TROUBLE WITH THE BASE - AT 6:59 P.M. ET:  Certainly one of the major political stories this week is the increasing tension between President Obama and "leaders" of the African American community.  Apparently, some of those "leaders" expected a bit more from the nation's first black president.  And they expected themselves to be in the spotlight.  From the Washington Post: 

The Rev. Jesse Jackson has joined black lawmakers in their push to get the White House to do more to directly help African American communities disproportionately hurt by the nation's severe economic recession.

Jackson, who noted that he was not invited to President Obama's recent jobs summit, said he has requested a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner to talk about economic aid for depressed minority communities. No meeting has been set.

Hmm.  Not invited.  Which is what this is about.  You don't think Jackson wasn't invited because, during the campaign, he said he'd like to castrate Obama over something Obama said, do you?  You know, that could offend a guy. 

In recent days, Obama has pushed back at the idea that his administration should focus economic revitalization policies on specific ethnic and racial groups. In an interview with USA Today and the Detroit Free Press last week, the president said, "The most important thing I can do for the African American community is the same thing I can do for the American community, period, and that is get the economy going again and get people hiring again."

On that the president is right.  If only for political reasons, this president cannot be seen as favoring his own community.  In fact, no president can. 

When David Dinkins, a decent man, became New York City's first black mayor, he started, either because of pressure or instinct, to give special treatment to blacks.  The political results were catastrophic, and he was defeated for reelection by Rudy Giuliani.

December 10, 2009