Clinton’s Greatest Regret

From the AP, Clinton talks about his thoughts on his greatest regrets of his administration:

Former President Clinton said Tuesday that one of his “great regrets” was failing to do more to bridge the economic and social gaps between white and black people in the United States.

Speaking to a black think tank, the former president offered a somber, sorrowful reflection on the end of his time in the White House and his failed effort to spark a national debate about race relations…

“The idea that I live in a country I spent my lifetime trying to make better, but there’s still hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people, most of them people of color, who will die before their time, drop out of school, go to prison, never have a chance to live their dreams, is galling and painful to me,” Clinton said.

Its a legitimate issue. What went wrong with the race initative? The big thing is political correctness. We’re at a point in America where it is not politically allowed to criticize some people because they’re black. Its inappropriate for White people to criticize the Black Community, at all.

No one wants to be considered a racist. Its the worst label. Racists in this country rank below adulterers and people who kill their spouse on our level of disgust and loathing. Its reasonable to avoid that racist label at all costs. So, the first problem is the atmosphere.

The second problem is the interest groups. There are three in particular that really are big obstacles.

Teacher’s Unions:

School Choice would give Minority Students a chance to escape failing public schools for private and parochial schools that could provide a better education and a hope for a better future, but teacher’s unions oppose this because they’re concerned about union contracts and union jobs more than educating children, and poor minority neighborhoods get the worst of the lot of teachers in general.

Hollywood:

Hollywood and many “black entertainers” are guilty of portraying blacks in a negative light and establishing negative black role models for kids. Violence is glamorized.

The Black Leadership:

Al Sharpton, Julian Bond, and Jesse Jackson are all guilty of encouraging the worst possible black self-views in their communities. They’ve encouraged a sense of depednence on government, a sense of victimhood. Rather than joining with decent citizens of all races against crime and degradation which hurts the Black Community more than anyone, too often these “leaders” have made excuses for criminals, miscreants, and thugs in their own community are justified away. Bill Clinton may have had a Sister Souljah moment, but the moment wasn’t enough to repudiate the damage done week by week by a Black leadership that cares more about its own aggrandizement and power than it does insuring a better future for African Americans.

Then again, its not the problem of the President to “fix this” and its really not possible. Its the challenge of all Americans and it must start in the Black Community. The problems with Black America has been addressed by Bill Cosby in recent years among others. Cosby, a Democrat whose given big money to the Black Caucus in years past can express his opinions more freely than politicians who rather than seeing problems that need to be solved, see voter groups that must be pandered to.

Linked from Basil’s Blog

Bill Clinton

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