Controversial Political Ad Asks: ‘What Has Obama Done?’

There’s an advertisement running on BET that’s got a few of our own in a tizzy. Well, sort of. It doesn’t have anything to do with BET programming per se, but there is a political ad that’s running in between their shows in Cleveland and Seattle that is rubbing many President Barack Obama supporters the wrong way.

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The ad in question features a young Black man and woman criticizing President Obama’s record. The woman kicks it off by paying lip service to the historical significance of Obama’s presidency, i.e. “Of course we were proud of this big ole achievement, y’all!” and then proceeds to ask, ”What has he done as president?”

In July, Obama spoke at the National Urban League conference in New Orleans. Following his speech, National Urban League President and former New Orleans mayor Marc Morial explained to NPR: ”Black-owned businesses still face the challenges of the three C’s. Contracts, which mean opportunities to do business. Contacts, which lead to business opportunities. And capital.”

But I guess Obama signing a $1.15 billion measure to fund a settlement initially reached between the Agriculture Department and minority farmers is meaningless to Frick and Frack in the advertisement.

I gather the same can be said of the reality that many of Obama’s proposals have been thwarted by an obstructionist House of Representatives. I wonder did these Black people in the ad ask themselves how much of that has been fueled by racial animosity — numerous others both Black and White sure have.

As for that claim about the slashing of funds to Black colleges and universities, while there have been some critiques of the order, President Obama signed an executive order, strengthening the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Moreover, although last year’s debt deal cut federally subsidized loans for graduate students, the Obama administration did provide a much-needed boost to the Pell Grant program. By contrast, Mitt Romney and his running mate would essentially gut the program, leaving many Black students in even bigger financial peril.

So when asking, “What has Obama done?” the answer is, “Try Google, fool.”

Seriously, it’s not that hard to work. After you finish that mission, go compare it to Romney interviews like those he recently gave to Black Enterprise. To paraphrase my beloved Nicki Minaj, Mittens ain’t slick and he ain’t saying nothing.

And yes, I did catch the young woman’s snipe about Obama, “And his support of gay marriage is a slap in the face to people of faith.”

Oh, shut up.

“People of faith” need to be “people who read” so they can learn about the history of marriage and how the government is the one who provides their pastor the right to marry and not the other way around. Besides, Obama offered his “personal support” of marriage equality, and since he, too, is a person of faith, one ought to be more considerate of his interpretation of his faith and the law at large. It doesn’t hurt that he’s more qualified than most to give it.