The New face of Discrimination

There appears to be a new discrimination that is rampant across our country. This past week there was an arrest of an African American Professor (Henry Louis Gates) of Harvard by the Cambridge police and I found it interesting that President Obama and Governor (Deval) Patrick came out and immediately cried "racism" by law enforcement without asking a single question. They didn't ask about the protocol used by the police, they didn't ask what witnesses saw, they appeared to simply just jumped to conclusions. The reason why is because 'one of their own' had to have been mistreated, in their minds. Before you accuse me of using the "race card," I am not. I recognize that Obama, Patrick, and Gates are all African American and the arresting office was white. But that isn't what I mean. Gates and his supporters have something else in common, they are elitists.

• Patrick graduated from Harvard University for both his undergraduate degree and a law degree. Furthermore, he went to the prestigious Milton Academy.


• Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and then went on to Harvard Law School, becoming the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review.
  
• Henry Louis Gates, the man at the center of the storm, has his BA in History from Yale and a PhD in English from Cambridge University.
  

What seems to be playing a bigger role in the things these men have in common is elitism, rather than race. We don't want to miss, in this story, the poor police officer, Sgt. James Crowley, who could not be more "blue collar" in his uniform. Like most police officers today, he likely has some college experience. A couple of years of college maybe or, who knows, an undergraduate degree from a solid college some where. His academic credentials are not nearly as easy to find of those of his accusers. I do know he teaches a course on race relations at the police academy because of his years of experience and exceptional conduct in this area. Now being tarnished by a Governor and President who don't know enough about the situation and a professor who knows more than exists in the hearts of men. At least, it appears, this man.

All we have are some facts, laid out nicely by The New York Daily News. The information surrounding the case that all parties agreed on:

"Crowley, an 11-year veteran of the Cambridge Police Department, responded to a reported break-in at the renowned scholar's home last Thursday. A neighbor reported seeing two black men break into the professor's home. She was unaware the man forcing his way inside was Gates, who had locked himself out. When Crowley arrived, he told an incensed Gates he was investigating a report of a break-in and asked for his identification. 'Why? Because I'm a black man in America,' Gates responded, the police report says. Gates initially refused to hand over his ID, instead angrily accusing the officer of being a racist and 'leveling threats that he wasn't someone to mess with,' the report says. After Gates produced his Harvard University ID, he repeatedly demanded Crowley state his name, which the officer claims he had already done. Crowley said Gates continued hurling insults at him as he left the home. Crowley arrested the scholar for disorderly conduct. The charge was later dropped. 'He was arrested after following me outside the house, continuing the tirade even after being warned multiple times - probably a few more times than the average person would,' Crowley told the radio station." You can hear the entire interview here.

Comedian Bill Cosby, who has become something of a conscious to many in the African American community, commented on the controversy with three simple words, "I wasn't there." He wants both sides to simply speak the truth and the facts to be examined. He doesn't conclude that the person with the better credentials is a better person, an impression that the Governor of Massachusetts and the President of the United States seems to be conveying.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

"Words" Come Back to Haunt

"Talk is cheap" is an old cliche and remains particularly true when it comes to politics. Earlier in this campaign, in one of Barack Obama's most articulate moments, he told an audience "don't tell me words don't matter." From there he spoke of great speeches in history that led to the expansion of civil liberties. Sadly, the speech seems to be a plagiarism of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, but I will save that for another post.

Sadder still, and the focus of this post, is that "Words" don't seem to matter to Barack Obama, according to a new commercial being generated by the John McCain campaign. Obama has been an early supporter of campaign finance "reform" and is a huge proponent of the public financing of campaigns. For months and early on in his campaign, Obama indicated that he was moving in the direction of public financing. Once he proved himself to be a master fundraiser, the idea of campaigning on the dole has been discarded.

Obama has been promising voters that he would meet with Senator McCain and discuss finance reform and how it would be practically applied to this campaign. That isn't going to happen. That is why the McCain campaign has put together a campaign video taking Obama to task.

I, personally have no problem, with Obama not getting dollars from the government to get elected. In fact, I commend him. I have serious problems with candidates who are critical of the welfare state for the poor, but get up to $80 million in government hand outs to get elected President. Such a system is nothing short of immoral. However, Obama has always endorsed this system and has been very critical of the influence of money on politics. Furthermore, he has promised to meet with McCain on the subject and now won't do it. This is pure hypocrisy.

This is just one of the many areas that politicians need accountability. Really, neither Obama or McCain should get a pass. The biggest issue in 2008 is integrity, which is difficult to find in politics today.

Get the best in business news and information by getting a free subscription to the Houston Business Review.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.