Tavis Smiley Holding the President Accountable, but is Smiley Also Accountable?
Tavis Smiley appeared on Morning Joe today and he was asked whether the president had fulfilled the promises of the election. Smiley took this as an opportunity to reference his book Accountable. In the book Smiley outlines the president’s campaign promises and he says that he has fulfilled some and not all. Considering the fact that this is less than one year since he took office it is no wonder he has not done it all. During the campaign Smiley incurred the wrath of the black community because he was not just attempting to hold candidate Obama accountable, but his assessments bordered on Obama bashing. Today he referenced how some folks were starting to see the president was not “Jesus Christ.” People did not think he was the Messiah, but they did see him as a change agent and that was what this country needed. Smiley is committed to holding the president accountable and while that is a noble endeavor one has to wonder does Smiley use this same righteous yardstick when he assesses his own actions. Let us not forget Smiley’s involvement with Wells Fargo and their “ghetto loans”. Well Fargo travelled the country with Smiley on board supposedly teaching trusting, unsuspecting black people about “wealth building” strategies. Smiley’s reputation as a righteous churchgoer gave Wells Fargo instant credibility with a lot of people that ended up receiving these toxic loans. Did Smiley make these people sign the papers? No, but they trusted him and somehow he is accountable. He judges our president very harshly he might want to step back and consider the scripture “judge ye not that you be not judged.”
This entry was posted on November 2, 2009 at 2:14 pm and is filed under Ebony Mom Politics. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: Barack Obama, black america, black men, Black People, Black women, CNN, Current Events, Democratic Party, Democrats, entertainment, media, Michael Baisden, Morning Joe, MSNBC, nbc, President Barack Obama, Tavis Smiley, Tom Joyner, Tom Joyner Morning Show
Both comments and pings are currently closed.3 Comments on “Tavis Smiley Holding the President Accountable, but is Smiley Also Accountable?”
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November 5, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Sorry, I have to disagree. People DO tend to think Obama is the second coming. Remember the woman who went into hysterics about how they needed help “right now” because she was losing her house, etc. I’m surprised she didn’t try to touch the hem of his garment. Then there was the kid who gushed, “OH THANK YOU MISTER PRESIDENT FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY DAY!!!!” He parlayed that into various appearances on the news circuit.
Obama is a man, and our president. Presidents get held accountable for what they do and do not do, how quickly they do it, and how well or poorly they do it. The black community seems to think he should get a pass because he’s “one of ours”. That would be the worst thing that could happen. Obama needs to be held to the same standard as any other president, lest he fall victim to the “Soft bigotry of lower expectations”. Years from now, I don’t want my grandkids to have to hear how Obama had it easy because of his skin color.
November 6, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Saying people believing he is the “Second Coming” is a bit over the top.
Believing he is God is so differnt than having faith that he can make the changes needed to move us forward. Recalling the times of the Blank Check for the IRAQ war during the Bush Years and how poor our international relations were during the Bush years things have improved. America has a long way to go to restore us to our Greatness however I think Mr. Obama and the American people can get us back on top. We have to go back to our old ways of thinking ie manufacturing things instead of the instant gratification of having items shipped to us from over seas. We have to sart investing in the USA. We have to move away from the MADOFF (phony get rich quick schemes) and go back to hardwork in the trenches.
We have to become a more ORGANIC society.
Tavis Smiley is wells fargoed. Enough said about him
November 7, 2009 at 12:24 am
I can certainly understand Mr. Smiley’s stance in feeling that the president has not done much to assist The People of the united states. However, I believe that people need to stop listening to the likes of Mr. Smiley as it equates to get-rich-quick schemes. Furthermore, comments such as Mr. Smiley’s is an indication that too many people are following the same mindset as proven in Tuesday’s election where only 10% of Blacks felt a need to vote.
As far as Mr. Smiley’s involvement with Wells Fargo, he has apologized and no longer associates with them. Basically, he needs to shut his mouth.
Obama is not the Messiah; he’s a human being and with that, comes a few promises that he did not and/or could not keep:
1) closing Guantanomo within the first year;
2) pass healthcare before the 2009 August recess;
3) cracked down on Israeli settlements to restart Mid-east peace process.
Will Obama help The People? I don’t know, but I can only hope so. I’m waiting…but I will not promise to keep quiet about my discontent.
I keep telling myself, ‘patience!’ We didn’t get into debt overnight nor will we get out of it in months or a few years. Now one promise he DID make was that it would take time and that time could be years.
PATIENCE!