's not a lack of passion, that's consistency. And I applaud it, because its the kind of thing that wins elections.