by Taylor Marsh
Yep, Barack Obama is doing it again, this time on his own community. He's ducking the State of the Black Union forum in New Orleans, as is John McCain. Hillary Clinton will be there.
I've been a Hillary Clinton partisan since last fall. This is not one of those posts. Because contrary to everyone's belief, not everything I write has to do with Hillary Clinton. Criticism of Barack Obama can actually be just about the type of politician he is, having nothing to do with Hillary Clinton. This is one of those posts.
Today we find Barack Obama skipping out again. You know, like he did on Kyl-Lieberman, as well as the vote on MoveOn.org when they were taking fire on their General Petraeus ad. He's skipping the annual State of the Black Union forum in New Orleans so he can campaign. Besides, why should Mr. Obama feel pressured to attend a forum about his own community, especially when he believes there will be no consequences. After all, he ducked out on MoveOn.org when they needed him, but they endorsed him anyway. African Americans have helped Mr. Obama get this far to the Democratic nomination, so why should he feel compelled to actually speak to the annual State of the Black Union forum in New Orleans?
Meanwhile, Tavis Smiley is registering minor criticism of Obama for his decision, so what's happening? His family is getting besieged by Obama supporters, people who will not allow any criticism of their candidate.
But Smiley's criticism has also prompted many people to come to Obama's defense. The talk show host told The Washington Post he has been inundated with angry e-mails and even death threats.
"I have family in Indianapolis. They are harassing my momma, harassing my brother. It's getting to be crazy," Smiley told the newspaper.
He will be busy despite Obama's absence. Some of the nation's top black activists and politicians attend the State of the Black Union. ... ..
The threats and hate mail comes as no surprise to me, because I've been receiving them for months and months. But Obama ducking this forum will come as a surprise to some. Not to me and I'm not alone.