Jackson's Obama Comment Ignites Debate Over Black-Male Accountability

its very essential to ahve a father at the beggining and the end of time, most kids like me from the black community are very disadvantaged to grow up with no one u can look up too. fatherly love is very crucial ion ones life however adressing 9it as only the blaack fathers not taking responsibilities is wrong look at it this way. in a school mixed of blach and white kids take tyhe percenatge of black or white kids coming from a home with both parents well statistics in my school shows that many black kids have got both mom and dad compared to the white ones so the responsibilities so its for everyone not just black people

Thank Heavens for this website,clearly there are African Americans somewhere other than at my house who don't exuse boorish and bad comments by other blacks or bad behavior in general.I only read one comment that I would say practices that excuse the black ,find a reason why he/she said it.I do not care what you think about Jesse's(i shall no longer address him as reverend)main thought who is to blame for the state of runaway sperm donors in the community(I'm an African American father of five).The comment "... I'm going to cut his "..uts" off is reprehensible no matter who says it or where.It deserves to be condemned. When a "minister of God",uses such language and that same minister has spent his lifetime in politics,and has himself fathered a child out-of -wedlock,at a time when he was married(an adulterer)he in my view has forefeited the right to the title of "minister".In the past I had nothing but admiration for Jackson.

Now on to the substance to try to absolve AA's from responsibility and blame it on the government,which has not provided education,or jobs,Insults the majority no matter how small of AA men who work and take care of the offspring and try to be a part of their lives. It also ignores the Shawn Kemp's and others who are million dollar athelete's and who father mutiple children by multiple women,who they don't take care of.Some do finacially and others don't but the overwhelming majority are not part of their offsprings lives even if they do finaciaaly take care of them.Just today their was a report of a young man 29 formerly with the Denver Broncos;he violated the drug policy previously,but Denver backed him he played last season but was released after the season ended because of "attitude problems", being caught with MJ. This will most likely be a violation of the NFL drug policy and lead to a 1 year suspension from football.Can he comeback (skill level)after 1 year not playing at the age of 30 going on 31? What makes this story tie-in here he has NINE children by 9 different mothers.A few years ago a football team he played on gave him a salary advance to pay back child support most likely to keep him out of jail.There will be all kinds of excuses I am sure for his behavior but the bottom line is if you have any concern for the issue you bring into the world you are aware of the drug policy you try to follow it so that you can earn those hughe dollars and take care of your family. Or as Allan Iverson said in response to a question, "...I have to be careful what I say and do because I have a daughter who is old (mature)enough to understand what she hears on television so I cannot say stupid things.."(as close as I can get to the actual statement.There is a man who knows and accepts what it takes to be a father.

I, as an educated Black woman who was once a single mother, am personally sick and tired of the drama surrounding what our Black leaders have to say about the failing ways of our people. When Bill Cosby said be accountable, there was an uproar because he said it in front of "company". When Barack Obama said be accountable, in front of "family", there is still an uproar and sadly coming from one of our own leaders. We're damned if we do and damned if we don't. I want someone to tell me how to get the "be accountable" message to those who need it without worrying about hurting feelings or stepping on toes.

Neither Bill nor Barack said what they said as a way of demeaning or denigrating those on the lower end of the class system or otherwise. What they said was meant to be a wake up call, to point out that pink elephant in the room that most people choose to ignore. Apparently some of our people, those that these messages apply to, need to be slapped in the face with it because obviously subtleness does not work.

Further, for Jesse Jackson to make such comments is yet another demonstration of the hater-ism within the Black community. I often say that if Black people would stop being in competition with one another and work together sometimes we wouldn't be in the situation we're in now. We're too busy trying to stay on top of the heap while making sure the next brother doesn't pass us by we can't see the damage being done in the meantime. It seems that Jesse is playing the role of the brother that can't stand to see another brother pass him by. Such a sad, sad day amidst one of the most uplifting, enlightening, and historical times in the history of this country.

I'm an Obama supporter, but I agree with Rev. Jackson that Obama talks down to black people. He has referred to young black men who don't vote as "Cousin Pookies." Is that any way to try to encourage them to be involved in the election process? His Father's Day speech focused on the black men who aren't doing right and did not uplift the vast majority of the ones who are. Black people don't have a monoply on dysfunctional families, but his speech would give the impression they do. I hope Obama is sincere in wanting to see black families strenghtened. His scolding of black people comes across as a campaign ploy to win over white voters in the same way that Ronald Reagan talked about "Welfare Queens."

It was fitting that Obama made his remarks about fatherhood on father's day. In my opinion he did not put an entire race of people down as indicated by ND Thomas and his data is correct about too many fathers missing. Missing fathers puts our youth at great risk for other problems. This is a wake up call from a role model who speaks truth from the heart showing us that we can do anything we want when we have that drive.

This is two sides of the same coin. There is no question that the size scope and focus of government programs require scrutiny, but they do not exist in a vacuum.

Barack Obama is right in bringing the focus to personal accountablility along with government support. More importanly, the message of personal responsibility will hopefully resonate with those who for too long have simply written off those who require assistance.

The message of personal responsibility is not in conflict with the obligation of government to servie its constituents and frankly should provide assistance in electing Senator Obama President in the most critical election in my lifetime.

I understand both the positions of Jackson and Obama, even if I believe part of Jackson's ire is due to the fact that Obama represents a new way of fighting for civil rights that leaves Jesse on the outside looking in. On the surface, I believe Jesse fears that Obama may jump on the black community and unfairly demand that it 'pull itself up by its bootstraps' and 'stop complaining' - similar to the message some ignorant people have been sending us for years. But underneath, I believe Jesse simply realizes that his time is up. Had he listened to the entire Father's Day speech, or any other Obama speech, he would know that Obama always acknowledges how the government and American society in general has failed African Americans as a people. But that doesn't mean that we as a people shouldn't strive for the best anyway. The reason I like Barack Obama is that he acknowledges the hardships and challenges faced by black America in the past AND now. He doesn't let the government off the hook, but he doesn't let US off the hook either. We as a people cannot afford to live below our fullest potential. We have to stop accepting mediocrity and sub-mediocrity as 'acceptable'. We have to reject the 'keeping it real' mentality that is destroying our communities. We have to stop thinking that education is for 'the whites' and recognize that education is the only way out. We have to stop pushing sports and hip-hop on our youth via our negligence - negligence that will keep basketball courts open at the community center 24 hours, but keep the computer lab open 1 hour. It's not fair that we as a people have to work harder to achieve the same success, but whining about it won't change a thing. We used to educate ourselves at our own HBCUs with the attitude that we could do it best. We didn't rely on 'the man' to do it for us and somewhere along the way that changed. I think in the end, it will take us doing our best and beyond our best AND some assistance from society in general to make it. I believe Obama can help with the latter, but only we can accomplish the former.

I am concerned; However, I find that when things go wrong, it's easier to point the finger at society-at-large opposed to pointing the finger back at you. There was absolutely nothing wrong with what Bill Cosby & Barack Obama said. I am an African American single mother, who has a GREAT partnership with my child's father and shamefully, we are an anamoly. Although things did not work out between us, the one thing we did agree on was that we had a responsibility to the child we BOTH played a part in creating. During the school year, our daughter resides with me, while her father has full access to visit and take her to his home on weekends and holidays (he lives in a different state). During the summer, she resides with him. As she became involved with sports, this man who lives in a completely different state, would revise his work schedule so that he could make at least 1/2 of her games. I have friends with 'baby daddy's'in the same borough that don't make 1/2 the effort. When it comes to money, I have never ever dragged him through the court system. Not because I am well-off financially but because a man you have to FORCE to take care of his child IS NOT A MAN but a sperm donor. Her father gives me a set amount on his own AND sends our daughter a seperate allowance. Why does he do this? Well, it's definitely not based on SOCIETY; It's because he holds himself personally accountable for the way our daughter turns out and he respects the way that I am handling my part in raising her. As a result, we have a well balanced child, who doesn't go through life wondering if she did something wrong for her father to reject her. She is confident, out-going,spiritual,stands up for herself, a stellar and mature student, and an all-around great kid who makes being her mother a joy. God-willing, she will never seek her security from a man and she will be the 1st generation of my mother's line to be a MARRIED woman prior to becoming a mom. This does not mean that single mothers with absent fathers cannot have the same turn out but why should they have to endure the hardship of navigating their childs life alone? I am pretty sure that their children were not the result of Immaculate Conception.

As far as Jesse Jackson's remarks, I was appauled but felt more embarrassed for him than anything. Here we have an African American spiritual leader talking about cutting off another black man's nuts because he has the 'balls'to say 'Work on yourself first.' So what he didn't know the mic was on; that only makes his remarks more offensive. On a spiritual level, thinking ill-will of another is just as bad as saying it. Let's remember GOD KNOWS OUR HEARTS.

Finally, to Obama's credit, he forgave which requires more strength than slinging an insult. THAT IS TRUE LEADERSHIP. Obama is wise enough to know that at the end of the day, he doesn't answer to snide remarks, jealous people, ignorance, and every other form of pettiness that has tried to bring him down. He is a man with a higher purpose aimed towards bringing people together. He also knows that all he has to do is focus without allowing the ill-intent of others to cut in on his race. I contend that his character is the 2nd reason we will all see him sworn in come November.

Shortly after I arrived "up south" in Baltimore from Jackson, MS in 1973 I made my way to the Howard Theater to see poet/musician Gill Scott Heron perform. The evening was a sellout. After all he was in Maryland, and who could forget … "if Agnew, Nixon knew." This was after then Vice-president Spiro Agnew had resigned having been indicted for taking envelopes of money from all the folks who seemed to have been eager to give them to him in hopes of gaining "access." He got caught, resigned and was smart enough to resurface later reinvented as a lobbyist for foreign corporations.

It was quite intriguing to me because on several occasions he had received what was referred to in the press as "envelopes of money" at the Executive Office building in DC which was for a time across the street from my office in the Riggs Bank building on the corner of 17th and H Street N.W.

At the time I was working in the offices of the C & P Telephone Company as a media specialist whose assignment among other things was to monitor AT & T's competition because "Ma Bell" was under attack, and the public was beginning to show interest in the argument from "the other side" that "Ma Bell" was getting too big for her "snuggies". The claim was that she represented a "monopoly" that threatened the quality of phone service for the future, and denied others capable of providing equal quality phone service a level playing field to compete. Well needless to say, the competition won. Whether the public won, is still being debated especially when one considers the loss of "quality control" and service that accompanied the break up.

But that was then and this is now. That was the age of "the big break ups" and this is the age of "the big mergers". Times change, and what seemed like a great idea at one time may not prove to be historically expedient at another point further down the road. Historians sometimes refer to this as a "paradigm shift."

Rev. Jesse Jackson's recent "off the record, on the microphone" comments about what he perceived to be Barack Obama "talking down to Black folks" while speaking to a Black church audience reflects another such "paradigm shift". Despite Jackson's former luster as a civil rights leader/minister/political candidate, his message today is a sermon in search of an audience and an "Amen." In fact his "just between me and you framing" as he whispered to the other guest next to him (and unknowingly in to the FOX news microphone no doubt) who happened to also be African American kind of reminded me of a lovers quarrel in which the words don't to have to be true, just hurtful. In other words, "here is how I would like you to feel about him or her because it is the way I feel about him, or her, can I get an Amen on that?"

In fact, you can't get an Amen on that Reverend, but here is a trophy for some of the worse timing for loose lips ever merited. This one even tops the trophy you received in 1984 when Washington Post reporter Milton Coleman (another African-American male member of the print media) passed on the "Amen" opportunity, and instead decided to expose your reference during another "off the record conversation" to Jews as "Hymies", and New York as "Hymietown". At the time Jackson was running for the Democratic nomination something that because of the bar Obama has now set, and the level Jackson has fallen from grace seems forever beyond Jackson's reach. Even Jackson's son Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. referred to his dad's comments as "ugly rhetoric". Add to this poor timing, Jackson's comments coming on the heels of such a warm and fuzzy "one and only" interview on NBC with the Obama family, loving daughters included.

As a result, the fact that the revolution "is" being televised can easily slip beneath our radar primarily because it's not being televised by us. Its being televised by CNN, FOX, MSNBC, and a hand full of "limping" networks unable to truly quantify their audiences due to the proliferations of multiple media platforms, computers, and social networks. All the while the rest of the African American audience is being grand fathered into a so called "urban" market share, easily reached by programming to "class" rather than heritage, or color.

The real "Revolution" is the two beautiful young Black girls sitting with their mother and father who is weeks away from clinching the Democratic nomination, and months away from playing on the White House lawn reminding other African-American children that they can do it too.

I think Barack Obama is an eloquent speaker, and as a black woman I was not angry over his remarks to the black community but it should be known that there are many, many black families and individuals in this country who are no different than Obama himself. I do not want him or anyone else for that matter to get caught up in thinking black people as a whole are losers. I believe in accounntability as well. I always say "you reap what you sow" in life. And I believe that 100%. I teach it to my 13 year old nephew and I set out to be an example to young blacks rather than point fingers and criticize.

Obama can preach accountability without criticizing an entire race of people. There are problems with blacks and whites alike in this country with murder, underage pregnancy, disfunctional families, etc. All and all I will say that Michelle Obama and Barrack are PERFECT role models for young blacks and perfect examples to whites et al that there are many honest, successful, stand up blacks in this country. I do support Obama.

To excuse Rev. Jackson for very devisive comments as due to a "frustration" with government policies that do not support black progression is intellectually myopic.

And there lies the victimization mentality Barack is trying to unchain us from. Wake up people, wake up.

This was an unfortunate mistake made by the Reverend Jackson. I feel that his son's retort was well said. Now that the apology was made and accepted, we need to let it go. We are all human and make mistakes that we, hopefully, learn from. The bottom line is that Barack is right about one thing...we all need to take more personal responsibility for our actions. That pertains to all of us...white, black, asian, indian, hispanic, male and female.

I am in total agreement with Barack Obama's message to the black males who father children and then neglect to take care of them. However, don't leave out the girls and the women; they too are at fault. As out of wedlock births increase, so too the rise in welfare checks coming into the household....and the increase in child neglect and abuse. Years ago Black people did not abuse/kill their children; this is the sad outcome taking place today.

I am appalled at the fact that a man of God would say such, especially having been in the struggle as long as Rev. Jackson has been and to see how far we have come, oops, how far Senator Obama has come in this presidential race for the white house. It seems very appropriate to say that Rev. Jackson spoke what was really in his heart which gives the appearance to not have had anything to do with the response to Sen. Obama's speech, but to his position as the front runner, a post by the way that has never been occupied by Rev. Jackson. I am a baby boomer but I realize that there are some things that were relevant to my years that may not be to this time, so there is a reason for me to evaluate how my experience can be integrated into the present order of the day. I can have an opinion but not to anyone's demise. My thoughts can be shared for the greater good and hopefully incorporated into the overall scheme of things. My opinion may not be the best opinion,but it may have creedence and hopefully will be taken into account. Rev. Jackson discredited all of the years that he put into practice and reneged on what he presented to the world that his/ the struggle was all about. I am sure Dr. King would have been more tactful in his approach to a speech made by Senator Obama. I would suggest to Rev. Jackson that he reflect on his comments and be careful not to deface or defame this movement for Senator Obama and for the world. The need to challenge black men is relevant, necessary, and primary to the fertility of Black families and to negate the significance that the Senator's comments had, equating it to talking down to black people, conveys a lack of understanding by Rev. Jackson of the crisis in our families. I can forgive him for this blatant act, but I would challenge him to search his heart for the real issue that he has with Senator Obama. This man has accomplished a milestone in the history of America and certainly in the pages of our Black History. So Rev. Jackson, let's celebrate Senator Obama. It is far more rewarding to be Celebrated than to be Tolerated. Be blessed in the Lord today and always!

It is time for Jesse to step back & support quietly not from the front line. It has always been the time to take care of your own children, no excuse no reason not to. If we are poor we will be poor together, if we are hungry we will do what we need to do for the children to eat and we will go hungry. We must take care of our own progeny the govenrment cannot do this. However the govenment must make an efor t to create an atmosphere conducive to creating sucess for black men in this country. The problems that exist are the legacy of racism, hatred and indifference which still exist today. The best thing any parent can do no matter what there station in society is to insure their children recieve an education.

I'm saying this as a white voter who supports Obama and also voted for Jackson when he ran for president:

There are too many fathers of all races who are missing.

I think the context in which Obama made his comment should be considered. He was speaking in a black church, presumably to predominately black people. He hasn't made this a main platform of his campaign, which does in fact address some of the issues Jackson brought up. To pick just one, consider all the fathers (and mothers, too) who are missing because of the war in Iraq.

There are much deeper issues at work in our society, which does not seem to do a good job of nurturing boys into responsible men. Compared to women, there are more men in prison and more men who are alcoholics or drug addicted. More boys drop out of school. We need to take a long and deep look to find out what is going on here.

This is two sides of the same coin. There is no question that the size scope and focus of government programs require scrutiny, but they do not exist in a vacuum.

Barack Obama is right in bringing the focus to personal accountablility along with government support. More importanly, the message of personal responsibility will hopefully resonate with those who for too long have simply written off those who require assistance.

The message of personal responsibility is not in conflict with the obligation of government to servie its constituents and frankly should provide assistance in electing Senator Obama President in the most critical election in my lifetime.

I understand both the positions of Jackson and Obama, even if I believe part of Jackson's ire is due to the fact that Obama represents a new way of fighting for civil rights that leaves Jesse on the outside looking in. On the surface, I believe Jesse fears that Obama may jump on the black community and unfairly demand that it 'pull itself up by its bootstraps' and 'stop complaining' - similar to the message some ignorant people have been sending us for years. But underneath, I believe Jesse simply realizes that his time is up. Had he listened to the entire Father's Day speech, or any other Obama speech, he would know that Obama always acknowledges how the government and American society in general has failed African Americans as a people. But that doesn't mean that we as a people shouldn't strive for the best anyway. The reason I like Barack Obama is that he acknowledges the hardships and challenges faced by black America in the past AND now. He doesn't let the government off the hook, but he doesn't let US off the hook either. We as a people cannot afford to live below our fullest potential. We have to stop accepting mediocrity and sub-mediocrity as 'acceptable'. We have to reject the 'keeping it real' mentality that is destroying our communities. We have to stop thinking that education is for 'the whites' and recognize that education is the only way out. We have to stop pushing sports and hip-hop on our youth via our negligence - negligence that will keep basketball courts open at the community center 24 hours, but keep the computer lab open 1 hour. It's not fair that we as a people have to work harder to achieve the same success, but whining about it won't change a thing. We used to educate ourselves at our own HBCUs with the attitude that we could do it best. We didn't rely on 'the man' to do it for us and somewhere along the way that changed. I think in the end, it will take us doing our best and beyond our best AND some assistance from society in general to make it. I believe Obama can help with the latter, but only we can accomplish the former.

Self accountability & social accountability play a 50/50 role as far as I am concerned; However, I find that when things go wrong, it's easier to point the finger at society-at-large opposed to pointing the finger back at you. There was absolutely nothing wrong with what Bill Cosby & Barack Obama said. I am an African American single mother, who has a GREAT partnership with my child's father and shamefully, we are an anamoly. Although things did not work out between us, the one thing we did agree on was that we had a responsibility to the child we BOTH played a part in creating. During the school year, our daughter resides with me, while her father has full access to visit and take her to his home on weekends and holidays (he lives in a different state). During the summer, she resides with him. As she became involved with sports, this man who lives in a completely different state, would revise his work schedule so that he could make at least 1/2 of her games. I have friends with 'baby daddy's'in the same borough that don't make 1/2 the effort. When it comes to money, I have never ever dragged him through the court system. Not because I am well-off financially but because a man you have to FORCE to take care of his child IS NOT A MAN but a sperm donor. Her father gives me a set amount on his own AND sends our daughter a seperate allowance. Why does he do this? Well, it's definitely not based on SOCIETY; It's because he holds himself personally accountable for the way our daughter turns out and he respects the way that I am handling my part in raising her. As a result, we have a well balanced child, who doesn't go through life wondering if she did something wrong for her father to reject her. She is confident, out-going,spiritual,stands up for herself, a stellar and mature student, and an all-around great kid who makes being her mother a joy. God-willing, she will never seek her security from a man and she will be the 1st generation of my mother's line to be a MARRIED woman prior to becoming a mom. This does not mean that single mothers with absent fathers cannot have the same turn out but why should they have to endure the hardship of navigating their childs life alone? I am pretty sure that their children were not the result of Immaculate Conception.

As far as Jesse Jackson's remarks, I was appauled but felt more embarrassed for him than anything. Here we have an African American spiritual leader talking about cutting off another black man's nuts because he has the 'balls'to say 'Work on yourself first.' So what he didn't know the mic was on; that only makes his remarks more offensive. On a spiritual level, thinking ill-will of another is just as bad as saying it. Let's remember GOD KNOWS OUR HEARTS.

Finally, to Obama's credit, he forgave which requires more strength than slinging an insult. THAT IS TRUE LEADERSHIP. Obama is wise enough to know that at the end of the day, he doesn't answer to snide remarks, jealous people, ignorance, and every other form of pettiness that has tried to bring him down. He is a man with a higher purpose aimed towards bringing people together. He also knows that all he has to do is focus without allowing the ill-intent of others to cut in on his race. I contend that his character is the 2nd reason we will all see him sworn in come November.

Shortly after I arrived "up south" in Baltimore from Jackson, MS in 1973 I made my way to the Howard Theater to see poet/musician Gill Scott Heron perform. The evening was a sellout. After all he was in Maryland, and who could forget … "if Agnew, Nixon knew." This was after then Vice-president Spiro Agnew had resigned having been indicted for taking envelopes of money from all the folks who seemed to have been eager to give them to him in hopes of gaining "access." He got caught, resigned and was smart enough to resurface later reinvented as a lobbyist for foreign corporations.

It was quite intriguing to me because on several occasions he had received what was referred to in the press as "envelopes of money" at the Executive Office building in DC which was for a time across the street from my office in the Riggs Bank building on the corner of 17th and H Street N.W.

At the time I was working in the offices of the C & P Telephone Company as a media specialist whose assignment among other things was to monitor AT & T's competition because "Ma Bell" was under attack, and the public was beginning to show interest in the argument from "the other side" that "Ma Bell" was getting too big for her "snuggies". The claim was that she represented a "monopoly" that threatened the quality of phone service for the future, and denied others capable of providing equal quality phone service a level playing field to compete. Well needless to say, the competition won. Whether the public won, is still being debated especially when one considers the loss of "quality control" and service that accompanied the break up.

But that was then and this is now. That was the age of "the big break ups" and this is the age of "the big mergers". Times change, and what seemed like a great idea at one time may not prove to be historically expedient at another point further down the road. Historians sometimes refer to this as a "paradigm shift."

Rev. Jesse Jackson's recent "off the record, on the microphone" comments about what he perceived to be Barack Obama "talking down to Black folks" while speaking to a Black church audience reflects another such "paradigm shift". Despite Jackson's former luster as a civil rights leader/minister/political candidate, his message today is a sermon in search of an audience and an "Amen." In fact his "just between me and you framing" as he whispered to the other guest next to him (and unknowingly in to the FOX news microphone no doubt) who happened to also be African American kind of reminded me of a lovers quarrel in which the words don't to have to be true, just hurtful. In other words, "here is how I would like you to feel about him or her because it is the way I feel about him, or her, can I get an Amen on that?"

In fact, you can't get an Amen on that Reverend, but here is a trophy for some of the worse timing for loose lips ever merited. This one even tops the trophy you received in 1984 when Washington Post reporter Milton Coleman (another African-American male member of the print media) passed on the "Amen" opportunity, and instead decided to expose your reference during another "off the record conversation" to Jews as "Hymies", and New York as "Hymietown". At the time Jackson was running for the Democratic nomination something that because of the bar Obama has now set, and the level Jackson has fallen from grace seems forever beyond Jackson's reach. Even Jackson's son Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. referred to his dad's comments as "ugly rhetoric". Add to this poor timing, Jackson's comments coming on the heels of such a warm and fuzzy "one and only" interview on NBC with the Obama family, loving daughters included.

As a result, the fact that the revolution "is" being televised can easily slip beneath our radar primarily because it's not being televised by us. Its being televised by CNN, FOX, MSNBC, and a hand full of "limping" networks unable to truly quantify their audiences due to the proliferations of multiple media platforms, computers, and social networks. All the while the rest of the African American audience is being grand fathered into a so called "urban" market share, easily reached by programming to "class" rather than heritage, or color.

The real "Revolution" is the two beautiful young Black girls sitting with their mother and father who is weeks away from clinching the Democratic nomination, and months away from playing on the White House lawn reminding other African-American children that they can do it too.

Cuban-Americans associated with the Republican party need to get over their anti-Castro phobia as does this U.S. government. The Bush administration's support of this silly near 50-year embargo against Cuba is stupid and has gained nothing. The embargo has only hurt the Cuban people. Castro is still living well while the helpless and poor Cuban people continue to suffer. It's the same with all such sanctions against regimes our wacky and out of touch government doesn't like. The Bush Boys Gone Wild are the real regime.

Let's grow up. Start to help Cuba. Castro is of a bygone era and Cuba will change. The next U.S. president will have no choice but to deal differently with Cuba. Cuban-American's hatred of Castro does nothing to help their own families left there. An absolutely stupid position to maintain.

Vote Democratic. Give up on the Republican party. It has failed you and your loved ones as well as this nation and the world. I've been to Cuba and the lovely people there deserve so much more from all Americans than they get.

Castro is not the problem. Crazy George W. Bush and the Republican party is.

I think Barack Obama is an eloquent speaker, and as a black woman I was not angry over his remarks to the black community but it should be known that there are many, many black families and individuals in this country who are no different than Obama himself. I do not want him or anyone else for that matter to get caught up in thinking black people as a whole are losers. I believe in accounntability as well. I always say "you reap what you sow" in life. And I believe that 100%. I teach it to my 13 year old nephew and I set out to be an example to young blacks rather than point fingers and criticize.

Obama can preach accountability without criticizing an entire race of people. There are problems with blacks and whites alike in this country with murder, underage pregnancy, disfunctional families, etc. All and all I will say that Michelle Obama and Barrack are PERFECT role models for young blacks and perfect examples to whites et al that there are many honest, successful, stand up blacks in this country. I do support Obama.

To excuse Rev. Jackson for very devisive comments as due to a "frustration" with government policies that do not support black progression is intellectually myopic.

And there lies the victimization mentality Barack is trying to unchain us from. Wake up people, wake up.

This was an unfortunate mistake made by the Reverend Jackson. I feel that his son's retort was well said. Now that the apology was made and accepted, we need to let it go. We are all human and make mistakes that we, hopefully, learn from. The bottom line is that Barack is right about one thing...we all need to take more personal responsibility for our actions. That pertains to all of us...white, black, asian, indian, hispanic, male and female.

I am in total agreement with Barack Obama's message to the black males who father children and then neglect to take care of them. However, don't leave out the girls and the women; they too are at fault. As out of wedlock births increase, so too the rise in welfare checks coming into the household....and the increase in child neglect and abuse. Years ago Black people did not abuse/kill their children; this is the sad outcome taking place today.

I am appalled at the fact that a man of God would say such, especially having been in the struggle as long as Rev. Jackson has been and to see how far we have come, oops, how far Senator Obama has come in this presidential race for the white house. It seems very appropriate to say that Rev. Jackson spoke what was really in his heart which gives the appearance to not have had anything to do with the response to Sen. Obama's speech, but to his position as the front runner, a post by the way that has never been occupied by Rev. Jackson. I am a baby boomer but I realize that there are some things that were relevant to my years that may not be to this time, so there is a reason for me to evaluate how my experience can be integrated into the present order of the day. I can have an opinion but not to anyone's demise. My thoughts can be shared for the greater good and hopefully incorporated into the overall scheme of things. My opinion may not be the best opinion,but it may have creedence and hopefully will be taken into account. Rev. Jackson discredited all of the years that he put into practice and reneged on what he presented to the world that his/ the struggle was all about. I am sure Dr. King would have been more tactful in his approach to a speech made by Senator Obama. I would suggest to Rev. Jackson that he reflect on his comments and be careful not to deface or defame this movement for Senator Obama and for the world. The need to challenge black men is relevant, necessary, and primary to the fertility of Black families and to negate the significance that the Senator's comments had, equating it to talking down to black people, conveys a lack of understanding by Rev. Jackson of the crisis in our families. I can forgive him for this blatant act, but I would challenge him to search his heart for the real issue that he has with Senator Obama. This man has accomplished a milestone in the history of America and certainly in the pages of our Black History. So Rev. Jackson, let's celebrate Senator Obama. It is far more rewarding to be Celebrated than to be Tolerated. Be blessed in the Lord today and always!

It is time for Jesse to step back & support quietly not from the front line. It has always been the time to take care of your own children, no excuse no reason not to. If we are poor we will be poor together, if we are hungry we will do what we need to do for the children to eat and we will go hungry. We must take care of our own progeny the govenrment cannot do this. However the govenment must make an efor t to create an atmosphere conducive to creating sucess for black men in this country. The problems that exist are the legacy of racism, hatred and indifference which still exist today. The best thing any parent can do no matter what there station in society is to insure their children recieve an education.

I'm saying this as a white voter who supports Obama and also voted for Jackson when he ran for president:

There are too many fathers of all races who are missing.

I think the context in which Obama made his comment should be considered. He was speaking in a black church, presumably to predominately black people. He hasn't made this a main platform of his campaign, which does in fact address some of the issues Jackson brought up. To pick just one, consider all the fathers (and mothers, too) who are missing because of the war in Iraq.

There are much deeper issues at work in our society, which does not seem to do a good job of nurturing boys into responsible men. Compared to women, there are more men in prison and more men who are alcoholics or drug addicted. More boys drop out of school. We need to take a long and deep look to find out what is going on here.

It is very difficult to talk about the problems of the Black Community. The problems overlap the society as a whole so very much. Blacks have suffered so much for entirely too long. The White community is never going to help the Black community fix their family problems so I think that the Black community will have to hold themselves accountable and at the same time fight the White society for the very much needed improvements in the school systems, school testing, police issues, under-employment--on and on and on --- The Black community must hold itself accountable. Drive by shootings has to be unacceptable. The whole community has to deplore such events. Selling drugs as a way to a better life has to be unacceptable. The whole community has to deplore drug sells and must work to remove it from their neighborhoods. Not learning in school because of all of the reasons young people come up with has to be unacceptable. Parents have to go to the schools where the kids attend. Parents have to be at home when it is homework time. Parents have to pick their kids up on time. Parents have to have rules set down for their children. Parents must make it known to their children that jail and prison is not the norm and that it is not heroic. Parents must provide standards and goals for their children and fight for opportunity for their children at the schools that they attend and search for opportunities for their children life beyond high school. Parenting is very hard work. The government will not parent children and no one wants the government to parent their children. Government concerns and issues are one thing and family concerns and issues are entirely another. Maybe it is time for churches to step up to the plate--- encourage parents and provide guidance and instruction. Maybe they do already but more and more must be done. In some communities there is too much hopelessness. Someone, some group, has to provide a path of hope even if it looks bleak. If young people believe that they are going to die before they reach the age of 25 then why not live it up, why work hard to find another life. We hear hopelessness discussed too often. Too many are looking at the glass half empty instead of half full. Jesse Jackson speaks to one part of the struggle to betterment. There is two parts and neither can be ignored. Families must be encouraged to hold together and to fight for the integrity of the family. Family is the foundation of a community. Strong families build strong communities. Strong families raise kids that are strong.