"Mr. President, I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room, sir. A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today.
"You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals, from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama saying that they were not born in the United States, which is not true.
"You have told four congresswoman who were American citizens to go back to where they came from.
"You have used words like animal and rabbit to describe black district attorneys.
"You attacked black journalists, calling them a loser, saying the questions that they ask are, quote, 'stupid and racist'. You have had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort.
"So my question, sir, now that you are asking black supporters to vote for you, 'Why should black voters trust you after you have used language like that?'"
****
(Again, that takes a second to reproduce. You're welcome.)
Below is how I would "handle" these three women. I offer two rhetorical paths.
****
Thank you for the question. Elephant in the room? You suggest the elephant in the room is that I 'have been painted as a racist, but think that I need black votes?'
I think the elephant in the room is there are no black men up here. Where are the men? Three black women? I have heard the blacks are a matriarchy, but until just this moment I didn't ever really consider how true it is.
Scan the audience
Gentlemen? This is how you want to play the game?
****
OR
****
Thank you for the question. Elephant in the room.
That expression describes the idea that there can be some huge topic on everyone's minds that each person simultaneously avoids chatting about.
You suggest the hidden topic is that I am a racist but need black votes to win.
I don't think the fact that I need black votes to win is the elephant. And my opponents have thrown so much mud my way, social and legal, that I think we would all agree that it would be silly to make time to defend against every smear. So for the same reason I won't defend myself to you today either—especially because that wasn't your question.
But I want to answer your question about needing black votes.
Can anyone tell me, just shout it out, where USA ranks on total black population among all countries?
No? We're somewhere around 10th. Outside of Africa, we're 2nd.
But nobody knew that.
Is the elephant that I need black voters? Or is the elephant that black voters need me?
But that's still not the real question you want answered.
Your real question is, "What are you going to do for us"?
The answer is "charter schools". Thomas Sowell, a national treasure, has a great book, Charter Schools and Their Enemies, that has affected me greatly.
I know that education is not an immediate fix to immediate problems, by which I mean mostly money problems. So my answer probably seems like a disappointing answer. But you know that education is the ultimate fix to problems. 'Folks who know better, do better.' That's not just a great quote by great black preachers. It is also a universal truth.
I have to get going now. Have your people call my people. I'd love to do this again sometime.
No comments:
Post a Comment