Jesse Jackson's big mouth

"Do interview subjects now have to worry about every single thing they say once they enter a studio?"

I think they do, Rod. I'm not defending Fox News either, but haven't we had enough "open mike" incidents on both side of the political spectrum for the average person to realize that anything said in the presence of the media, especially anything that might be recorded, will be considered fair game for airing or publication?

It didn't used to be that way. I think we in the media make it harder for the people we interview to be human beings. They always have to keep their guard up now. You ought to read the comments over on the Dallas News blog -- so many conservatives who would have gone berserk had CNN done this to Rush Limbaugh thrilled that Fox did it to Jesse Jackson. I find it depressing that we live in a political culture in which anything is justified so long as it advances the defeat of the Enemy.

his ham-handed comment about the need for non-Hispanic parents to get their kids to learn Spanish

He wasn't saying that at all.

I watched the clip, and Obama's main point is that we should, as a country, encourage kids (and adults too!) to be at least bilingual, whether they learn Spanish, or French, or German, or whatever other language they choose to learn. Not only because it's better for us in the long run, but because it also improves our image abroad by making Americans appear more educated, since they'd know more than just English.

Speaking personally, my first language was Spanish. I didn't learn English until just before I started kindergarten. I still speak both languages fluently today at 35, and I think the advantages of knowing a second language are massive. My Spanish skills helped me all through Europe when I spent a summer there. And because French and Italian are also Romance languages, I was able to translate in my head without relying on a dictionary, and I was able to pick up phrases here and there to better communicate with people I met on my travels.

Knowing more than one language, especially in today's more connected world, is invaluable. We *should* encourage it in kids, and in others.

Rod,

By the way, I appreciate that you feel queasy about what Fox News did. I agree, of course, that the other networks would have willingly done this to one of their guests -- especially if the guest was a cultural conservative. Nevertheless your qualms speak well of you. You're a good man.

Poor Jesse. White America has such an abiding need to find one African American and anoint him as 'King of the Negroes', the One Who Speaks For Those People. And he was it for so many years, so it must gall him (and Al) to see the crown being so rudely usurped.

Listen, we don't need your analysis of what he said ... or mine. He said what he said: "You need to make sure that your child can learn to speak Spanish."

You're taking one sentence out of what he said and drawing the wrong conclusion from it. It wasn't just about Spanish. It was about learning a second language in general, and why we should encourage it in kids.

What is so bad about teaching your kids more than one language? Why is that so wrong? I don't get it.

What is so bad about teaching your kids more than one language? Why is that so wrong? I don't get it.

Because that really isn't what he meant. People are duly concerned about the fact that Spanish is being used as a primary language by many people in this country. He pretty much only gave lip service to that concern. Notice the tepid clapping when he said people need to learn Spanish. Only then did he switch into the vein of everyone learning a second language in general. No one says there is a problem with learning a second language. All he did was stand up a straw man to knock it down. Then he has to insult his fellow countrymen about how they act overseas.

Additionally, his comment is way off base about Americans traveling overseas. I wish I could find the survey from about six years ago. Basically Americans were one of the top nationalities at trying to speak the native language of the country they were visiting.

who himself can't speak a foreign language

Er, not quite. Obama is actually still somewhat proficient at Indonesian, since he lived there as a child.

While it's true he doesn't speak Spanish or French or German, he's not completely monolingual.

The point Jackson made about BO and blacks (that he talks down to them) is true of BO in general towards all Americans. The Headmaster-in-Chief -- the child of two PhDs -- can't overcome his tendency to condescend and lecture all of us like errant pupils.

Bah. Jesse Jackson's point is wrapped up in jealousy over the fact that Obama has done what Jesse could never do-- win the Democratic nomination for president. And because Obama has repeatedly rejected the victimization card that Jackson was so fond of playing for many years.

Getting criticized by Jesse Jackson was a gift from above for Obama. It's the best thing that's happened to him all day, especially since Fox News is going to be running with this story for a while, keeping it alive.

What is so bad about teaching your kids more than one language? Why is that so wrong? I don't get it.
Posted by: LJG | July 9, 2008 8:43 PM

Oh, sure, you probably also think American kids need to learn the metric system - you commie!

Bye Jesse, You just nailed the lid on your viable political casket!

Jesse Jackson is the real racist and is crying because he is jealous of another Africian Americans success. sorry Jesse,but some blacks need to be talked down too..same as whites..again, Jesse thinks this should be all about blacks..whats the matter Jesse?..you and sharptons bank accounts getting low..haven't you scam the black people out of enough of their hard earned money for your selfish agenda.

Wow, good for him. I'm sure most voters will be jealous when they learn that BO can speak some Indonesian.

It may not sound like much to American ears, but it's a valuable skill for two reasons-- 1. Indonesia is the fourth largest country in the world, and 2. It's also the most populous Muslim-majority country, though it's not an Islamic state.

Having a president that can speak to and understand people over there would be important in terms of diplomacy and in getting them to help us in our fight against Al Qaeda.

Sure, he may not speak Spanish or French, but what he can speak will be an asset in our foreign policy, IMO.

Also, I concur that this is great for Obama. Jackson basically Souljahed himself.

Yes, it is. Jackson handed him a very precious gift, and my hope is that Obama takes advantage of it.

I am an Obama supporter and I AM thrilled to have Jesse caught in this unguarded moment. (Though I share Rod's discomfort over the lack of journalistic ethics involved in its release...but hey, it's Fox. The same network that eagerly ballyhooed reports that Obama had attended a madrasa in Indonesia.)

The truth is that many in the African American community regard Jackson as a one-time hero who has been seduced by the lights of publicity and reduced to a vainglorious camera chasing buffoon.

Tragically the majority of African American men are avoiding their responsibilities as fathers. I have heard African American woman sigh with resigned frustration over the possibility of having a man in their lives who will be anything more than a transient babymaker.

Jackson would have us believe that this is solely because of racism. I know that this is a factor. But, poverty and persecutuon have not led every other culture to the same disastrous dysfunctional results. Obama and Cosby are pointng that out, and this undercuts Jackson's tired rant that every black problem has only white roots.

I suspect that Obama will gain votes thanks to Jesse.

Where I come from, there's no such thing as "off the record", as Samantha Power found to her cost. Why does the inside-the-Beltway media feel such need to coddle public figures and allow them to dictate the terms of debate?

John E: Oh, sure, you probably also think American kids need to learn the metric system - you commie!

The metric system is a product of the French Revolution! The Bolshies coopted it when they changed from furlongs and farthings. No, wait, that was the Brits. Well, versts and poods, then. ;-)

Just as an opinión incidental, I have no objection to the acquisition of Castillian competency by the "Anglo" masses. Spanish is a beautiful language in its own right and its literature among the jewels in the crown of Western culture. But the latent agenda here is that the English-speaking majority must cater to the Spanish-speaking minority. That is a canard. I would mandate at least two years of Latin rather than Spanish; the laggards would be spared the vararies of the imperfect subjunctive.

As a lover of languages, I myself would attempt to learn Chinese. But because el tiempo es de suma importancia, I will defer starting my lessons until the Beijing Bolshies relieve their slaves of the onus of analphabeticity.

In the meanwhile, my French-accented Spanish is considered encantador y por supuesto divertido in the local bodegas.

To return to the main topic: interesting language from a so-called "reverend". Perhaps he thinks Mubarak Hussein Obama has a falsetto worth preserving?

Rod, you deserve a ton of credit for that Jackson reporting you did. I hope it's benefited you at least a substantial fraction as much as it should have.

I'll wager $ 1.85 to a basket of roses that this business with Jesse Jackson was staged. Someone in the Obama campaign, if not Obama himself, put Jackson up to this.

It's been years since Jesse Jackson was anything but a political non-entity, so his antics will put him back on the map---that's what Unca Jesse gets out of this, for starters. Obama gets a chance to immunize himself from the fallout over Jeremiah Wright and Compay. Jackson has been around long enough to know when to open his mouth and when not to; I find it virtually impossible to believe that he didn't know EXACTLY what he was doing.

Anyone who has been around any serious political campaign knows that you always assume that any microphone is live and that anything you say outside the most private of settings has already been taken down for use against you.

The only thing I don't know is what ELSE Mr. Jackson got for helping Slick Barry out. But the fact that this was staged is, IMO, undeniable.

Your servant,

Lord Karth

Yeah.

It gets him in the 'public eye' for a stupid mistake involving a live mike. He had to go apologize to Obama, and had his own son chide him publically, while just about every commentator either says this puts the nail in his coffin or that he was a nobody in the first place, at this point, so who cares.

Yep, sounds like he's back on the map.

Has anyone gotten a good career boost from a hot mike verbal faux pas?

Kinda conspiracy theory'ish.

Karen:

Mr. Jackson has been in the public eye for over 30 years and has made two attempts to run for President; for someone who has his political and media experience, an error like that is simply too stupid for serious consideration. I've personally met and spoken with the man; he's nowhere near that stupid.

On the other hand, we've seen how opportunistic Senator Obama is; here's a man who throws his own grandmother to the wolves for political advantage. One opportunist, on his way up, cuts a deal with another, who wants back in the game. What's so hard to believe about that ? It's just another political deal, that's all.

Your servant,

Lord Karth

If you really want to know about the REV. Jesse Jackson, check out the latest Judical Watch and his going to court with the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson. This man craves power and doesn't care who he steps on.

Back after BUSH was elected he and his RAINBOW/PUSH wackos were planning a big protest until his own skelletons were brought out of his closets and he silenced