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Originally Posted by marilynk  As you may (or may not) know--I'm not an Obama fan;
But, you know what? I think your last statement is such a low blow and shows a huge amount of ignorance (or stupidity, or naivity--not really sure).
Inner cities neighborhoods are known to be dangerous--always have been, and probably will always be.
Lots of people crammed into small areas. Usually those people are economically in the "lower class"--there is a direct correlation btwn poverty and violence. I really wish people would just accept the fact that you can argue FACTS without resorting to nonsense. |
Sorry - I was trying to go for brevity, which is not my strong suit!
I agree - change in inner city neighborhoods is very hard to pull of, at least on a permament basis.
His theme is based on the notion that he has this ability to bring dramatic change.
It doesn't appear that at least in that particular job role he held in the past that he effected change that created an amazing, sweeping difference in the lives of the neighborhoods in which he was working.
Absolutely - it's a huge, systemic problem, and perhaps to *expect* that he would have mobilized people to have a complete societal revolution is a next-to-impossible expectation.
But he uses his job history as part of the proof that he is Mr. Change.
And yet... it doesn't look like anything really *changed* all that much because of his presence. At least, not in a lasting way.
And no, I'm not under the impression that it was solely his responsiblity to completely overhaul the rougher areas of Chicago, and certainly don't blame him for the way things were or are.
But it would be nice to see where he left his mark - an indelible mark of accomplishment - somewhere, especially if he is going to use that former job role to 'sell himself' to the American people as someone who *changes* things.
ETA: The two big accomplishments of his I've heard cited for his efforts were that he got a job training center moved closer to the neighborhoods where people needed training, and got something done regarding asbestos inspections. So I guess the real question - and I don't have the answer for it - is what happened to the employment rate in the areas he worked in the years following the move of the training center.