Blogged

Nuts to you

If you stop to listen for a moment, you can just hear the delicate sighs of fainting news editors and reporters across this republic, the rattle of pearls suddenly clutched, all in response to Jesse Jackson’s insufficiently-sotto-voced remarks about Barack Obama’s blast-to-the-left then sail-to-the-right campaign.

To be upfront: Jackson didn’t say anything about Obama that I haven’t thought twice a day, every day - though not in so many words - for a while now.

Any politician who reduces the absence of many black fathers from their families to a matter of “courage” while giving short shrift to the economic and cultural issues involved in that divide is merely moralizing, blaming the victim, playing lazy and pandering politics. Jackson is pissed and disappointed and honestly so, and - crudity aside, as its mixed company and all - he has nothing for which to apologize. Sadly and predictably, the vulgar novelty of the moment will obscure all else.

While we’re making assessments, let’s give Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. - co-chair of the Obama campaign - an award for setting a land speed record for throwing his father under the bus, to employ one of the most overworked phrases of the season. I’ll allow that Jackson, Jr. may have felt that he had little choice but to push the denounce-and-reject button as quickly and forcefully as possible. Doesn’t matter. If this son can’t grasp or won’t acknowledge the heart of his father’s concern - and if Congressman Jackson’s public remarks seem more focused on the effect his father’s remarks might have on him -

He should know how hard that I’ve worked for the last year and a half as a national co-chair of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

- well…it’s a good thing he’s not my kid.

And let us not overlook Fox News demagogue Bill O’Reilly, who fits himself for a sixty-watt halo as he brays that he has not revealed the nerve-shattering extent of Jackson, Sr.’s comments:

I want to tell everybody that we held back some of this conversation, and we did that because we didn’t feel that it had any relevance to the conversation this evening. I just want to make this very clear. We’re not out to get Jesse Jackson. We’re not out to embarrass him and we’re not out to make him look bad. If we were, we would have used what we have, which is more damaging than what you heard.

But O’Reilly damned well made sure that you knew that they had more - even as he presents a 437-stroke-R2 requisition form for a medal of statesmanship. What a tin-plated hero you are, Bill.

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