Rev. Jesse Jackson throws stones at Senator Barack Obama - 9.20.2007.1

It’s amazing what a mere 6 months allow. In this minor amount of time Reverend Jesse Jackson seems to have forgotten, and hopes we have as well, his endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama. That’s funny.

“He has my vote,” the Rev. Jackson told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

“I just have an appreciation of him,” Jackson said.

That was on March 29th of this year. But on Sept. 19th the comments from Rev. Jackson seemed anything but supportive, or the words of a friend.

“Jackson sharply criticized presidential hopeful and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for “acting like he’s white” in what Jackson said has been a tepid response to six black juveniles’ arrest on attempted-murder charges in Jena, La. Jackson, who also lives in Illinois, endorsed Obama in March, according to The Associated Press.

“If I were a candidate, I’d be all over Jena,…”

Wow. Talk about a reversal of position.

Let’s get a couple of things clear on this. I don’t think that Rev. Jackson really cares about Sen. Obama winning. Jesse Jackson Jr. may but not his father. That presumption explains the comments about the Jena 6 and how Sen. Obama acts.

By the way, Rev. Jackson would be all over the Jena 6 as a presidential candidate, but as a civil rights leader, and a news media declared “leader” of African Americans, he has had virtually nothing to say about this case? I mean though this has finally gotten attention, enough to have been part of questions asked to President Bush in his press conference today (roughly at 11am), it is hardly a new thing. Black bloggers have long been speaking on this, for months. The major news media just ignored all the commentary on the case. And I am unaware of Rev. Jackson, or Rev. Al Sharpton, stepping up and making a national press conference on the matter.

That is not only hypocritical, it’s wrong. Rev. Jackson and Sharpton have the ability to bring many issues to the media that the rest of us have to work 10,000x harder to bring to light. Yet they are quiet on many until they can get the limelight, even if at the cost to others in my opinion. Take the example of Ms. Megan Williams.

I’ve already commented on the horrendous crime inflicted on Ms. Williams. I have already criticized the major news media for their failure to follow this story, especially when they choose to cover nonsense like Britney Spears and every single nuance and footstep of OJ Simpson. I was not alone. Several bloogers, were on this at about the same time and some made similar points about their local and national major news media outlets. I heard nothing from Rev. Jackson or Sharpton. They STILL have not mentioned anything about the case.

So I have to say, with due respect, that Rev. Jackson should stop throwing his stones because his glass house is already massively cracked.

And will the media stop saying that Rev. Jackson and Al Sharpton are leaders of African Americans. There was no vote. No one asked my opinion nor any other Black person in America. The news media made up that claim. The news media wants them to be in the limelight as opposed to others that may well deserve it. Some might say that both reverends are the lapdogs of the news media, which is far worse than being accused of “acting white”.

More on the “acting white” thing.