A Cabinet by Any Other Color

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been pretty critical of President-Elect Obama’s Cabinet picks.  Perhaps I’ve been a little unjustly critical, but time will tell how justified I was in my criticsm. But one thing is certain: with the balance of blacks, latinos, and women in Obama’s crew, diversity was never the issue with the picks; unless, of course, you’re a member of the Congressional Black Causus. By their estimation, President-Elect Obama didn’t paint the White House black enough:

Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are disappointed President-elect Obama did not appoint more African-Americans to his Cabinet.

Obama tapped four blacks for Cabinet posts, including Eric Holder. If confirmed, Holder will be the first African-American attorney general.

But Obama passed over black candidates in selecting Cabinet nominees for positions central to setting policy for urban America, such as the departments of Education, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development.

Hispanic Americans, by contrast, have been nominated for three Cabinet positions, and politicians from that constituency have hailed Obama’s nominations.

“Did the African-American community probably expect more appointees at that level? Probably so,” said Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), an early Obama supporter who has expressed an interest in filling Obama’s vacant Senate seat.

Davis said he was pleased with Obama’s Cabinet, but confirmed that there is some angst within the CBC.

“On balance, I’d say a great deal of thought went into the shaping of this Cabinet,” Davis told The Hill. “And he ended up with a real rainbow. But some people, sure, thought there should be a bit more color in it.”

Another senior member of the CBC who requested anonymity said more pointedly that Obama “isn’t doing enough for the black folks.”

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, it seems.

From my perspective, the CBC has long been considered irrelevant. In direct result, I have all but ignored their antics as of late. But this story takes the cake. In their zealous efforts to point out the absense of black people in Obama’s cabinet, they conveniently forget that this is one of the most diverse Presidential teams to date. Looking at some of the faces in Obama’s crowd, you would think the old white male in Washington was extinct. Besides that, Obama is in the position to even select a cabinet in the first place because a diverse group of people saw fit to support him. His picks are a clear reflection of that. Yet somehow, the CBC lost sight of that.

With friends like these, who needs Republicans?

- ACL

History of Another Kind

0-16.

Obama, be damned. The Lions are the ones who truly made history. Wooo Hooo! Yeah, Detroit!

Now, this is an event I truly don’t mind commemorating. I know just where to start. Too bad they’re out of XXL.

- ACL

The Golden Age of Obama

Sadly, what you’re looking at is not a Photoshopped image. Indeed, this is the actual Obama Coney Island restaurant, located at 3919 Clio Road; Flint, Michigan. Where to begin?

Undoubtedly, the evening of November 4 represented the beginning of the historic presidential stint of Barack Obama. At that same time, I was sure it would also signify the end of the commercialization of his election.

I was mistaken.

From apparel to commemorative coins (limited edition, of course), to plates,  to haircuts; Obama merchandise has become a regular cottage industry. Even my dear mother – bless her heart - is trying to get in the act by selling framed photos of our good President-Elect and his wife. So I suppose it was only a matter of time that an Obama-theme restaurant would open.

There are a few directions I can in with this post. I could discuss how the good President-Elect hasn’t been sworn in yet, but has still been annointed as the solution to the world’s problems. I can mention how his tenure is already off to an arguably sour note with some of his not-so-change oriented cabinet choices. But there appears to be a bigger issue brewing. With the rash of Obama-prenuers and Oba-consumers out there, I’m left to wonder: is our President-Elect becoming the political golden calf?

Most of my black readers (and perhaps some white readers) can attest to seeing numerou prophetic and revolutionary figures in history receiving status as icons. Ghandi, Che Guevara, MLK, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and JFK are among those who have been bestowed with a certain level of nobility and immortalized popularity. But of those who celebrate their lives, how many know more about these figures than what is recorded in history or celebrated through popular culture? How many are familiar with the extent to which these icons were actually excoriated during their lifetimes? How often are these figures’ complexities, beliefs, and shortcomings cited in regular discourse?

Will people offer fair critique of Obama’s performance as President or will they get so caught up in mawkish adoration that performance won’t matter?

We have already seen what happens when an electorate is so into a President that his antics go unchecked. Will it happen again? Now, I’m certainly not comparing Obama’s policies to those of President Bush. But I am comparing the levels of devotion. Don’t be deceived by Bush’s dismal ratings. At one point, he almost three times as popular as he is now. As Obama’s message of “change” is met head on with the realities of Washington, will he be brought to task or will he receive the pardon of all pardons?

As I’ve said numerous times before, the general electorate is politcally out of the loop. I’ve devoted several posts during this political season specifically criticizing the ignorance, close-mindedness, and blind support people freely gave McCain and Palin. But we shouldn’t let many Obama supporters off the hook. Case in point:

[Warning: Explicit Language]

Now, you all know that my teeth are stained from the gallons of Obama Kool Aid I drank during the election. I make no bones about that. But at the same time, how do we keep ourselves from falling victim to the classic demagogy that has come to define politicians since forever? After the coins, t-shirts paintings, and coneys are all bought and paid for, what happens is Obama doesn’t deliver on his end?

- ACL

Holiday Leave

In the interest of brevity, I’ll keep this simple. This will most likely be my only post this week. I’m going to be taking the few days off from The Unmitigated Word.

For the remainder of the week, I’ll be in Florida for Christmas with the fam (or, should I say Florid-ahhhh!). I don’t think I’ll have the time to do any posting. Besides, I don’t think I would anyway. This being my vacation and all, I plan to devote it to nothing but family, fun, and good weather.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a few of my previous posts about the holiday season:

Taking the Christ out of Christmas

A Little Holiday Fun

Aww! More Underware?!

Please allow me to take a moment to wish you all a spirit-filled and relaxing Christmas. Wherever you are and whatever you do, be safe, be blessed, and be a blessing to someone else.

So until next time, I’ll see y’all on the flip side.

In Christ,

- ACL

The Reward for Failure

Riddle me this: when did it become standard practice to reward failure?

The economy has fallen into pieces. Millions of Americans are out of work. Millions more have lost their homes. Businesses are failing. The only businesses deemed important enough by our dear Congress are being awarded saved with our tax dollars for failing. You’d think that at some point our intrepid Congress would put some control on spending to help offset some of the financial woes we’re facing.

If that’s what you would’ve thought, you’d be wrong.

Rather than controlling spending, our friends in Congress have secretly voted to given themselves $4700 raises. This, while they criticized (but, somehow still saved) CEOs for giving themselves bonuses as their companies went belly up. As long as money is being distributed, why not get a little for themselves, right?

Congressional raises will cost the American taxpayer $2.5 million. Compared to the massive debt this country is in, $2.5 mill is small potatoes. No argument there. But this represents a much bigger issue here. While their fellow countrymen are starving in the streets, Congress is ordering crème brûlée on top of their already comfortable lifestyles. Worse yet, it’s all being done on our dime.

Wow…? Yeah, I think “wow” covers it.

- ACL