The Double Standard

I could have called this post "New Rules for Black People Running for President", but thought about the real problem- a double standard. Tim Russert asked Barack Obama to repudiate and denounce Louis Farrakhan, but he as yet to denounce and repudiate Don Imus. Yes, THAT Imus. Russert had been a regular Imus in the Morning guest prior to Imus' comments about the Rutgers Basketball Team. Russert was recently on Imus' new show on ABC Radio. So, it's tough for him to distance himself from Imus. Imus offended African Americans, he attacked a group of young women who were doing what they should be doing- trying to better themselves through education. I have a lot of respect for student athletes, and Imus is a complete ass for attacking them. Kudos to Gwen Iffil for biding her time to strike back at Imus for his comments about her. Oh yeah, I was talking about Russert.... So Tim manages to use the last Democratic Debate to attack Obama about an unsolicited endorsement.

Couple the Russert push for Obama to denounce and repudiate Louis Farrakhan with other issues that have come up in this campaign and we have a clear pattern of Democrats, especially Senator Obama being held to a much higher standard. It wasn't enough for Obama to say that he did not ask or want Farrakhan's endorsement, but he needed to repudiate Farrakhan. Was McCain asked to repudiate John Hagee?

Here's the deal, black people in high-profile positions are consistently made to answer for the actions of everyone around them. Obama's church Trinity United has been under the microscope and criticized for Black Family Values. People are upset over the word "black", and the doctrine that recognizes and supports Africa. When you read the doctrine, it is actually what so many commentators from O'Reilly to Cosby have said Black people should do- support your families, build strong communities and do the right thing. The problem is that the doctrine also calls for people to be politically-active and socially-responsible. The idea is for people to hold their political leaders and everyone else accountable. Oh yeah, support Africa.

Trinity is a cornerstone of its community. I grew up a few miles from Trinity. The neighborhood around that church has benefited from the church's prosperity. The community has grown as the church has. Unlike so many megachurches, Trinity has done much to uplift the community in which it resides.