The First Black President, Bill Clinton

For whatever cockamamie reason, Bill Clinton has been coined the first Black President, a label he has certainly embraced with vigor and pride.   Remarkably, his Black supporters have blindly allowed this hollow descriptive to remain in vogue until only recently; his words and deeds on behalf of his wife’s bid to stop the man who may become the Second Black President have finally dimmed Bill’s star within the Black community.  Others may choose to debate whether or not Mr. Clinton was truly the first Black President.  I prefer to focus my attention on whether Mr. Obama is truly the first Black Bill Clinton.

I am no fan of the former President.  But it does not take a fan to recognize his past prowess on the campaign trail.  He could weave a story, connect with an audience, and convince those around him that he felt their pain in a manner unmatched by 99% of his fellow politicians.  When he spoke to someone, I am told, he made you feel as if nothing else in the world mattered to him, or to his target.  The same could be said of Mr. Obama.

Clinton was most comfortable giving a rousing speech in front of huge crowds, akin to a preacher cajoling his minions to rise up and re-take the country from those who did not really deserve the fruits of their own labors - the wealthy, the successful. The same could be said of Mr. Obama. And for that matter, his wife as well.  But let’s leave that one alone for now.

Most pundits hypothesized that we would never see another one like him, conveniently neglecting to remember that Ronald Reagan preceded Clinton by a mere four years.  But now, we are witness to the rise of another articulate connector.  Another teleprompter king.  Another change agent.  A man, not FROM Hope, but promising a NEW hope.  Most notably, however, another possible Black President!

Of course, it was ridiculous from the start to call Bill Clinton the first Black President.  If I were Black, I imagine I would have taken great offense to a rather obvious Caucasian politician who encouraged and accepted that label.  Personally flattering no doubt, it fed the ego of someone who desperately wanted a legacy. But this year’s fist-to-fist battle between Mr. Clinton’s wife and Senator Obama has caused much angst in the Black community.  So much so, that over 90% is voted for his wife’s opponent.

So what of Obama?  Whether he becomes the First or Second Black President, he has certainly laid claim to the mantle of being the First Black Bill Clinton. His magical way with words, his soaring rhetoric and belief that he can negotiate peace with our enemies rings a familiar tune. He promises a new path to bring our self-described enemies to their collective knees simply treating them with greater respect.  But Mr. Clinton tried that and results included the Intifada, the USS Cole and 9/11.

Yes, Mr. Obama is remarkably Clintonesque. Words flow off his tongue with the greatest of ease.   Like Clinton, his own wife is of strong opinion sometimes causing Obama to place his hand on hers during joint interviews as a gentle reminder to “tone it down a bit”.  Strong women, in and of themselves, are darn good partners both in the personal and the political worlds. Yet one gets the feeling that like Mrs. Clinton before her, Michelle Obama wields a strong opinion in her husband’s public decision-making.

Mr. Obama’s foreign policy team, while dominated by Carterites, will clearly follow a path similar to Clinton’s.  Thus, when a potential enemy declares war on the US (as UBL did in 1998), we can expect another ho-hum, they cannot really be serious approach.  A definitive example of this was Sandy Berger who counseled Clinton against capturing or killing Osama after he declared war on us in 1998 only to be surprised that Osama actually followed through on that threat.  Flash forward and listen to Obama, who despite Ahmindinejad’s clear warning to the West and Israel, a President Obama plans to chat, without precondition, even as Ahmindinejad aids in the killing of our soldiers in Iraq and threatens our staunch ally Israel with annihilation.  Should we expect anything other than trouble, perhaps far worse than the Intifada in 2000?

Only time will tell.  If he ever has the opportunity to place his hand on the Bible, all bets are off. He may be John Kennedy or Harry Truman.  But to this observer, what comes to mind in watching Senator Obama as he takes his Clintonesque talk show on the road is his striking resemblance to the previous Democrat President himself.

This is quite surprising isn’t’ it?  A country supposedly not yet ready for just one Black President”, may just have two in a mere 10 years?