Chuck Todd and other reporters who have covered this President have correctly made the point and observation that President Barack Obama has tried to never directly deal with or talk about race as President of the United States. Instead he tries to pursue policies - and he talks about his efforts as President - as things that will help all people, policies that are good for all Americans, things that will benefit everyone, including African Americans. “I was not elected President to help African Americans, but to help all Americans.”
The only exceptions may be the Philadelphia speech when he was a candidate and was forced to talk about race because of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the “beer summit” following the “dumb” arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates and following the Trayvon Martin shooting and verdict.
The Voting Rights Amendment is an issue that would allow President Obama to do both at the same time: i.e., “talk directly” about race without ever having to mention race, because it is primarily the rising minority (racial) vote that the current challenges (voter ID, etc.) are trying to suppress; but it would also allow him “not to talk about race directly” because adding a Voting Rights Amendment to the Constitution is about “democracy for all.” In addition, a Voting Rights Amendment is non-partisan, non-ideological, non-programmatic and non-special interest.
But it is like the story or lesson about the difference between “giving someone a fish” and “giving them a fishing pole and teaching them to fish.” If you give them a fish, you have fed them for a day. If you give them a fishing pole and teach them how to fish they will eat for the rest of their lives.
In our democracy adding a Voting Rights Amendment to the Constitution IS the fishing pole for every African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, Native American and White American. The Voting Rights Amendment IS the individual fishing pole for every American and the collective fishing net for all Americans.
The only exceptions may be the Philadelphia speech when he was a candidate and was forced to talk about race because of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the “beer summit” following the “dumb” arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates and following the Trayvon Martin shooting and verdict.
The Voting Rights Amendment is an issue that would allow President Obama to do both at the same time: i.e., “talk directly” about race without ever having to mention race, because it is primarily the rising minority (racial) vote that the current challenges (voter ID, etc.) are trying to suppress; but it would also allow him “not to talk about race directly” because adding a Voting Rights Amendment to the Constitution is about “democracy for all.” In addition, a Voting Rights Amendment is non-partisan, non-ideological, non-programmatic and non-special interest.
But it is like the story or lesson about the difference between “giving someone a fish” and “giving them a fishing pole and teaching them to fish.” If you give them a fish, you have fed them for a day. If you give them a fishing pole and teach them how to fish they will eat for the rest of their lives.
In our democracy adding a Voting Rights Amendment to the Constitution IS the fishing pole for every African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, Native American and White American. The Voting Rights Amendment IS the individual fishing pole for every American and the collective fishing net for all Americans.
