Jesse Jackson Apologizes for Open Mic Slight Against Obama

This whole incident pisses me off.

First of all...if you have a microphone strapped to your chest...assume it is on. Always.

The complete quote is paraphrased according to the captions on the O'Reilley Factor:

"Barack Obama is talking down to black people...I wanna cut his nuts off"

I can completely understand Jesse Jackson's frustration with wanting Obama to be more attentive to the African-American community. Jesse Jackson is a leader in the African-American community, so he should be an advocate on its behalf. But the fact is, Barack Obama is no longer just a community leader. He is running for the President of the United States, one of the most daunting and powerful jobs there is. He has to appeal to as much of the American demographic as possible. It's not that he is neglecting black people...it's that there are even MORE pressing problems that he needs to address that apply to a more generalized population - the war, the economy, national security, blah blah blah...let the man get elected first before you start banging on his door! If Jesse Jackson wants Barack Obama to be able to live up to his promise of helping the black community, he needs to be supporting him unequivocally so that Obama can even have a chance at this race.

And as far as Obama pulling Bill Cosby-like comments against the black community...let us not forget that Obama grew up with a single mother, so he probably has a soft spot for the plight of single parents. How is it bad that he is trying to advocate for two-parent households and general personal responsibility? Yes, there ARE societal and racial issues that plague poorer communities that ultimately result in these broken families. But at this moment in his campaign, there isn't much else that Obama can do except advocate, advocate, advocate, and try to be a positive influence. I guess Jackson's beef with that is that Obama talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. All I'll say to that is, at least Obama didn't have a love-child!

I do think Jesse Jackson has immense resentment for Obama...he too tried to seek the presidential nomination. But Obama is a wholly different candidate than Jackson, so the comparison isn't even there.

There are conspiracy theorists who think that the whole incident was a ploy by Fox News to make Obama look even worse for black voters. I wouldn't have put it past them...the whole thing seemed too perfect, that Jackson happened to say a loaded comment when they left the mic on. But if that is the case, then I have absolutely no respect for Jesse Jackson. Way to take us backward 10 steps just because you wanted 15 minutes of fame.