Black Conservatives Respond To State Of The Union Address

Washington, DC: In the aftermath of President Barack Obama's first State of the Union Address, members of the Project 21 black leadership network are commenting on his presentation tonight and his performance during his first year in office:

Bishop Council Nedd II: "After virtually walking away from the gay community after the election, President Obama is all of a sudden taking up their cause again? Last week's election shows he has problems with Americans of all political stripes, but he appears to be focusing most intently on quelling the civil war rising against him in the left-wing of his party. One would think that -- as his approach to national security is being questioning in the wake of the underwear bomber and his dithering on Afghanistan -- that he would think of some other military-related issue to champion than one that could fracture his 2008 base even further. And then there is his post-Obamacare pivot to jobs that seems to be uneducated and aimless. Is 2010 to be consumed with 'don't ask, don't tell' for the military and 'don't ask, don't know' on jobs?" (Bishop Council Nedd II is the bishop of the Chesapeake and the Northeast for the Episcopal Missionary Church and a member of the national advisory council of the Project 21 black leadership network.)

Mychal Massie (chairman of Project 21): "It is time that President Obama realized his job is more than giving speeches and blaming former President Bush. Instead, from his performance tonight, he continues to show his disconnect with what the American people want and need. With record numbers of people unemployed and home ownership at risk or lost for so many, to point out just two problems, we needed to hear more from him than blaming others. It is time for Obama to own up to this malaise as his own. National security and the economy should have been Obama's first and primary concerns -- not his failed health care plan and a job-killing cap-and-trade policy. I was not inspired by his words nor his passing of blame. I wanted to see him respond in the interest of the people." (Mychal Massie is chairman of Project 21, a columnist for WorldNetDaily, and a former talk show host and businessman.)

Kevin L. Martin: "Watching President Obama's State of the Union Address, it felt like he was back on the campaign trail. Like on the trail, tonight's rhetoric tends to differ from reality. What was on display was a bait-and-switch in which broken promises were rehashed and more pandering was thrown at the middle class as he pledged tax cuts, tax credits and job creation. Last year's obscene spending and job-killing proposals such as cap-and-trade, however, don't match the rhetoric. Obama, like all good liberals, believes government can solve all our ills if it's big enough. He now just has to hope his congressional allies come through with checks that are big enough." (Kevin L. Martin is a member of the national advisory council of the Project 21 black leadership network.)

R. Dozier Gray: "The President reminds us that one in ten Americans still cannot find work. Hard as I try, I simply cannot think of anything he has done to truly mitigate the problem. Mr. President, if you hated the bank bailouts why did you support them. Own it, sir. Own the whole thing. With your proposed fee on banks to recover money you say belongs to the taxpayer, does that mean I will be receiving a check? Or does that mean you will just recycle the fees into other spending programs? I think I already heard the latter tonight, so please don't pretend to be recovering money for me." (Dozier Gray is a member of the national advisory council for the Project 21 black leadership network and a combat veteran.)

Lisa Fritsch: "President Obama wonders why there is so much 'cynicism' out there. While his speech was full of ironies and folly, this is the worst. It is President Obama who is the cynic, because he doesn't seem to believe in anything but the government. Though President Obama worked hard to try to connect with Americans, it is clear that his position on some of Americans' top concerns -- taxes, terrorism and health care reform -- remain the same. And his idea of change is at odds with the average voter, both middle-class and upper-class. President Obama fails to acknowledge that Americans have changed. Americans have awakened to the truth, and they no longer want his change. Americans are wiser from the wear. Too bad Obama is not." (Lisa Fritsch is a member of the national advisory council for the Project 21 black leadership network and a community activist, writer, public speaker, and talk radio host in the Austin, Texas area.)

Ellis Washington: "President Obama in his first year raised the spending limit to unsustainable levels ($1.35 trillion); more than GWB did in 8 years and now Obama is championing a freeze on spending?! President Obama's first State of the Union Address painfully exemplifies that this clear and present danger to America is not Mr. Obama, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man of this ilk with the presidency. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails us -- lack of common sense and good judgment. To paraphrase a comment on Reuters: Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who despite his promise to 'fundamentally change America' is, after all, merely a fool. The failed Marxist policies encapsulated in Obama's first State of the Union Address makes him less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president. Seemingly remarking on these troublesome times, Etienne de la Boetie said: 'If without violence the tyrant is simply not obeyed, he becomes naked and undone and as nothing.'" (Ellis Washington is a member of the national advisory council for the Project 21 black leadership network and a former editor of the Michigan Law Review.)

Project 21, established in 1992, is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research (http://www.nationalcenter.org), a non-profit foundation established in 1982 and funded primarily from the gifts of over 100,000 recent individual donors.