Barack Obama hates black people.

OK, I know it sounds stupid, but what other conclusion can you draw? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate in July 2011 stood at 9.1%. Broken out by race, a different picture emerges. For whites, the numbers are slightly lower at 8.1%. But for blacks the unemployment rate is a whopping 15.9% nationally.

The Democrats have stated time and time again that it is government’s job to provide jobs for people. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was bemoaning just last week the fact that she hasn’t seen any “jobs bills” come out of the House since it was seated in January. Of course, the congress is currently in recess. They will get back to us when they get back off vacation in September.

Meanwhile, the President has been touring the country in his large black bus convoy holding “townhall meetings” with the people. Not a campaign tour, mind you; that would have to be paid for using campaign funds. No, this was a “business tour”, paid for by taxpayer dollars. The President has to get out among the folks from time to time. And what was the main topic of discussion? The economy of course; after all, “it’s the economy, stupid,” right?

So where has the President been commensurating with all the folks out of work? Must be in some of the most hard hit locations in the U.S. wouldn’t you think? Places where the unemployment rate is well above the national average; where folks desperately need employment. Places with large black populations, because as noted above, the unemployment rate among blacks is much higher than the unemployment rate among whites, and President Obama is after all the nation’s first black president. Places like – Iowa?

In June, the statewide unemployment rate in Iowa stood at 6.0%. (Could not find posted number yet for July.) Since July 2010, it has not gone above 6.2%, remaining fairly stable. There aren’t a whole lot of black folks living in Iowa either. According to census figures, African-Americans in Iowa make up 2.9% of the population compared to the national average of 12.6%. In fact, photos of a smiling Barack Obama on his Iowa tour show him surrounded by a sea of white faces, nary a black one in sight.

Keep in mind that despite the fact that the Republicans were holding the Iowa straw poll at the same time that the president was on his “fact finding tour”, bemoaning the current deplorable state of the economy, and slamming the Republicans, that this was not a “campaign tour.” It must just be sheer coincidence that the Republicans were having their big sheng ding at the same time. I guess they should have deconflicted that with the Presidential schedule before they decided when to hold their annual State Fair.

Meanwhile, in Atlanta, Georgia, thousands of unemployed blacks gathered for a job fair sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus. Many camped out there overnight in their business suits to get a good place in line. In Georgia, unlike Iowa, the state unemployment rate stands at 10.1 percent, up from 9.9 percent in June. This is the 48th consecutive month that Georgia has exceeded the national unemployment rate according to the Georgia Department of Labor. Oddly enough, I couldn’t find unemployment figures for Georgia broken down by race, however again, according to census figures, blacks make up 30.5% of Georgia’s population. In fact, Georgia has the fourth largest black population in the United States (by total numbers, 2010 data). On a population percentage basis, only Mississippi (37%) and Louisiana (32%) are higher. (Source: BlackDemographics.com – a very interesting site to peruse; lots of information concerning the black community.)

You would think that this would be an event that Barack Obama would be interested in. Unemployment is high here. People are hurting. Barack Obama, speaking from Iowa, says he has a plan. And he will get back with us on that, in 10 days, after he finished up his vacation at Martha’s Vineyard.

Why is this event of little concern to Obama? Why the (non)campaign swing through Iowa instead?

Well first off, we have a presidential election coming up. And all the news media was in Iowa covering the Republican Straw Poll at the Iowa State Fair; an event that has been on the calendar for quite some time. This presents an opportunity for the President to upstage his Republican rivals and divert a little media attention. Who would be covering the President in Atlanta?

Second, you have to go where the votes are. And quite frankly, with over 90% of the African-American population supporting the President already, what votes are there to be gained in Atlanta? Black voters, why should the President pander to you? He already knows he can count on your vote; he needs to gain as much of the Hispanic and White vote as he can, and he knows it.

All this brings me back to my premise that Barack Obama hates black folks. Ridiculous, I know. And yet, just imagine for a moment that this was George W. Bush, not Barack Obama on his (non)campaign swing through Iowa, then retiring to his ranch at Crawford for some cow punching and general fun and games for 10 days. Never mind that Bush’s Crawford ranch really was configured as the Western White House to an extent that Martha’s Vineyard never has been. Bush’s sojourns there really weren’t vacations per se (although libs like to bill them that way) but more like telecommutes on steroids, but let’s pretend that the two are equivalent. What do you suppose the media reaction would be?

What was the media reaction, and the Democrat reaction, to Bush’s supposed “indifference” to the disaster that Hurricane Katrina made of New Orleans? This despite the fact that he declared the State of Louisiana a disaster area 24 hours before the hurricane made landfall, so that Louisiana and New Orleans could get a head start on gearing up federal assistance, something that neither the Democratic governor of Louisiana nor the Democratic mayor of New Orleans took advantage of.

Well, according to the media, it was all because George W. Bush hated black folks. Why should Barack H. Obama be treated any different? The situations are analogous. This economy is bad all around, but it is a disaster for the nation’s black population. Barack Obama is the president. The buck stops there, doesn’t it? Why is he off in honky land (where there isn’t a problem – at least not in Iowa) instead of taking care of business in Georgia, or Louisiana, or Mississippi?

Or how about Washington D.C.? The unemployment rate in D.C was 10.4% in June of 2011 (Seasonally adjusted. The non-seasonally adjusted rate was 11.9%). The population of D.C. is 50.7% black according to 2010 US Census data. (Personally, I would have thought it higher; apparently it has been dropping. It was between 65-70% when I was there in the mid 80’s). Washington D.C. is run by the federal government for crying out loud, of which he is the chief executive!

The job fair in Georgia, although sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus, is an event where private employers are looking to hire folks; 90 employers attended the event. President Obama has nothing good to say about private industry and the free market system in general. He is all about government creating jobs, not private industry.

Interestingly enough, the reason given by a spokesperson for the Congressional Black Caucus for setting up the series of job fairs, of which the event in Atlanta is just one, is as follows:

"The Congressional Black Caucus decided to take matters into their own hands," said Gunaratna. "They are tired of Republicans' inaction that prevents bills from moving forward. This is a real tangible opportunity for our constituents."

Well, despite the gratuitous slap at Republicans, I have to commend the Congressional Black Caucus. This is a good way to help get people back to work – assuming of course that the employers attending the job fair are actually private sector employers and not various national, state, and local area government entities.

I wish Barack Obama would start doing something to fix the nation’s problems instead of simply blaming everyone and everything under the sun for our economic woes. He keeps talking about a plan. Does he have one, or does he just run his mouth? And if he has a plan, can we see it so that we can debate it on its merits? Or are we just supposed to shut up and color if and when he presents it?

Is he the president of our country, the president for all Americans, or does he think he is an elected dictator seeking another four years of kingship? When does it stop being George Bush’s fault? The Republican’s fault? The earthquake in Japan’s fault? Europe’s fault? Insert fault de jure. When does the Obama Presidency start?

When he presents his plan (if he ever does), do we get to debate it, or is it supposed to be taken as the stone tablets brought down by Moses from Mt Sinai? If elections had consequences in 2008 when the Democrats took over, should they not also have consequences in 2010 when the Republicans made massive gains?

So does Barack Obama really hate black people? Of course not! But then again, I don’t think that George W. Bush hates black people either. The whole argument was political and pretty stupid in my opinion. I am just, as Rush often states, “illustrating the absurd by being absurd.”