[dellinger63]

Originally Posted by jms62

Wow Obama said that? Do you have a link where we can see that quote?

"We have to fight for those young men standing on street corners with little hope for the future besides ending up in jail. We have to break the cycle of poverty and violence that’s gripping too many neighborhoods.

How many times in the last year has this city lost a child at the hands of another child? How many times have our hearts stopped in the middle of the night with the sound of a gunshot or a siren? How many teenagers have we seen hanging around on street corners when they should be sitting in a classroom? How many are sitting in prison when they should be working, or at least looking for a job? How many in this generation are we willing to lose to poverty or violence or addiction? How many?" Obama speech at 99th NAACP Convention , Jul 12, 2008

Most people like the idea of a politician who votes for individual rights, but the fact that Obama could do so and still maintain the respect of law enforcement shows his political skills. Obama voted against a proposal to criminalize contact with a gang for any convicts on probation or out on bail. In 2001, Obama opposed making gang activity eligible for the death penalty. “There’s a strong overlap between gang affiliation and young men of color.... I think it’s problematic for them to be singled out as more likely to receive the death penalty for carrying out certain acts than are others who do the same thing.“ In 1999, Obama opposed mandatory adult prosecution for youth who discharge a firearm near a school, declaring, ”There is really no proof or indication that automatic transfers and increased penalties and adult penalties for juvenile offenses have, in fact, proven to be more effective in reducing juvenile crime or cutting back on recidivism.“ Barack Obama: This Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson

Obama said, “In my book, I mention that I dabbled in drugs or that I was acting tough. I put that in there explicitly because what I wanted to communicate was the degree to which many young men, particularly young African-American men, engage in self-destructive behavior because they don’t have a clear sense of direction. But I also wanted to point out that there is way to pull out of that and refocus, and in my case, it was tying myself to something much larger than myself. In my case, that was trying to promote a fair and just society. That is the reason I work on ex-offender legislation. I say to myself that if I had been growing up in low-income neighborhoods in Chicago, there is no reason to think that I wouldn’t be in jail today, that I could have easily taken that same wrong turn. That is something that I am very mindful of and it is something that motivates me" Obama: From Promise to Power, by David Mendell

Q: On mandatory death sentences for gang members who kill cops you voted no. Would you explain?
OBAMA: [The proposed legislation] was entirely unnecessary and unconstitutional. It suggested that I could kill a police officer but because I’m not a gang member, I would be treated differently. I think both cases should be death penalty eligible. Illinois Senate Debate #3 2004 http://www.ontheissues.org/Archive/I...rack_Obama.htm

Hope that suffices. Obama's belief that if he had grown up poor he would have been in jail speaks volumes to how he views the problem, how weak he feels as an individual and the lack of general moral compass he possesses.

"How many times in the last year has this city lost a child at the hands of another child?"
These aren't gangbangers to the President they are children who need to be coddled rather than punished. And this is why he and his ilk are part of the problem rather than the solution.