Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Birds of a feather....

You are judged by the company you keep.....Obama wants to hang with Al Sharpton.....

Need I say more ??? If you don't get a *cringe* moment when you think about a President of the United States aligning himself with a gutless, unethical idjit like Al Sharpton, I would worry about your moral compass.

The President has shown his true colors and how low into the gutter he is willing to go just to get votes......This shows that Obama has no care about what's right or wrong as no public figure worth anything would want to be seen with a fool like Sharpton.

The United States needs a President that will show true leadership and ethical conduct......Obama has epicly failed.



OBAMA TO APPEAR WITH AL SHARPTON

By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL - Wall Street Journal

Two days after officially launching his re-election campaign, President Barack Obama plans to travel to New York City Wednesday to deliver remarks at the 20th anniversary of the Rev. Al Sharpton's organization.

While the White House said there is no connection between Mr. Obama's 2012 campaign and his decision to attend the National Action Network's annual convention, some of the president's supporters and political observers said the visit marks the beginning of a series of events designed to shore up support among Mr. Obama's base, specifically African-Americans.

"Anytime you run for re-election, the first places you go are your base and your foundation of support—you try to make sure that's tight," said Assemblyman Keith Wright, chairman of the Manhattan Democratic Committee. "If your base and foundation are not solid, there's a chance there could be some chinks in the armor."

The visit also comes amid a bruising Capitol Hill budget battle with Republicans.

By sharing the stage with Mr. Sharpton at the outset of his reelection campaign, the president is sending a signal that the reverend has become a key ally, both in terms of policy and politics, observers say. That marks a stark contrast from the 2008 campaign, when Mr. Obama's aides initially viewed any partnership with Mr. Sharpton, who has been accused of inflaming racial tensions, as potentially damaging.

In an interview, Mr. Sharpton said the president's appearance for his organization's anniversary is a "good thing for us."

Mr. Sharpton said Mr. Obama shouldn't take the black community "for granted" in his re-election bid, but added that he doesn't believe the president faces any significant weakening of support among African-Americans.

"Are there people that are concerned and want to see more? Yes," Mr. Sharpton said. "But there always are."

The reverend said the event with the president will focus on policy, specifically education. "It's not about politics," he said. "You know how nonpolitical I am," he joked.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released last week, voters nationwide disapprove of the job Mr. Obama is doing by a 48% to 42% margin, and by 54% to 41% say he does not deserve to be re-elected next year. Both are all-time lows for the president.

Among black voters, 89% approve of his job performance, the poll showed.

In New York City, the president's support is robust. City voters by 70% to 26% approve of the president's performance, and among black voters his job approval is 91%, a Quinnipiac survey from last month showed.

Still, there are some signs that members of the African-American community are unhappy. A headline about the president's New York fund-raising trip last week in the Amsterdam News, a Harlem newspaper, read: "Obama returns: Harlem gives president mixed reception."

Nellie Bailey, a 65-year-old Harlem activist, said she believes many disenchanted African-Americans will stay home on Election Day.

"The blinders are off," said Ms. Bailey, who doesn't plan to vote for Mr. Obama. "Black America is no longer willing to accept the president symbolically without any substantial platform and programs to address the crisis of rising homelessness and joblessness."

Costas Panagopoulos, assistant professor of political science at Fordham University, said the economic meltdown has had a "disproportionate effect" on African-Americans. "The president has not lost sight of that, and he's kicking things off by reaching out to that core constituency," he said.

The president's administration will be well represented at Mr. Sharpton's convention.

In addition to Mr. Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan are slated to attend. Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to the president, and David Axelrod, who recently left the White House, are also on the schedule.

Kevin Lewis, a White House spokesman, said the president agreed to attend Mr.. Sharpton's convention prior to deciding to launch his re-election campaign this week. Mr. Lewis said "there's no connection" between his re-election effort and his attendance.

"The president has a positive relationship with Rev. Sharpton," said Mr. Lewis. "The president seeks guidance from various places, but he values the guidance that he gets from Rev. Sharpton."

State Sen. Bill Perkins, a Harlem Democrat and one of the president's earliest New York supporters in 2008, praised the president for returning to New York. "He's going back to the base, to mobilize the base, to excite the base, to be accountable to that base," he said. "It's very smart."

Write to Michael Howard Saul at michael.saul@wsj.com


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