Category Archives: USA

By Raynard Jackson Four years ago, President Barack Obama made history by becoming the first black president in the history of the U.S. I would like to think that even those who did not support his candidacy were proud of what the American people demonstrated—that anything is possible within our system of government. Play by the rules, work hard, present a compelling agenda and the American people will respond. Obama was by far a much better candidate than John McCain and presented a more inspiring vision for America. McCain had much more substance, but an inability to speak directly to the American people. Four years later, “Hope and Change” has … Continue reading →

By Raynard Jackson With the Christmas season in full bloom, I am amazed how such a simple celebration has now become so controversial. How can people find a way to criticize the meaning of Christmas that I grew up with? Christmas has always meant recognizing the birth of the baby Jesus, giving one’s family their time and presence, not presents. Having Christmas without Christ is like having basketball without the basket, like having Sunday School without Sunday, like having hamburger without meat. In other words, the very name describes the essence of the event or item. So, this time of year has become one of the most controversial times in … Continue reading →

By Raynard Jackson I was once told, “Be what you are looking for. If you want friends, go be a friend; if you want love, go love someone and if you want happiness, go make someone happy.” As I have reflected on this simple, but yet profound statement, I have found most of the major Black organizations are woefully hypocritical. They refuse to be what they are looking for. Groups like the NAACP, The National Urban League and the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) constantly complain about the lack of diversity in corporate America. These groups claim they are always told by corporations that they “can’t find” minorities for board or … Continue reading →

By Raynard Jackson In the immortal words of Ronald Reagan: “W-e-l-l, there you go again.” Post-election, the Republicans just can’t seem to get their act together. They can’t bring themselves to admit that President Obama beat them fair and square. Karl Rove said on national TV that Republicans lost because of “voter suppression.” That’s like saying Pee Wee Herman is bullying Shaquille O’Neal—totally implausible if not impossible. Mitt Romney told his largest financial contributors on a conference call last week: “The Obama campaign was following the old playbook of giving a lot of stuff to groups that they hoped they could get to vote for them and be motivated to … Continue reading →

By Raynard Jackson Since the moment the 2012 election was called for President Obama, media pundits and political observers have been talking about America’s shifting demographics and their impact on future national elections. With exit polls showing that Obama was reelected largely on the turnout strength from blacks and Hispanics, it has become increasingly clear that minorities are an indispensable part of the electorate. This trend is a microcosm of the issues facing our larger society as well, especially in the media. On Tuesday, I read with great interest this story on The Fix, The Washington Post’s political blog that examines “How the Republican party can rebuild — in 4 … Continue reading →

By E.J. Dionne Jnr “Lead from behind” may be a sound bite the Obama administration regrets, but debating from behind is clearly something President Obama is very good at. He got the first debate’s wakeup call while Mitt Romney let the encounter in Denver mislead him into confusing petulance with strength. For Obama’s supporters, the fact that the president played offense had a strategy and seemed happy in his work, was reason enough for elation. But the most electorally significant performance was Romney’s. Under pressure this time, the former Massachusetts governor displayed his least attractive sides. He engaged in pointless on-stage litigation of the debate rules. He repeatedly demonstrated his … Continue reading →