Barack Obama’s presidency was supposed to be a new beginning. Finally, after two hundred years of bickering and division, the man Oprah deemed “The One” was going to bestow ethnic harmony upon his nation. Billed as the first “post-racial” president, he was supposed to bring us all together, restore our place in the world, and usher in a new era of unity and understanding. The rhetoric was big, bold, and hopeful. People ate it up.
So what the heck happened?
If the last two weeks have shown us anything, it’s that once again, Democrats have over-promised and under-delivered.
In 2009, despite having already received a default judgment against the defendants, the Obama Justice Department decided not to pursue a voter intimidation case against two members of the New Black Panther party. Now the administration is faced with a whistle-blower who claims that the decision to drop the case stems from a DOJ that has shown “hostility” toward cases involving black defendants.
J. Christian Adams, an ex-DOJ official, testified before the U.S. commission on Civil Rights that despite administration claims to the contrary, the case was solid. “We abetted wrongdoing and abandoned law-abiding citizens,” he said.
The same week that story broke, the Obama administration filed a lawsuit against Arizona, claiming that the state’s immigration law is unconstitutional, and could lead to racial profiling. Obama ignored the fact that the Arizona’s law specifically forbids profiling, and that the same claim could be made of virtually any law on the books. Evidently, the facts don’t really matter. In the president’s mind, all that matters is the appearance that he is doing something to protect impoverished Mexicans (legal or otherwise) from Arizona’s unfeeling white majority.
So, let’s get this straight. For the Obama administration, it’s OK to attack Arizona’s law – mischaracterizing it racist – while letting the criminal racists from the New Black Panther Party walk free?
Unfortunately, Obama is content to ignore racism in one case, while ginning it up in another. That doesn’t exactly lend itself to the claim that he’s going to be a great, unifying figure.
All it does is add fuel to the growing concern that his greatest legacy may well be division.
Robert Laurie is a Michigan-based conservative columnist and freelance writer. He also runs a daily political commentary blog at RobertLaurie.net.