Jesse Jackson Needs to Shut the Front Door!

[daBaroness]

OK - from a man I've come to believe represents the best example of antiquated, backwards thinking and is doing more to "keep the black man down" than any grand dragon of the KKK - Jesse Jackson, yet another display of his hopefully terminal case of "foot-in-mouth" disease:

Jackson apologizes for comments about Obama By SOPHIA TAREEN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 31 minutes ago


CHICAGO - The Rev. Jesse Jackson apologized Wednesday for "regretfully crude" comments he made about Barack Obama's speeches in black churches during what he thought was a private conversation with a reporter.

Jackson told CNN that the comments Sunday were in response to a question from a Fox News reporter about speeches on morality by the Democratic presidential candidate.

He said Wednesday that he had said Obama's speeches "can come off as speaking down to black people" and that there were other important issues to be addressed in the black community, such as unemployment, the mortgage crisis and the number of blacks in prison.

"And then I said something I thought regretfully crude but it was very private and very much a sound bite and a live mic," Jackson told CNN. He said he was not aware the microphone was still on.

A Fox spokeswoman said Jackson commented during a conversation with a guest on "Fox & Friends" before a live interview.

Jackson told The Associated Press he doesn't remember "exactly" what he said but that he was "very sorry."

"For any harm or hurt that this hot mic private conversation may have caused, I apologize," Jackson said in a written statement. "My support for Senator Obama's campaign is wide, deep and unequivocal."

Jackson said he called Obama's campaign to apologize.

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton noted that the Illinois senator grew up without his father and has spoken and written at length about the issues of parental responsibility and fathers participating in their children's lives, and of society's obligation to provide "jobs, justice and opportunity for all.

"He will continue to speak out about our responsibilities to ourselves and each other, and he of course accepts Reverend Jackson's apology," Burton said.

The comments about Obama are not the first Jackson has had to explain after believing he was off the record.

In 1984, he called New York City "Hymietown," referring to the city's large Jewish population. He later acknowledged it was wrong to use the term, but said he did so in private to a reporter.

Jackson just stupefies me - he represents all the ignorant people out there who think that only white people can be bigots and need to filter everything they say so as not to offend anyone. WTF? And his excuse that he didn't know the mic was still on? I repeat ... WTF? Anyone with any moral character at all, and especially those who should be media savvy know that there is no such thing as "off the record." These statements - far from being an innocent slip of the tongue - are the true, uncensored thoughts and beliefs of a man who has sullied his own reputation over the years - going from an honorable minister of God and protege of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to a self-serving, megalomaniac who apparently forgets people who live in glass houses ought not throw stones.

His decades-long reputation of activism have dissolved into a pathetic display of abject idiocy, blatent racism and obvious hypocracy.

Run Jesse Run ... far, far away!

[Phoenix McHeit]

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/3667/myracialslur12850545102ow3.jpg
By phoenixmcheit (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/phoenixmcheit) at 2008-05-14

[Isabelle Warwicke]

during what he thought was a private conversation with a reporter.

His decades-long reputation of activism have dissolved into a pathetic display of abject idiocy, blatent racism and obvious hypocracy.


What a dumbass! No conversation with a reported is every going to be private, particularly with JJ, and especially duing an election year.

Yeah, daB, as always you said it so well.

[Cyranno DeBoberac]

"Now, apologize!"

http://images.southparkstudios.com/media/images/1101/1101_apology.jpg

[Phoenix McHeit]

So here's what he said. Damn, it's harsh. Who would say something like that? Seriously? Except maybe in a barroom brawl. Ugh.

http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/jackson.obama.comments.2.767252.html

[Tink]

His obvious stupidity and bigotry aside.....

When will people who are mic'd realize that until the freaking mic is OFF their person, they should NEVER say anything that they don't want anyone else to hear? It happens all too often.

Uh-duh.

[voodookatie]

He knew the mic was on. He knew he was being reported. "Private conversation" my freaking ass.

[Capt. Stamina]

In case you missed any of these: MORE FUN JESSE JACKSON QUOTES


Great things happen in small places. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Jesse Jackson was born in Greenville.

I cast my bread on the waters long ago. Now it's time for you to send it back to me - toasted and buttered on both sides.

If there are occasions when my grape turned into a raisin and my joy bell lost its resonance, please forgive me. Charge it to my head and not to my heart.

When I'm all wiped out on smack, which is acually pretty frequent, I have vivid visions of small girls having a pillowfight with pillows made out of fish scales. Then I get such a mad rush of euphoria that I cannot help but scream my father's name over and over and over...Man, I think I need to go lie down.

It is time for us to turn to each other, not on each other.

When we're unemployed, we're called lazy; when the whites are unemployed it's called a depression.

Capital punishment turns the state into a murderer. But imprisonment turns the state into a gay dungeon-master.

I like to take a plane to Viet-nam on occasion, because the girls are young and the cocaine is fresh.

We need a regime change in this country.

[SilverMirth]

evidently it was a quote like this by Obama that JJ's panties in a twist:
(I can't even go into my feelings/thoughts on JJ because I see red and my haze over. But to put it succintly - he's a numbnut who needs to tie a very heavy weight around himself and go scubadiving without airtanks)


'There's a reason why our families are in disrepair," Obama said in a Father's Day speech at Apostolic Church of God on Chicago's South Side. "And some of it has to do with a tragic history, but we can't keep on using that as an excuse. Too many fathers are AWOL, missing from too many lives and too many homes. They've abandoned their responsibilities. They're acting like boys instead of men."

The bolding is mine. I highlighted this one because I think it is true of men across racial boundaries. Obviously I haven't done a study to find out if SDS (Sperm Donor Syndrome) is more prevelant among one group or even one geographic region but it seems that there are more and more males (can't call them men) who are out there and not taking on their share of the responsibility for a childs life. I applaud programs like the Head Start Fatherhood Initiative for helping and promoting active involvement of fathers or other positive male role models (Uncles, grandfathers, cousins, etc) in the lives of the children. A good resource for men wanting to become more involved in the life of a child is fatherhood.org. Sorry I'll put away the soap box now.

[Phoenix McHeit]

What I can't see is how that quote deserved JJ's vitriol???

Unless it's a case of guilty much? Truth stings, doesn't it?

And even then... how does Obama's quote single out only black folks? Because he said it in a South Side Chicago church?

It was Father's Day... people naturally talk about rodeos and daisies and unicorns and cookbooks and reality tv and who's the next American Idol and....

oh wait. Yeah, they talk about FATHERS on Father's Day. Dumbass.

[Holly]

I applaud programs like the Head Start Fatherhood Initiative for helping and promoting active involvement of fathers or other positive male role models (Uncles, grandfathers, cousins, etc) in the lives of the children. A good resource for men wanting to become more involved in the life of a child is fatherhood.org. Sorry I'll put away the soap box now.

Hey i know all about that program! At our Head Start we call it Male involvement. We see more Grandparents, and way-older brothers....
We have an entire position dedicated to that job. Who is one of the only guys in the program!!

Glad someone is seeing what we are doing:)Thanks for the shout out!

[Bronya]

He was on Fox. That was his first mistake, IMHO. If he didn't mean it, he wouldn't have said, it whether the mic was on or not. Kinda like Imus! How come Sharpton isn't all up in Jackson's ass?

[LdyJhawk]

Jesse Jackson..he's a card. Sadly, all he ever seems to do is provide the extreme racist assholes on the "other side" more fuel about how the black community is evil. Someone needs to put him in time out to think about what he's done

[Adriana Rose]

Gods I hate that guy!


he screams bloody murder on every thing!!!!!!!!!

[LdyJhawk]

*sigh* he appears to have a new follower in the oppression olympics relay

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6953163&version=4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.2.1

" Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price is sticking to his comments that the term "black hole," which a colleague used, is racist.Price also says language such as "angel food cake" and "devil's food cake" are also racially insensitive."

[SilverMirth]

Hey i know all about that program! At our Head Start we call it Male involvement. We see more Grandparents, and way-older brothers....
We have an entire position dedicated to that job. Who is one of the only guys in the program!!

Glad someone is seeing what we are doing:)Thanks for the shout out!

I had a kind of an in on this -- I served as the President of the Policy Council for the York (ME) Head Start Program. but yeah its something that needs a larger budget and to really be put out there for all fathers/male role models to use as a resource to become involved in their child's life and to be strong, positive, and active parent no matter what the relationship status of the mom and dad

[Selena]

I see a hypocrite finally showing his true self to the world on camera.

Such a shame it has to be at the expense (to a bit of a degree) of our potential next ruler of this free world.

"mistake" or not... yeah whatever. This asshat had previously praised this man and what he stood for.

fucking hypocrite. :unamused:

just dessssssserrrrrts!

[merestelle]

It seems as though Mr. Jackson was offended because Obama was calling on people to accept personal responsiblity.
Apparently Mr. Jackson feels that it's up to society and government to fix things. People need not be responsible for their lives.

[willow of the wooded fortress]

He is such an ass and such an embaressment!!!!!!!

[Cyranno DeBoberac]

On the other hand, this is actually a fantastically good thing for Obama.

It's a Sister Souljah Moment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sister_Souljah_moment) handed to him on a silver platter.

It's so good for O that the cynic in me thinks his campaign might even be in on it.

And the fact that Fox "News" might have been duped into being an accomplice makes my nipples burst with glee. :wink:

[Selena]

makes my nipples burst with glee. :wink:

Wow. And if you come to Sterling this weekend, can I see that in
person???:wubby:

[Cyranno DeBoberac]

Wow. And if you come to Sterling this weekend, can I see that in
person???:wubby:


My hovercraft is filled with eels.

[daBaroness]

OK - a man who even embarrasses his own son - who btw is a U.S. representative from Illinois and one of Obama's main supporters. Way to go Junior!

In an aside to another guest after a Fox News Channel interview on Sunday, Jackson had said Obama had been talking down to black people and added: "I want to cut his nuts out."

He said on CNN: "I was in a conversation with a fellow guest at Fox on Sunday. He asked about Barack's speeches lately at the black churches. I said it can come off as speaking down to black people."

"And then I said something I felt regret for -- it was crude. It was very private, and very much a sound bite -- and a live mike. I find no comfort in it, I find no joy in it.

"So I immediately called the senator's campaign to send my statement of apology to repair the harm or hurt that this may have caused his campaign, because I support it unequivocally."

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said the candidate accepted Jackson's apology. "(Obama) will continue to speak out about our responsibilities to ourselves and each other, and he of course accepts Reverend Jackson's apology," Burton said.

Jackson's son, Jesse L. Jackson Jr, an Illinois congressman and active Obama supporter, condemned his father's remarks.

"Reverend Jackson is my dad and I'll always love him. He should know how hard that I've worked for the last year and a half as a national co-chair of Barack Obama's presidential campaign. So, I thoroughly reject and repudiate his ugly rhetoric," he said in a statement.

"The remarks like those uttered on Fox by Reverend Jackson do not advance the campaign's cause of building a more perfect Union.

[Selena]

Wowzie wowzie wowzie. To follow up on daB's post, here's his son's statement:
"I'm deeply outraged and disappointed in Reverend Jackson's reckless statements about Senator Barack Obama. His divisive and demeaning comments about the presumptive Democratic nominee -- and I believe the next president of the United States -- contradict his inspiring and courageous career. Instead of tearing others down, Barack Obama wants to build the country up and bring people together so that we can move forward, together -- as one nation. The remarks like those uttered on Fox by Revered Jackson do not advance the campaign's cause of building a more perfect Union."
Concludes Rep. Jackson, Jr.: "Revered Jackson is my dad and I'll always love him. He should know how hard that I've worked for the last year and a half as a national co-chair of Barack Obama's presidential campaign. So, I thoroughly reject and repudiate his ugly rhetoric. He should keep hope alive and any personal attacks and insults to himself."

[Phoenix McHeit]

I read "The Root" - a collection of bloggers from the black perspective - on a semi-weekly basis. Now this post:
http://www.theroot.com/id/47225?GT1=38002
has some good points, some poor-pity-us points, and such - but there were two quotes that jumped out at me. Bolding mine.
On one level, it is easy to dismiss the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.'s crudely worded metaphorical threat (http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=2160631) to castrate Barack Obama for supposedly talking down to black people as the raving of an increasingly irrelevant, former big shot suffused with resentment at the rising star who pushed him off stage.

We haven't really been in a place this confusing since 1954, when the NAACP's crusade against segregation culminated in the Brown vs. Board decision and the walls came tumbling down. It's fair to say that we were so focused on winning that fight that we weren't prepared for the victory or its aftermath. We've spent nearly 60 years since then trying to figure out what kind of relationship we want to have with America and with each other. For the most part, we, like Jackson Sr., have seen ourselves as outsiders battling for justice and a seat at the table. Our default has been to protest. And while that mindset has served us well, it has, in a flash, been made damn near obsolete by the prospect, even the likelihood, that one of us may soon become the most powerful man in the world. If that happens, how can we seriously argue that we're being held back by anything but the limits we place on ourselves?

I suppose it gets a wee bit scary when your standard argument and excuses are suddenly pulled out from under you, rug-style.

[Cyranno DeBoberac]

On one level, it is easy to dismiss the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.'s crudely worded metaphorical threat (http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=2160631) to castrate Barack Obama for supposedly talking down to black people as the raving of an increasingly irrelevant, former big shot suffused with resentment at the rising star who pushed him off stage.


Suddenly I have the image of Jesse in a blue spangled dress singing "I'm Telling You I'm Not Going". *rotfl*

[Perin]

How come Sharpton isn't all up in Jackson's ass?

We all know exactly why big Al's been mum on this....

Can you imagine though if Imus or O'Rielly or any other white person had said this? We would never have heard the end of how this brought up the painful memories of black men being castrated by whites. But since a black man said it, its somehow OK... Funny....

How is this any different than the golf announcer's joke about getting Tiger lynched?