Callow Liberals

The fancy cars, the women and the caviar,
you know who we are, cause we pimpin'
all over the world
Sing it hoes
--Pimpin' All Over the World, Ludacris
____________

The WaPo's Richard Cohen has a nonsensical partisan piece today on why Obama's the man ("Taking the Call on Black Men.") Referencing a recent Pew Study on U.S. incarceration rates, Cohen argues Obama should be the next president because he is eminently qualified to deal with the issue of black men's failure in this society.

Why? Well, just look at him. Of course, upon inspection, Obama shares little with your average hood, or "perp" as Cohen says, feeling very hip, I'm sure.

I am not a racist. I am not suggesting all the black men in prison looked to Ludacris or 50 Cent for their direction, nor am I suggesting Obama listens. Moreover, the song title which led this piece could serve as anthem for U.S. policy in general.

Ludracris's estimable lyrics were chosen to indicate a social problem which might be a deeper one than the mere election of any particular color or sex presidential candidate would be able to solve.

"(T)hose incarceration figures represent an enormous challenge to the next president. It is a challenge Barack Obama, for obvious reasons, is uniquely qualified to meet. . . because he can be a role model for young black men, who as a group are in a perilous state."

This reasoning is absurd. I'm in a perilous state -- which candidate is advocating for me? Per his role-model paradigm, Huckabee will inspire an entire group of TVA fundamentalists lost in a holler somewhere to become a part of the system. Hillary will be just as much of a role model for her demographic group. (Of course, somehow the day of the woman passed right by us, so Hillary apparently doesn't speak for any demographic needing special representation.)

But here is the key: we do not elect presidents based upon their ability to reach target groups, but rather their ability to govern and lead the country at large.

There are a multitude of needs which are being stinted at the local and federal level in favor of conducting the ego wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Any country has only limited resources, and a responsive government is in charge of meting them out in a proportional manner.

To state that a man's physical appearance makes him eminently qualified to respond to the needs of others who share the same sex or skin tone is beyond callow.

If you want to help wayward black boys, go become a Big Brother. Do you have that sort of commitment, Mr. Cohen?