Barack Obama may or may not be getting props for stating the obvious, but it appears that he's now manipulating another issue into his court. In other word's he's engaging in rhetorical patronage.
What he did say:
"If you had gone to any street corner in Chicago or Baton Rouge or Hampton -- you would have found the same young men and women without hope, without miracles and without a sense of destiny other than life on the edge."
What he didn't say:
I want those people to be my constituency and I want to fight for them. I pledge to do something about that.
What he can't say but implies
My candidacy represents, hope, miracles and a sense of destiny for black other than life on the edge.
This is rhetorical patronage, and black partisans have a habit of falling over themselves to get big heaping helpings of it. Obama is not just smart, he's brilliant and crafty as hell. This is the moment he has stolen the spot from Howard Dean.
But let me just remind you of what's real and what's not as I said four years ago:
Rhetorical Patronage
I challenge anyone to show exactly what it is that the Democrats have done for African Americans that they haven't done for everyone else. Whatever you find, I will bet my nickel that it doesn't get any larger than a quarter of a billion in any one program out of the Federal budget. But what the Democrats do that the Republicans don't is insure that they say a lot of nice things about blackfolks. The dirty little secret is that this covers a lot of what the black electorate will settle for. If you ask someone who hates the idea of Black Republicans what it is that the Democrats will give blacks that the Republicans won't, it will all come down to warm and fuzzies. Try it. Get them to name programs when they disagree. Materially, most folks are hard pressed to talk about black patronage in dollars and cents. But they know what kind of rhetoric they like. Ask how much federal money goes to support HBCUs. Nobody knows. Ask what kind of support Affirmative Action should get and you'll hear a litany of legalese words, qualifications, provisos, tests, and other verbal requirements. What a twist of fate! It's not all about the Benjamins.
I haven't heard from Kevin Drum or any of the thoughtful lefties and progressives I read where Obama has scored any home runs with his ideas on Education and Health Care. So far, there is no there there. He is just spewing generality and basking in the rare glow of black electability. Sooner or later he's going to have to put some oomph behind that rhetoric.
But wait, I almost forgot. Nobody on the street corners of Chicago, Baton Rouge or Hampton has any wherewithal to hold Obama's feet to the fire. Besides, he didn't offer hope or miracles, he's just feeling people's pain.
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