Gregory Meeks Does Hit Job for Hillary Clinton on Barack Obama

After Obama adviser Samantha Power referred to Hillary Clinton as a "monster" in an interview with a Scottish news outlet, the big guns were called out by Clinton to take aim at the tall, brown presidential candidate from Chicago.

One of those guns was our very own neighbor from over there in southeast Queens, Gregory Meeks, who joined up with fellow congressmembers Nita Lowey (who represents up there just beyond the Bronx) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida to blast Power and Obama.

They were out for blood, and they got it, as Power stepped down and Obama found himself on the defensive in the media, which has turned very much against him in recent days.

Maybe the nerviest comment of all came from Meeks, who after saying Power was guilty of "character assassination," went on to declare: “Everything has been on the issues from our campaign."

Huh?

One had to wonder if he was laughing at himself on the inside as he said that to reporters, given that the honcho of "our campaign" - one Sen. Hillary Clinton - has been unleashing some pretty snappy attack dogs against Obama so far, including Clinton's very own spouse Bill Clinton, as well as Bob Johnson and others who have made snide references to drug use by Obama.

There must be a legion of seething voters in Meeks' district, which was one of three in the city that went for Obama in the Feb. 5th primary, the other two being the districts of Ed (Edolphus) Towns and Yvette Clarke.

Towns and Clarke are, like Meeks, superdelegates who are backing Clinton.

There is also, of course, underlying all this the race issue, in that Obama's campaign has been something of a source of pride for many African-Americans and other sympathetic minorities.

In Ohio, for example, it's been reported that some black elected officials switched from Clinton to Obama after being called Uncle Toms and worse by other blacks, who (they said) made them feel embarrassed and ashamed.

Meeks [accompanying photo], Towns and Clarke are black.

We delight in the post-racial aspects of this campaign, the very fact that Obama is being taken so seriously and treated with such respect in communities all across this vast nation; but the race element does play in many sub levels and enters the discussion.

Certainly many African Americans in Brooklyn are conscious of it.

Comments

[Ron]

The martin/malcolm idea is appealing, as mos def might put it; the idea of sacrifice and not thinking so much about our own political (or even physical) survival on the morrow.

But this seems way beyond the ken or capability of the average politician, maybe beyond all politicians, at least the New York congressional ones.

It's about tapping the open drawer into which sponsors or favor-seekers are supposed to place cash or equivalent promises of favors, and never talking about it; to the contrary, only speaking loudly of honor and service.

Ron

[Richard Rodriguez]

I'm curious to see how Obama plans to give into playing offense in these "attacks." So far, I've completely admired his ability to live up to the idea of patience being an austerity. And I'm pretty sure Samantha Power's slip of frustrations were derived more from taking on this stance than anything else. ― All of this conjures up ideas of Martin & Malcolm.

Also, another sub level to take into consideration - Vanity: http://www.observer.com/2008/mos-def-barack-obama