On Saturday afternoon, Jarrett spoke with members of the Trotter Group of African American columnists and with regional reporters, and again outlined what she considered the Obama administration's successes, among them funding for historically black colleges and universities; health care reform, which she said will disproportionately help African Americans; and reducing disparities between penalties for possession of crack and for powdered cocaine.
The only other mention in the media of Jarrett's bragging about Obama helping the crack cocaine business as being good for the Black community was by DeWayne Wickham who wrote in his Tuesday column in USA Today:
Obama supporters need to unabashedly trumpet what the president has done for blacks — such as increased funding for education, universal health care, and a sharp reduction in the sentencing disparity for possession of crack cocaine instead of powder, all things that Jarrett said have disproportionately benefited them.
Mainstream media outlets that covered Jarrett's appearance at the NABJ but failed to report on her bragging about Obama's easing the penalties for crack cocaine being good for Blacks were CNN, Politico, the Washington Post, the Dallas Morning News and BET.
Obama has drawn criticism in the African-American community for prominently helping gays, illegal aliens and feminists without helping Blacks. Obama and Jarrett thinking his softening the sentencing for crack cocaine, which has plagued African-American neighborhoods for decades, will help him with Black voters is strange politics.
