Lately, Barack Obama has become the target upon which a slew of heat-seeking black critics have set their sights. Many of the president's foes chide him for the nation's lagging economy and high unemployment in the black community. BET founder Bob Johnson is among them and has been quite outspoken about his opposition toward Obama for a while.
In 2008, Johnson supported Obama's primary opponent Hillary Clinton and alluded to his illicit drug use. "Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood that I won't say what he was doing but he said it in his book."
In an interview with CBS News this week, Johnson points to issues that hinder economic progress in the black community such as, disproportionately high unemployment, sagging home ownership statistics and few opportunities for entrepreneurial growth, as reasons for his criticism of the president.
Specifically, he attacks Obama for the 16.7 percent unemployment rate currently staggering black America. He also challenges Obama's ability to lead the country out of high unemployment. Most glaring in the video is Johnson's call to the president to sacrifice his job for the sake of the economy and, if necessary, "be willing to be a one term president."
Johnson cautions that we continue with this trend, the country will become split between the haves and the have-nots.
The bad economy has taken a personal hit on Johnson. According to Forbes.com, the one-time billionaire's fortune has plummeted to $550 million in recent years. In 2010, a cash-strapped Johnson had to sell his NBA franchise, the Charlotte Bobcats, in what many viewed as a desperate move for quick cash, according to the Daily Beast . Perhaps Johnson's advice to Obama is sound given his own experience with money mismanagement.
Read more at Real Clear Politics.
In other news: VIDEO: Dean Says Blacks 'Brainswashed' Against GOP