Academic

BET's Robert Johnson Swipes at Obama's Teenage Drug Use and Then Denies It

By Robert Justin Lipkin

BET's Robert Johnson is revealing Consider the following report: "Black Entertainment Television founder Robert Johnson says he was talking about Sen. Barack Obama's work as a community organizer -- not about the senator's admitted drug use as a youth -- when he said this yesterday at a rally for rival Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton: 'As an African American, I am frankly insulted that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues -- Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood; I won't say what he was doing, but he said it in his book -- when they have been involved.' ABC News' Political Radar blog and some other media immediately reported the comments, and -- as Political Radar put it -- said they appeared to be "a veiled swipe at Barack Obama's past drug use.' . . . Following the reporting on what was said, the Clinton campaign quickly put out a statement from Johnson. 'My comments today were referring to Barack Obama's time spent as a community organizer, and nothing else.  Any other suggestion is simply irresponsible and incorrect,' Johnson said."  Really! I'd say Mr. Johnson's explanation is preposterous and any other explanation is superior. Listen for yourself to Johnson's attempt to discredit; Obama by referring to his known drug use as a teenager. Then consider his ludicrous explanation that he was referring to Obama's service as a community organizer. This dissembling is almost as blatant as Bill Clinton's notorious denial of sexual infidelity.

Why would he attempt to assert slyly, "I won't say what he was doing, but he said it in his book?" if he was referring to community organizing. Why not make clear what he was referring to?  Not his style, I suppose. Mr. Johnson would do well to withdraw from public support of Senator Clinton. His disgraceful, cynical, dissembling reveals a duplicitous, puerile personality that should not be tolerated. Although well-known as an entertainment mogul, Mr. Johnson emerged from the political shadows just recently and would be wise to withdraw just as quickly.

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Full post as published by Essentially Contested America on January 15, 2008 (boomark / email).