The Six-Man Tag Team Match

I’m sure many of you have heard about Cornel West and Tavis Smiley going in on President Obama, basically saying he doesn’t do enough for the poor and/or black folk. Steve Harvey then went after West and Smiley. Then of course, my favorite professor/columnist (110% sarcasm) Boyce Watkins went after Harvey and placed Tom Joyner in the Harvey camp.

Sounds like the makings of a six-man tag team match - which may be a propos with SummerSlam in the rearview. Smiley has had issues with Obama from the start that have to be considered personal: I feel comfortable saying this because I’ve seen Tavis air out some of these issues with my own two eyes. West’s issues with the president have been more professional, but he’s had quite a few.


 

Harvey going after West and Smiley is like a knife going to a gunfight, and Watkins (eye roll) doesn’t help matters at all because 1) he’s nowhere near the level of the others in terms of reach and scope, and 2) all he’s really doing is instigating. I wonder what the Joyner/Smiley dynamic is, knowing that Smiley has been a regular on Joyner’s show.

Now obviously, this 3-on-3 is a total mismatch. President Obama, Harvey, and Joyner versus West, Smiley, and Watkins? Say what you want about Harvey, but it’s not like the president could handle the other side by himself without him or Joyner anyway. Really, though; Harvey’s no dummy. Joyner’s a smart guy. They may not hold PhDs like West and Watkins, but believe me when I say (also from personal experience) that those things are not indicators of intelligence.

So where do I stand on this? In the middle, of course. I think Team West has a point in saying that the president hasn’t focused enough on poor people, but I don’t think their similar claim re: black folk is as easy to agree with. What was the president supposed to do: get reparations passed and close the wealth and income gaps within six months?

The right (a misnomer if I’ve ever seen one) was just waiting for that. Think about how badly the president has caught it from them already. That would have been entirely too much ammo to give them. Is it right to close the gaps? Of course. Is justice delayed justice denied? Absolutely. Would I have pushed the envelope more if I were president? Yes. However, I realize (as the president does) that it’s not that easy. No, this does not mean I give the Kennedy brothers a pass.

Now I know some are thinking that I’ve had a lot to say about the president. I have, and I will have more. Matter of fact, if he acted in a way that would alleviate my concerns with him he’d be able to more easily handle those of his three detractors named above. If he didn’t bend over backwards and try to compromise with people who clearly don’t know the meaning of the word, he’d still have a Democratic House and would have the ability to help those who Team West say he ignores.

It’s not that the president isn’t trying, which is what Team West implies. It’s the way that he tries which is so bothersome. “We should compromise”…not when the ‘right’ thinks of you as the fool that stole Washington (among other things). In any kind of fight; you have no control over a size difference or a speed difference. You do have control over an effort difference. You can always control how much effort and vigor you put into a fight, and the president just doesn’t do enough in that area.

This fact makes him an easy mark for his critics, including those named above. Right? Well, yes and no. It’s right to call him on things that he’s actively allowed to slip out of his grasp (cough, Democratic House majority, cough). However, attacking him for things that are out of his control - like the wealth/income gap - is unfair. It’s like the Pat Buchanan/Al Sharpton deal from last week: there are plenty of things to call him on without having to reach.

Maybe if the president gets re-elected (which I’m starting to think isn’t the guarantee I thought it was two months ago) he’ll work on social issues more. Now, the other four and a half - okay, maybe Watkins has a ‘full’ voice by then in comparison to the other four…right…want to fight about this in a year and a half, they may want to combine their forces to ensure that they can.