Barack Obama discussed Jesse
Jackson for the first time since the Reverend was overheard saying
crude remarks about Senator Obama on an open mic. The presumptive
Democratic nominee told reporters on a four hour flight from Chicago to
San Diego late Saturday night that the two did speak just prior to the
incident. “We had actually discussed some of the concerns he
had raised about my fatherhood speech,” Obama
shared.
Last month, Obama bluntly said that many African Americans had shirked
their family responsibilities during his “Fatherhood
Speech” at a Chicago church. The candidate often urges
African American parents to “parent” – to
turn off the TV, put down the video games, and enforce curfews for
their children.
During an interview with FOX News, Reverend Jackson, irritated that
Obama was talking down to the community, made the controversial
comments during an interview with FOX News. While Jackson quickly
apologized and Obama immediately accepted that apology, there has been
much ado about the interchange.
Focusing on what the two do agree on, Obama told reporters he and
Jackson share positions on fixing “structural
inequalities” in our society, including health care, early
childhood education, creating jobs, and closing the achievement gap.
But the senator stands by his tough love message. “We also
have to recognize that there is a particular problem when more than a
half of African American children are growing up without a father in
the house and often times not even knowing their father. That is a
problem and I won’t back up one bit in asserting that
that’s a problem that we have to be honest about,”
he said.
When asked how he responded to Jackson expressing concern to his
“Fatherhood Speech,” remarks that were particularly
blunt he delivered on Father’s Day at a Chicago church, Obama
said, “I think it would be hard for him to disagree with that
since many of the things I have said are the things that he has said in
the past.”
While Obama may not be able to change society when it comes to personal
responsibility by passing laws, he said, “Obviously
I’ve sparked a conversation as a consequence of my speech and
I do think part of the role of president is to offer his or her
opinions about critical issues, not all of which can be solved by
government, but make a big difference in the quality of our
society.”
Source: FOX News
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