Washington Post: What Obama Got Wrong

[journalist3072]

What Obama Got Wrong
Friday, December 14, 2007; Page A14

WHAT HE GOT WRONG: "I don't want to wake up four years from now and discover that we still have more young black men in prison than in college."

-- Barack Obama, rally in Harlem, Nov. 29

Obama has repeated this false claim to predominantly African American audiences, even after The Washington Post pointed out the mistake to his campaign. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 106,000 African American men ages 18 to 24 were in federal or state prisons at the end of 2005. An additional 87,000 were temporarily held in local jails in mid-2006. According to 2005 census data, 530,000 African American men in this age group were in college.

Black male college students outnumber black male prisoners even if the age group is expanded to 30 or 35. The Obama campaign has not responded to several requests for statistical data to support the senator's remarks, and it has not explained a similar claim that he made to an NAACP audience on July 12.

-- Michael Dobbs

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301803.html?wpisrc=newsletter

For daily truth-squadding, visit washingtonpost.com/factchecker. Read the Candidates Week series at washingtonpost.com/frontrunners. Kevin Merida will discuss his article today at 1 p.m.

[TahitiNut]

1. "... even if the age group is expanded to 30 or 35. "???

How about 40? 45? 50? This seems to be an instance where quibbling about the "facts" gets in the way of comprehending the "truth."

Does ANYONE sanely argue that our prison system is disproportionally used to incarcerate people of color? Does anyone sanely argue that this is the result of the use of racism as a tool for exacerbatng economic inequities?

[ProfessorGAC]

2. A Case Of Using Statistics, Apropos of Nothing

The absolute values don't matter here. The point is valid either way.

Quibbling over the absolute values is missing the forest because one is too busy counting the leaves on one tree.
The Professor

[TahitiNut]

7. Agreed.

:thumbsup:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. hillary does, if

she can spin another attack. then claim barack treats her unfairly.

[aquart]

5. No.

What is being questioned is Obama's hyperbole. Which needs to be labeled as such.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. All Well And Good

But, hyperbole isn't inherently bad. If it is used to make a larger, and critical point, it can and should be excused as, well, hyperbole.
The Professor

[blm]

4. Michael Dobbs was the WaPost 'reporter' who pushed the swiftlies as documented

research that deserved equal consideration to the documents in the official service record.

I would be wary of his use of statistics, even as I would advise the Obama campaign to check their numbers and choose their words accordingly.

I appreciate the dramatic point Obama is making, and it is one that many of us feel, but the corpmedia has no sense of fairness for dramatic points made by the left, though GOPs can get away with all sorts of lies and exaggerations when they do the same.

[ThomWV]

6. Those numbers are nonsensical and don't include state prisons

State prisions, where the real numbers are.

[madrchsod]

8. there are over 11000 inmates at the cook county jail

in chicago each day. 95% or so are inmates of "color".

i find fault with obama`s statement because he did`t include other people of "color" that are stuck in the same situation as the black men and women.

[Lurking Dem]

9. How can he be wrong

about voicing a concern about a possibility?

[Hamlette]

10. Gee, I wonder if he's exposing the lies of Rudy or Huck or Mitt. You know, lies about their own

actions and character.

Ohyeahsure they are.