"Black Like Me."

I have to confess (and lord forgive me for this one) but I can't watch Cornel West for one minute. Every time I see fam on television I change the channel. I have heard that he is a smart guy, and that he sometimes says some deep things, but I will never know, because......well....I just can't watch or listen to him. I know that many of you have a predilection for all things West so you will have to help me out with this one. Please tell me why I should force myself to start listening to him. "Otay"? (Stop it field)

Anyway, I notice that my man has been in the news of late because, much to the delight of wingnuts, he has had some not too flattering things to say about O, and it has started an interesting debate among us black folks about what it means to be truly black.

For the record, O's upbringing and the way he chooses to carry himself should not define his blackness or lack of it. We have to judge him by his actions as president for all the people of these divided states who comes to the office from the unique position of being able to feel our pain.

This is a good discussion to have on Malcolm's birthday; is O in the house? Personally, I don't think so. I think he visits it quite often and is comfortable when he is in there, but that is not where his heart is. I think his heart is outside in the fields. ( I think)

But I want to ask Mr. West to put his Ivy League mind to work and tell me exactly what he would want his O ness to do to help black A-merry-ca. I want to know what policies he would implement and how he would go about getting it done. I want to know how he would better use the "bully pulpit" to (if I may get a little colloquial) hook us up.

I know what I would like O to do: Get our troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq, use the "bully pulpit" to talk more about urban issues such as education, and turn Eric Holder loose on some of those Wall Street crooks. Yes, I am pissed that he extended the Bush tax cuts. Yes, I am pissed that he kept Gitmo open. And, yes, I am pissed that ddn't go far enough on health care reform and with the stimulus package.

Still, having said that, I have to acknowledge that he at least tried with health care, there was some Wall Street reform, and a little stimulus package is better than none at all.

I am not sure what you Negroes who were waiting on the Magic Negro expected. O can't work miracles and make your lives better. I hate to sound like a conservative, but government can only do so much. If you thought O was going to get into office and your lives were going to change overnight, you have another thing coming. Urban terrorist are still going to rob and steal, greedy polititicksters on the local and national level are still going to line their pockets, first. And the corporate machine of greed that drives A-merry-ca isn't going anywhere. In short, it's business as usual in A-merry-ca. If there is going to be any change it's going to have to come from within each and every individual who really wants it.

I thought that a - supposedly- smart man like Cornel West would know that.