Taking Obama's off the pedestal

"Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1964 and Barack Obama is the 44th president. 1964 plus 44 is 2008. God works in mysterious ways!" ~ Anonymous



Um…. No! Rev, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. By the above authors calculation, that would make President Elect Barack Obama destined to be President in 2012. Uh Oh someone needs to let Senator Clinton and Governor Palin know. As heavy as the Obama bandwagon has been, it’s a miracle the wagon never had a flat tire. It’s understandable that black folks would be excited about a black family occupying the White House but the jubilance has gotten out of hand.

I was reading my local paper yesterday and they had an article about what Michelle Obama means to black women. I thought to myself “oh that’s nice.” After reading the article, I was bewildered by many of the participants. Michelle Obama becoming the first lady garnered such responses as “because of the Obama’s, now I have hope in finding a man,” and one woman said, “I’ve started paying attention to my daughters more.” What??????? I think it’s nice that Michelle Obama can be a role model but savior of the black race she’s not. If you needed to see a black first lady in order to give your children the time of day, something is really wrong with your concept of parenting. The fact that Michelle Obama reads to her daughters at night shouldn’t motivate you to read to your kids. You should be reading to your kids regardless of who is in office. Don’t be put off because President Bush didn’t read a lot. You still need to read to your kids. Maybe things would have been different if he read those intelligence reports.

And please don’t think Michelle Obama can change the marriage statistics for black women. The numbers still look shaky ladies!!! I hope women aren’t running around looking for the next Barack Obama. You have a better chance finding the next Bobby Fisher. When the Obama’s first met in the law office back in the day, it wasn’t just her looks that Obama liked. If Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was working in the mail room instead of as a lawyer, Barack probably would have kept it moving to the next chick. You are not going to find a man of Barack’s character at ladies night, or on the corner. I’m not here to persuade black woman from dreaming of a “knight in shining armor” but there is more to finding a “quality” man.

I’ve also been disturbed by statements from black men saying “the day after Obama won I put on a suit….” what???? Why do we need Barack Obama in office to get our grown man on? I guess Jay Z wearing a suit didn’t give folks a hint. You should have been wearing a suit before Barack become president. Why are people taking their life “cues” from the first black president? What would we have done if he never would have entered the race? I remember that no one (including myself) thought that he could win in America. We thought he would never be able to fight the Clinton Machine and white folks wouldn’t vote for him. It wasn’t until Iowa that black folks started looking at him with possibility. Then when the Clintons showed their natural behinds in South Carolina, black folks bucked the Clinton Machine and went with the Brotha. Now we have arrived and people have placed their hopes on this one family.

The Obama’s aren’t good parents because of MLK. Barack doesn’t wear suits because of John H. Johnson. Michelle doesn’t carry herself with dignity and class because of Judith JAMESON. They don’t need to be inspired to do what most people do every day. I’m sure they aren’t perfect but it’s not about that. It’s about doing the best you can with what you got. It’s okay to admire a person or be inspired by them. You just have to remember that they are just like you…….human.