Thanks a lot, Jesse

[stevedeshazer]

You convinced me, a white guy in a white town, to canvass for you in 1984.

"Keep hope alive."

I went around knocking on doors for you back when the idea of white people voting for someone other than white was ridiculed.

It wasn't easy.

I believed in you.

Now, because of your enormous ego, you're the focus of the news cycle for the next two weeks or more.

You couldn't restrain yourself in your pitiful rage at Barack Obama's success in comparison to your own failure.

John McCain's campaign is imploding. California is on fire with little hope of federal help. The food chain of America is contaminated thanks to deregulation. People are losing their homes, jobs and families.

THIS WAS THE MESSAGE. Not anymore.

You couldn't restrain yourself from saying something so incredibly stupid. So incredibly self-centered.

You have actually helped John McCain, the weakest GOP candidate since Gerald Ford, get a leg up in the media for days and days worth of media spin.

Thanks for nothing.

[skooooo]

1. Honestly..

...I can't imagine this whole thing will amount to anything in the end - except it may prove that Obama is not so easy to peg, and he'll appeal to more people that way for that reason (maybe).

[jobycom]

2. So a private comment he makes off the record is a sign of his "enormous ego?"

Maybe you didn't get him in 1984, either, if you think any of this is about his ego. He apologized even before this became a story.

And the good news is that this will help Obama. The racist shits in America who believe Jackson is all about ego and ambulance chasing will like Obama more because Jackson doesn't.

[stevedeshazer]

3. You've got to be kidding me.

This will help Obama?

When every right-wing radio and TV station, every cable channel, and every newspaper in America will be fixated on Jesse vs. Barack?

And Jesse's ego has nothing to do with his comments?

If I had suggested that I wanted your "nuts cut out", would you say that it wasn't a big deal?

Come on, man.

[jobycom]

13. My first reaction was to ask if you were kidding, but I gave you more respect than that.

But since you don't give others that, I'll ask. You are kidding, right? You really do understand this whole politics thing better than you're pretending, right? You do understand how the media shapes opinions by controlling the facts we hear so that you can be convinced, for instance, that a man who marched with MLK and looked upon his lifeless body so that he fully understood the danger of his work, spoke up every time he perceived racial injustice, battled death threats and public scorn and ridicule (not especially good for one's ego), had his every selfless motivation denied in every action he took--including actions that brought him and his family into a genuine danger of being killed (something most of us can only imagine we can imagine)--three times negotiated the release of American hostages from dangerous situations in lands we were trying to bomb to oblivion--while being attacked by the contemporary presidents for doing so--was doing this all for his enormous ego, right?

Come on, man. What the hell did you work for him in 84 for, if you had no more respect or understanding than that?

The public has the same attitudes towards Jackson that you seem to. His comments about Obama--which weren't said publicly and therefore can't even be twisted to have anything to do with Jackson's ego even if I believed it was that enormous--will make that public dislike Jackson, not Obama. THAT's how this whole think works, for better or worse. Jackson didn't hurt Obama, he only hurt himself.

[woolldog]

4. This isn't a big deal.

And probably helps Obama a bit as it really distinguishes Obama from JJ, who rightly or wrongly doesn't have a great reputation among a large slice of the population.

[stevedeshazer]

5. I disagree

We'll see who is right.

I maintain that this story will be hammered by the corporate press. No good will come of it.

[CakeGrrl]

6. Actually I think this will backfire on the MSM if they try to make much ado of it

After a while, I think people will get tired of the nonstop attacks on Obama because there's no "there" there.

People have a lot more to be worried about in real life, such as all the issues Obama is trying to raise during his campaign, to be bothered with some petty crap that Jesse Jackson said.

That's the thing about pushing people to a breaking point - I think they can tolerate, or even be entertained by, a certain amount of media sensationalization if their own situation is comfortable enough, but once their own level of comfort is threatened or damaged, this other stuff matters less to them.

For those who are still paying any attention to the MSM, this potential "rift" with Jackson will probably benefit Obama as others have said: 'See, he isn't as radical as they say. Jesse Jackson doesn't even like him!' I'll bet that works.

[genna]

7. I am sorry he is disappointing you

Jesse says a lot of stuff that ain't quite right.

As impolitic as his comments were, the black men I know say all kinds of off color stuff about male genitalia. I'm glad they don't have a microphone on when they say these truly wild things.

But I think the rest of America gets the flavor of it when they listen to these young rappers refer to their genitalia.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[yardwork]

8. As a white person...

I don't think it's any of my business what Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama say about each other. And this may be the silliest non-issue to come along since the flag pin flap.

[HughMoran]

9. I don't see the big distraction

Jesse has been MIA for a long time - I'm not sure people care much about what he's said.

[Unsane]

11. Disagree. I see this as Obama's 'sista souja' moment.

[dkf]

12. I think maybe he felt defensive because he had that child out of wedlock a few years back.

I imagine he feels a pang when he hears Obama talk about fatherhood.