I really have touched upon the Jena 6 issue because I really am not fully informed on the complete details of the issue. However I read a quote in the NY Sun today regarding Barack Obama lack of voice on the issue. 

Yesterday, Mr. Obama was taunted by a veteran civil rights advocate, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who made disparaging remarks about the senator for his failure to take the lead on the issue and said he was “acting like he’s white,” according to a report in a newspaper in Columbia S.C., the State”If I were a candidate, I’d be all over Jena. Jena is a defining moment, just like Selma was a defining moment,” Rev. Jackson said.   

I have to disagree with Rev. Jackson, that Obama is “acting like he’s white”, any black man or women (i.e. Oprah) who tries to over come the stereotypes in not “acting like he’s white.” They are in theory trying to set an example for the rest of the African American community. I applaud Mr. Obama for not using the Jena case as podium for political advancement. Sen. Obama did what any candidate should do on the case and issued this statement 

Today I stand with those who stand for justice in Jena.  The thousands of Americans from every race and region who have descended on this small Louisiana town carry forth the legacy of all those who sat at lunch counters and took freedom rides to strike a blow against injustice wherever it may exist.  When a noose hangs from a schoolyard tree in the 21st century and young men are treated in a way that is not equal nor just, it is not just an offense to the people of Jena or to the African-American community, it is an offense to the ideals we hold as Americans.  I renew my call for the District Attorney to drop the excessive charges filed in this case, and I will continue my decades-long fight against injustice and division as President.

According to The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper, Sen. Barack Obama has yet to fulfill a promise to the Congressional Black Caucus to hold a fundraiser for their PAC.

His arch rival Sen. Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill Clinton, have both held fundraisers for the CBC.

Obama’s failure to match Clinton is significant because both are battling for support among black Democrats in the run-up to next year’s primaries. In South Carolina, for instance, the second primary in the nation, African-American voters are expected to make up about half of Democratic voters.

What do you think?

Courtesy of the Politico.com:

That may not have been very nice of Brian Williams, but Barack Obama did just walk right into a trap he set.

Asked to name America’s three most important allies, Obama headed out on a world tour, starting with the European Union and NATO, straying into Afghanistan, tipping his hat to Japan, and then evaluating China.

“I didn’t hear you mention Israel,” Williams noted, before raising an old Obama quote (which, in context, is a pretty hard-line pro-Israel quote) about Palestinian suffering.

Obama assured Williams that Israel is a friend…but I suspect that one will be remembered, both for the indiscipline of the response and, for strong Israel backers, for what wasn’t in it.

Obama has been very shaky on this issue, some days while at AIPAC events he is pro-Israel all the way and at other times he is not. Obviously I would like our next President to be pro-Israel, but couldn’t he take a stance.

What do you think?    

Earlier in the week, presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, Democrats “do not understand the full nature and scope of the terrorists’ war against us.” The two Democratic front runners fought back against Rudy.

Sen. Barack Obama said,

“‘America’s mayor’ should know that when it comes to 9/11 and fighting terrorists, America is united. We know we can win this war based on shared purpose, not the same divisive politics that question your patriotism if you dare to question failed policies that have made us less secure.”

Sen. Hillary Clinton  said in a written statement that “politicalrhetoric” won’t stop plots currently in the works against the United States.
CNN Political Ticker quoted Clinton

“We have to protect our country from terrorism — it shouldn’t be a Democratic fight or a Republican fight,” the New York senator said. “The plain truth is that this administration has done too little to protect our ports, make our mass transit safer, and protect our cities. They have isolated us in the world and have let al Qaeda regroup.

“The next president is going to be left with these problems and will have to do what it takes to make us safer and bring Democrats and Republicans together around this common mission of protecting our nation.”

The Chicago Sun Times Reports:

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama said Monday he accepted campaign contributions from Antoin “Tony” Rezko without knowing that Rezko was a slumlord with problem buildings in the state Senate district Obama represented at the time.

“Should I have known these buildings were in a state of disrepair? My answer would be that it wasn’t brought to my attention,” Obama, who’s seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, said at a South Side campaign stop. Read the whole areticle here.