Anyone watch Real Time with Bill Maher? Cornel West is definitely not impressed with Barack Obama.

[Cali_Democrat]

I can't say that I blame him.

This guy needs his own show. He tells it like it is and he has such a great grasp on the current situation in America.

He's a brilliant man.

[Drunken Irishman]

1. Obama? Yeah...

But I think he's a bit tied up with the presidency to host his own show right now.

Maybe in six years, though!

[rug]

32. You missed this part, "He tells it like it is."

[mr_liberal]

2. Cornell West is so far left

he couldn't win dogcatcher in San Francisco.

He may be brilliant but his politics are not practical.

[Hannah Bell]

3. lol. yeah, that's the ticket.

[bobbolink]

Of course. Its much more "practical" to cut subsidized housing, food stamps, Head Start,

kids breakfast program, and all the other cuts to the safety net.

Practicality... that IS the ticket, eh?

[bobbolink]

57. Of course. Its much more "practical" to cut subsidized housing, food stamps, Head Start,

and all the other cuts to the safety net.

Practicality... that IS the ticket, eh?

[sudopod]

62. The ticket to where is the question.

It ain't heaven, is it.

[bobbolink]

64. I'd say a ticket to a grave, but funding for graves has been deleted.

[Lucian]

4. I think his politics are very practical.

So you think the only practical thing to do is to let the corporations run everything?

That's what you're implying...

[truedelphi]

80. The Corporations are running everything. At least as far as

I can figure.

Back room deals with Big Insurers gave the American People the Health Care Reform Act.

The Financial Powers hold sway over Congress and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, such that eleven to thirty trillion bucks was given to bail them out. Without any stipulations or regulations. So Main Street is not seeing any recovery, only the tab for the Bailouts.

Social Security will be modified until it is broken, to offset the monies allowed as tax credits to the uber Rich.

Military industrial complex is still in charge of two expensive endless wars.
(Though critics in the know say it is more like five or six endless wars.)

Monsanto dictates onerous regulations, so when its inedible GM seed blows on an organic farmers land, that farmer has to fight in court to keep his land. (Usually ends up losing it to the laawyers, anyway.)

Then you have BP in charge of the cleanup under Obama's adminstration. And Obama's EPA decides that Corexit is A-okay.

And after watching "Gasland" this past week, I realize that this "Clean Energy" policy that Obama has been bragging on is yet another swindle. The Natural Gas pipelines are going to destroy our drinking water, and leave people with ruined lives and injured bodies. And of course, more profit for executives at Halliburton and more health problems for average citizens.

[EFerrari]

6. How far left is he?

Cornel West is so far left, he sounds like the Democratic platform. And yes, he could win any office in San Francisco. :)

[grasswire]

7. OMG

I'm shaking my head.

[BuelahWitch]

8. Really? I think he sounds like a Democrat should...

[Dappleganger]

9. No doubt the blue dogs and dlc would hate him...

for acting like a real democrat. I guess your word "practical" is code for right-wing.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[scarletwoman]

29. Thank you, "mr_liberal" for affirming what I've been saying for years here:

"liberals" hate the Left.

"Liberals" would rather compromise with the Right, than ever grant even grudging acknowledgement of leftist social or political critique.

[blindpig]

59. Yep

Their purpose is to act as 'gatekeepers', to prevent any real Left, the opponents of capitalism, from getting any traction. Liberalism is the fake left.

[CommonSensePLZ]

72. What are you talking about?

I'm a liberal and I support liberal-ism. People Fox News calls 'liberal' like Obama are not liberal, they're spineless moderates who would tear out their own spine to try to be friendly with the right and not be screamed at, making them of course easy targets to be picked on.

Don't take us all down just cause of this guy!

[tavalon]

36. I hope you see the irony in your name and your post

[Name removed]

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[Le Taz Hot]

42. Yes, because we've done so well

with "practical" up to this point. :eyes: THIS is the type of pereson the Democrats need to put up instead of these corporate whores we're forced to "choose" between.

[sendero]

44. Not everyone..

.... has been brainwashed into the "right" thought that passes for thinking these days. Apparently you have though.

[marmar]

46. "Dogcatcher in San Francisco"

Sounds like something you'd hear on Bill O'Reilly's show.

[Erose999]

56. I for one, welcome our visitors from Free Republic and other RW sites.

Lets all give them the official DU bi-partisan salute:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zhGNg-SCMVk/SAkoP1V--eI/AAAAAAAABDE/7yPxBgXxE18/s400/Jerry+Lee+Lewis+flip+off.jpg

[Forkboy]

52. There's one in every group.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

67. This San Franciscan says --

you're full of it. :eyes:

[lunatica]

70. LOL! You obviously know nothing about San Francisco

LOL!

[JoePhilly]

71. He reminds me of some of those on the Libertarian side ...

Many libertarians can construct a nice argument of what should happen and it will on its face, make some sense. But then, as you dig in to how you "practically" implement it ... it collapses, because in both cases, the actions required do not take place in a vacuum.

Philosophy is great, governing is hard.

[H2O Man]

75. Oh.

Thank you for explaining this.

[Lucian]

5. The only people who should be impressed with Obama are Republicans.

[emilyg]

21. They are.

[jbnow]

65. Oh come on. republicans smear Obama even more than Democrats do

and make up even more things about him

[EFerrari]

10. The valuable thing about the good doctor is that his crit

comes without a drop of ill will or malice.

[mmonk]

11. He is a man of social and economic justice.

Why would he like the way Obama has governed? He's liberal.

[savalez]

12. Who?

[jp11]

30. The interesting man who speaks in a creative manner about his

wishes and the plight of America as featured in this panel of many in a lively discussion, worth the watch when you have time.

http://www.americasnextchapter.com/watchlive.html

Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornel_West

[Ramulux]

13. Looks like I need to watch this episode

Anything with Cornel West is an instant must-watch. Its sad hearing people on this site go after West for being too "far-left", I honestly dont even know what that means and would like someone to explain how anything he says is wrong. I fucking love the guy.

[givemebackmycountry]

14. No shit -

Anything with Cornell West is an instant must-watch.
I got your back on that one.

Believe it or not, he was very funny going back and forth with Matthew Perry of all people.

I'm willing to bet that the good doctor, would be my first choice of someone I would love to sit down with for a long dinner.
Making him laugh would be enough for me to die happy.
He's an American original and a true treasure.

[EFerrari]

15. He was tweeting in support of the Egyptian revolution the other night.

Of course. :)

[roguevalley]

17. Empathy - a core dem and liberal pov - is in short supply anymore even

among dems. Witness Obama cutting the poor's safety net while ensuring that the rich fuck us to death. All that and a great speech too. He will be one of the most coulda, woulda, shoulda presidents in our history.

[Rhiannon12866]

27. +1

Me, too. I sat through the show twice. He was the best thing about it, always entertaining and the smartest man in the room. And I agree that his repartee with Matthew Perry was funny as hell... :rofl: :thumbsup:

[FrenchieCat]

16. Cornel West comes to our church often enough......

and he doesn't bad mouth the President there.
Perhaps when Cornel West can show everyone what he's
actually done for Americans (cause his "causes" are
far and few in between), then we'll talk.

Intellectual idealistic Rants only pays Mr. West's rent....
not anyone elses.

[tekisui]

19. So, you have to have achieved a certain level to criticize the President?

Weak sauce.

[FrenchieCat]

20. When pointing a finger, one should make sure not to wear gloves.

[Name removed]

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[Enthusiast]

24. Weak indeed. nt

[QC]

76. Apparently, no one has yet achieved that level. n/t

[Name removed]

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[Hissyspit]

28. He's an academic. His job is to be an academic.

Just like Obama's was when he was an academic.

Anyone whoever says or does anything even remotely possibly connected with implying anything that could somehow be seen as imparting something that might be possibly described as a negative light on the President has to be beat to death with straw men.

Good grief.

[tavalon]

38. I just watched a couple of interviews with Mr. West

He has quite the grasp on both politics and the best of Christianity. I suspect he doesn't say anything at church about the President because it would be unseemly and not keeping with the separation of church and state that I suspect he believes in.

I'm amazed to say that I've thusfar, until tonight, been unaware of Mr. West. That's going to change. I'm quite entranced by him - he's impish and yet, clearly has a genius level intelligence. Heck, in one of the clips I watched, he reminded me of Joseph Campbell, the patron saint of my own religion. I'll admit I feel a tinge of envy that you go to the same church.

[Dappleganger]

60. Look up his video with Craig Fergueson.

[Danascot]

66. Really worth seeing - here's part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt-kAIyeJf8

additional parts are linked at the page.

[Name removed]

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[dixiegrrrrl]

25. I saw it, my first introduction to Mr. West.

I was impressed with his words and eloquence.
Enough so that I had to zip over to Wiki to learn more about him.

"West has called the U.S. a "racist patriarchal" nation where "white supremacy" continues to define everyday life."

Can't argue with that.


His viewpoint seems to be very much in keeping with what Democrats used to sound like 30 years ago.
I note he calls himself a Democratic Socialist.
something I will make it a point to learn more about.

[Moral_Imagination]

26. k make sure you buy all his books

and book him as a guest. He's a big activist afterall :eyes:

[tavalon]

37. Please do

I did and now proudly call myself one.

[Oak2004]

74. And may I offer up a link for your research?

http://www.dsausa.org/dsa.html

[jefferson_dem]

31. I love Cornel and could listen to him philosophize all day.

This is one of my favorite youtubes - Cornel on "greatness": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAfxFEGF-wY

But he is a self-avowed socialist and has never really been a fan of Obama.

[sudopod]

51. GASP!! -- A SOCIALIST!

Fetch my smelling salts!

[jefferson_dem]

58. Rather sensitive aren't you?

No need to freak out when that word is used as a simple descriptive.

[Teaser]

33. I'm not that impressed with Cornel West

his ideas are a mishmash of post-modernism and pop philosophy.

His academic writings (such as they are) are a jumble of word salad.

He is a terrible philosopher and has yet to develop an interesting or original idea. He gets by on his pop culture persona.

[MH1]

35. you beat me to it!

the first few times I heard him in short clips on the radio, I liked him a lot. Then I tried to watch him in some tv interview or panel program. Made my head hurt. I probably only lasted 10 minutes, and that was with alcohol.

[Teaser]

39. sadly, he makes Ayn Rand look like a serious thinker

just cause he's on the side of the angels doesn't mean he's that bright.

He's not.

[Forkboy]

53. "he makes Ayn Rand look like a serious thinker"

That says more about you than Mr. West.

Way more.

[Teaser]

78. Yes. That I'm smarter than Mr. West

but there wasn't any doubt about that.

[Forkboy]

79. ...

:rofl:

[Le Taz Hot]

41. No, he's not impressed, is he?

Someday, before I die, I'm going to have an opportunity to attend a lecture of his. I didn't see the Real Time episode but, believe it or not, I caught him on Craig Ferguson recently. You're right, he IS brilliant.

[Bluenorthwest]

45. The Freguson interview was good stuff. Craig kept Cornell

off the overtly religious stuff, did not allow him to launch a defense of the anti-gay hate preacher world as he likes to do. West is sort of the Fanny Flag of our time, a perpetual guest on talk shows and games shows and anyone who pays him a fee. He can be brilliant. He can also be insipid, petty, inconsistent, a bad listener and a man who rationalizes bigotry against minorities he does not much care for.
He's good conversation, to an extent. Like most of the hyper religious, you have to walk away at some point, as his own hypocrisy is so deep. I'd like him better if he claimed to be an entertainer, not a Professor and Preacher. I do not care much for those who rationalize one form of prejudice while speaking against another.

[w8liftinglady]

47. Cornel West is brutally honest. Honest being the key word.

he has never backed off saying what is obviously true...I recall one program

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTLrNVg6UQs

[dixiegrrrrl]

48. That's the program I was looking for!

Thank you for the link.

:fistbump:

[dixiegrrrrl]

55. I just found the whole 3 hour show on line!

http://www.americasnextchapter.com/watchlive.html

[11 Bravo]

49. I wonder what his DU user name is.

[lies and propaganda]

50. I WAS THERE!!!!

so freaking rad! I screamed like a total fangirl after it for Dr West.

[AngryOldDem]

61. West should have his own show.

Consistently talks sense and doesn't take all day about it. Concise, intelligent, and witty.

I always like it when Maher has him as a guest.

[dixiegrrrrl]

63. Has one.

With Travis Smiley.

http://www.smileyandwest.com/radio.html

http://www.smileyandwest.com/archives/

[maryf]

68. Took him a while

West was for Obama until about 6 months into his administration... but so were a lot of people...

[KeepItReal]

69. Dr. West still is for Obama...when he earns it

Y'all can see what blind faith in Obama got us. :-(

When you get beyond Obama's rhetoric, there are some unsavory policy moves.

In the words of Obama's favorite, Ronald Reagan: "Trust, but verify."

[CommonSensePLZ]

73. Reagan? Whoa I don't think Obama's THAT far to the right..

But that's how it should be, I don't agree with just backing Obama cause he's a democrat either. I fear that absolute party loyalty leads to corruption (see: Republican party)

[Manifestor_of_Light]

77. I got disgusted with him when I got his new book.

Living and Loving Out Loud -- Brother West.

An autobiography. Everybody is supportive, his family is supportive, his Christian faith is supportive, blah blah...it's like the Cosby Show. Everybody is squeaky clean and wonderful.

Then he has a bunch of short affairs with women, and justifies them by saying he was "in love", although he tells us very little about these women. He's even divorced with children, and we learn next to nothing about the mother of his children.

I think he is horny and can't keep it in his pants and is rationalizing his behavior. I'd like him better if he was honest and said, "I'm a horny bastard" without trying to justify it with "love".

He's kinda like Thomas Friedman - at first he sounds like he's making sense. Then after a few minutes you realize he is NOT making sense.