Obama: "I'm Not Gonna Stop Talking About" Personal Responsibility
(CINCINNATI) Barack Obama spoke about personal responsibility at the NAACP Convention tonight, despite enduring critcism by some leaders in the African American community that his words are too severe.
"I know there's some who've been saying I've been too tough talking about responsibility," Obama said, making a veiled reference to Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was recently caught by a microphone criticizing Obama saying he was "talking down to black people."
"NAACP, I'm here to report, I'm not gonna stop talking about it."
He called on the African American community to set an example and take care of "our own stuff. Then a lot of other folks are gonna be interested in joining up and working with us to take care of America's stuff, we can lead by example, as we did during the civil rights movement. Because the problems that plague our communities, they're not unique to us."
"Because I believe that in the end, it doesn't matter how much money we invest in our communities, or how many 10-point plans we propose, or how many government programs we launch, none of it will make any difference, at least not enough of a difference, if we don't also at the same time seize more responsibility in our own lives," Obama added.
"Dr. Martin Luther King understood this. He said it's not an 'either-or' proposition. It's a 'both-and' proposition. It's both. We need individual responsibility and societal responsibility. We need government doing what it's supposed to do. We need CEOs doing what they're supposed to do. We need parents doing what they're supposed to do. That's how well truly honor those who came before."
John McCain is scheduled to address the NAACP convention on Wednesday.