And What Are You Doing For The Black Community Rev. Jackson?

It should come as no surprise that Jesse Jackson is not best friends with Barack Obama. Jackson eludes some of the very stereotypes that Obama has broken down or is attempting to, not to mention Jackson accusing Obama very publicly last September of "acting like he's white."

Sunday, as a guest on "Fox and Friends", Jackson made some rather crude, to say the least, comments about Barack Obama to another guest during a commercial break when he assumed the mic was turned off. Unknown to Jackson however, not only was the mic still live, the camera was on as well. The guest apparently asked Jackson what he thought of the recent speeches Obama has made to predominately black churches on morality, to which Jackson began by saying he believed that Obama was talking down to blacks and was not speaking about issues that are important to black communities. Then he made the unbelievable remark, "I wanna cut his male genitals (remember, I try to stay G rated) off." Of course he did not say male genitals, but if you have not seen this clip on TV just use your imagination.

Kind of harsh words coming from Jackson, especially since he was referring to speeches where Obama talked about issues such as absent fathers, opportunity, and responsibility. According to Jackson, Obama's speeches sound as if he is talking down to black people. He believes that Obama should talk to black people about "unemployment, the mortgage crisis, and the number of blacks in prison. Sounds like the same issues, just different subjects within those issues.

When Jackson found out that Fox planned to air the video, he quickly apologized for what he said were "hurtful and wrong" remarks. He said through a written release yesterday, "For any harm or hurt that this hot mic private conversation may have caused, I apologize. My support for Sen. Obama's campaign is wide, deep, and unequivocal." Said as if someone did this on purpose to try to catch him. Good grief!

Jackson also called Obama's campaign to apologize and the campaign released this statement, "He (Barack Obama) will continue to speak out about our responsibilities to ourselves and each other, and of course he accepts Rev. Jackson's apology. Campaign spokesman Bill Burton also emphasised that, " Obama has spoken for many years about parental responsibility as well as jobs, justice, and opportunity for all."

So what prompted these comments from Jackson. My first inclination is to say jealously. Jackson has run unsuccessful presidential campaigns and obviously still craves any media attention that he can get. I also think that Obama poses a threat to Jackson's "plight of the black man argument." If Obama proves successful in November, a black American will have broken down walls, and will have achieved the top position in the country. Any argument about hardships that black people have succeeding will sound weak.

Regardless of the reason, I think Jackson should slink away and lay low for a while. His true colors have been shown and it is doubtful that many people have too much respect for him at this time.