obama says the best things he has ever said on race. the result? his approval ratings go down. for america doesn't want truth on the subject. let me rephrase that: white america doesn't want truth on the subject. obama is walking a tight rope. if he had said the things i want to hear, he would not have been elected. no question about it. here, he says .0000001 of what i want to hear, and they knock him for it. obama, how dare you side with the black against the white, the civilian against the cop? how dare you stick your "elitist" nose where it doesn't belong? so the right cackles. he does a plethora of right wing things, expands the war in afghanistan, ignores the perils of pollution, fires drones over pakistan, lectures black men instead of creating jobs for them, continues regressive policies of spying and torture, but this is of no matter to those who will stop at nothing to get rid of him.

think of it; obama says racial profiling is a fact of life for black and latino men, and he loses popularity.

ugly folks don't like to be reminded of their looks. neither do ugly countries. the illusion must be maintained, the dominant group must be allowed a guilty free existence. if you shatter the illusion, they will come for you. you may think your offense was minor, but they will be the judge of its import.

so, today, a beer was shared at the white house. it was a kind of apology by obama, as he attempted to regain his role as uniter of disparate forces. "can't we all just get along?" the event seemed to shout. better to pretend at unity than to admit to injustice. the latter gains you few votes from the privileged, and there is an election in three years.

but, you know, the greats don't care who likes them. i wish all those who are riding around with obama bumper stickers would consider that. the greats tell the truth when it is unpopular. the greats risk their lives for a cause. they don't read opinion polls, they don't chase votes, they don't blow with the wind.

you don't become president with the truth, and you don't remain president with the truth. the big o has surely learned his lesson.

it was one he already knew, but just for a second, he remembered he was still a black man in america.

i doubt he will make the same mistake again.

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