Can you give us the last two years?

Dear President Obama:


I feel compelled to write you this letter because of various developments in your presidency. A presidency, which for the record, has been declared officially "over" by some in the chattering class from the majority population.


I know that you officially have almost two years left to go, but let's face it, most of these folks in America have already made up their minds about you, and, for whatever reason, they are not feeling you anymore.


Your approval rating stands at 41% and your disapproval ratings stand at 52%. Then there is this number: 54%. That's the amount of people here in America who do not believe that you can do the job you were elected to do.


But enough of that. I am sure that you are well aware of these numbers and the mood of the country.


Personally, (with all due respect to my friend Bruce Dixon) I don't think that you have been any worse than all of the other presidents that led this country. The Dow is at record levels; unemployment is down; OBL is dead, home values are going up; you brought back an economy that was in the tank; we are finally closer to having a better health care system; and you pulled the troops out of Iraq as promised. (Please don't go back.)


But all of this means nothing to the typical American, the narrative has already been painted of you by your political enemies , and most (not all) of the masses are buying it.


But here is the good news: Your approval rating is not below 13%. Why is this good news? Because that is approximately the percentage of black folks in this country, and I am pretty sure that if you were to poll blacks folks, your approval ratings would still be in the eighties nineties. This is in spite of the fact that you have pretty much ignored black folks and tried to be the president for ALL Americans. That was an honorable and well meaning pursuit, but as I am sure that you have learned by now, some people are just never satisfied.   


Sadly, you have surrounded yourself with Ivy League sycophants and Washington politicians, whose lives are lived in the political fishbowl in and around Washington. These people don't care about the things that you should  be caring about. They are there to enhance their careers and move on to the next cushy job, so they would never tell you what I am going to tell you now.


Again, the good news: You have almost two years left to work on issues that primarily concern black folks. This is the time to do it. Forget the rest of America, they have already moved on from you. Time to serve the people who are pushing your approval ratings to 41%. And as bad as that seems, trust me when I tell you, it could be worse.


Mr. President, I need you to start using the bully pulpit to talk about things such as an unfair justice system as it relates to minorities in this country. Heck Rand Paul of all people is talking about it; it's time you do the same. 


I need you to start talking about the high unemployment rate for black folks, and the need to focus on job training in inner city communities as well as investment dollars to start small businesses that can hire some of these folks once they get the proper training.


You can't just give lip service to helping black folks and have token meetings with the CBC to address these issues.


I need you to go on inner city tours and spend time in places like Detroit, Cleveland, Houston, New Orleans, and Memphis. Walk the streets of these cities (Trust me, you will be safe. Gangbangers will assist the Secret Service if they need them to.) And let the main stream media follow you every step of the way.
They need to see that there are parts of this country that could be mistaken for *pick a city* in a Third World country. (I have seen Richard Engel in every war torn country in the Middle East. I have never seen him in Chicago's Auburn Gresham neighborhood on a Saturday night.)


It's time to start talking about gun violence and the killing of young black men by other young black men. It's not enough to get on television every time there is a school shooting in the majority population and wag your finger at the NRA and remain quiet at the carnage in the streets of our cities on any given weekend.


I have a lot more, but I will stop now, because I know that you don't have the time to read everything that I want to stay. Let's face it; you have been a little busy these days.


Just think about what I said.


These folks can't hate you anymore, and no matter what you do for them they won't be satisfied.


Besides, what are they going to do if you go black? Impeach you?


Sincerely,




The Field Negro