I think C West hair is chocking his brain!!! He sounds as if he is jelous because he is too d#* crazy to run for president. Your program was full of crazies. What's up with Paladeno? I think he may have been smoking something. I LOVED the way u handled him (thumbs up Ed)

Cornel West has made some correct points. He is saying the same thing Ralph Nader said about Obama after the election. He does not know how to grasp power.I think Obama is afraid to do anything for African Americans alone because the media and the right would have a fit . Just like they did when he invited the rapper to the White House. He is correct in saying even though he got Bin Laden he has fallen short way short on his other campaign promises which were made solely to the middle class the poor and the minorities.

Dr West is letting his jealousy show. He doesn't speak for me, nor does he speak for any one part of America. This idiot has to realize that President Obama is the potus, not president of just Black America. Find a decent president that trys to do just for everyone, Tavis Smiley and Cornel West wants to be crabs in a bucket. Sit down and shut up West. Please shave and get a haircut while sitting! I thought you were smart, but now I couldn't dislike you and Tavis more.

Dr. West is absolutely correct. the health care reform act was a giveaway to the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries. a single payer system was never discussed, there was no negotiation: the president abandoned it because he SERVES CORPORATE INTERESTS AND NO OTHER. the wall street reform? there was none, quit lying. the system is the exact same, overproduction and speculation will lead to another collapse. period.

Obama's policies are not "some setbacks", his "vision" is imperial, but his cynicism, marketing, and capacity to lie and manipulate workers and the poor IS undiminished.

ed, how relevant is the black caucus, really? WHO CARES? is this like the leaked diplomatic cables alluding to arab nations supporting US policies? that's some "real" democracy, isn't it, Mrs. Harris-Perry? Dr. West's criticisms are not vague, they are general. he is not being disingenuous. is the working class better off because of the lily ledbetter act? men and women can now both be equally exploited, instead of women being more especially exploited. not an improvement.

what was it that Malcolm X said? you stab me in the back and pull the knife out an inch and call that PROGRESS? emphasis mine.

where was Sotomayor when the SCOTUS destroyed protections against warrantless searches? because that's democratic, right? progressive, right? remember Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize for Potentially ending the wars which he will not end after illegally assassinating the target of one war and... there is no reason i can think of to stay in Iraq. we are also in a third war now.

reduces the way we go after marijuana and cocaine? the war on drugs is a social failure, a policy failure, a moral failure, and a financial failure. it should be stopped, and it would be if it wasn't profitable.

nice backpedalling your ecstatic guffaw about the division in the black community. you smack of the corporate establishments infiltration and subversion of the academy.

and that literally two paragraphs even mention Obama's upbringing, and that AFTER about 20 paragraphs, and that you fixate on one detail of those two paragraphs, then finish to say that Dr. West is criticizing the president for "who he is" instead of "what he does"? who is being disingenuous and vague now?

ed, you should have chosen a better hatchetwoman. your establishment ideology is showing.

Ed, the question I would have loved for you to ask Cornel West is what has he done for the black community. Does he even know how the bottom half live in the black community?

Can West point to one time where he went into the black community to talk about the black on black crime or teen pregnancies. I wonder if he has gone to the inner cities and taken any young black boy under his wing and served as a mentor. It is fine and dandy to hold president Obama to all these high standards, but what if anything has West and for that matter, his side kick Tavis Smiley done for black people.

How ironic that Cornel West speaks about all these poor black and white people, yet he was incensed that the man who carried his bag to his hotel room had a ticket to the inauguration and not him. How rich, right? These guys are hypocrites, laughing their behinds all the way to the bank, while trying to use president Obama as a guise to tell us how angry they are that poor people are suffering. What happened to poor people before president Obama took office.

And West's nasty little statement about the president coming from a white world perspective is comical. He is no different than the birthers. He is a disgrace, and I for one have zero respect for him and his ilk. Shame on Cornel West. He can't have a discussion without calling the president these silly names. What pseudo-intellect.

Go freaking figure.

What professor West is expressing are the views of progressive America, which is what we voted and worked for when we elected Obama and the majority representation of Democrats to both houses of congress. However, unlike as promised during the campaign, it has in all honesty been business as usual, the upper crust prospers and the rest suffer and pay for their prosperity. The issue professor west was attempting to speak to, i. e. health care and corporate larceny are far broader issues confronting the middle class than is "Lilly Led better, or marijuana arrest and convictions, or for that matter, gays in the military, all of which are noble causes, but have little to do with the broader issues of economic survival of the middle class, there has to be some jobs before women can have equal access and equity once hired. I guess I don't understand how the Lilly Led better Act improved upon the Civil Rights Act of 1964, or the Equal Pay Act, both of which prohibited discrimination against women in employment?

And one more thing:

For too long so-called black leaders in this country used black victimhood as a cash cow. President Obama has come and stripped them of that foolishness by encouraging young people that they can be whatever they want to be by working and and making their marks. Look at the young boy, who introduced President Obama at the Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis. He aspires to do better with his life, despite the odds he's endured in his short life, and is sure to experience in the future.

What we've gotten from the likes of West and Tavis, is the constant whining about what ails our communities, but what in the world have we seen Tavis and West do to make anything better in those communities. Instead, they whip up the frenzy about how poorly our communities are. Yes, things are horrible in the communities, but aside from their loud talk and foolish sloganeering about love for the black brother and all that crap, these carnival barkers have done nothing to help black people.

Tavis has sold his books, Cornel sits on his perch at his Ivy League schools. Do we know if he has gone to any communities just a few miles from his ivy league schools to talk to young boys on the streets, etc. I am so sick and tired of these people making their money on the backs of poor people.

West really need to have his head examined. He's bordering on a little delusion there.

Dr. Cornell West speaks for the bottom.The folks working two shifts to eat. The people afraid to get hurt because they don't have ANY healthcare to rely on. single mothers, hopeless brothers locked up behind bars. Im from the bottom. When i first read Dr. West FULL interview i was skeptic on believing what he said but it made sense. Obamas record is weak. i havent see any change where it counts the most. Obama has huge accomplishments and is a great role model to look up to but at the end of the day he let a lot of people down and has done nothing to stop Americas decline.

I also agree with West on the comments about Obama feeling more comfortable around rich educated white men and having a fear of a real free black man however you shouldnt reveal those opinions to the public. just stick to things you can prove and support. lol play your cards right Dr. West.

With respect - -

Listening to Professor West was like jumping into a time machine and traveling back nearly half a century to college campus civil rights rallies. The pseudo intellectualism of the language and vocabulary are a mismatch to 2011 times. The Professor, not only is stuck in time, he is stuck in his thinking. Using outdated vague and irrelevant rhetoric, he sadly exposes the probability that his motivation is more from personal feelings fear of having become out-dated and irrelevant to the times we now live in.

Thank you, Professor, for your fervent rhetoric of the past - it helped make a generation aware of injustice and put a country on a path to fulfill its' promise. To remain relevant and continue on your life's path set so long ago, you must be willing to understand the time within which we live now. Not 'THEN". Times have changed, circumstances have changed, needs and solutions have changed and America's both strengths and weaknesses, are now multi-colored, not monochromatic. Many of your and my generation have grown with the passage of time. Now it is your turn to catch up.

In my view, Mr West is very much out of line in his view. The opinion that he is perpetrating is actually what I feel is holding those he is supposedly is sympathizing with back from their full fledged potential. It is views such as his that doesn't ask each of us what we can and should do instead of looking for a magical person to fix all our woes, whether it be a president or some power figure; nevertheless, President Obama is trying all he can and doing it as well as it can be done given the political situation, he has been having to deal with.

Mr West needs to get over himself and look at the situation from a more genuine perspective, and may be then he might be viewed as the "professor" the he supposedly is!

Yet on the other hand it clearly shows how liberals voice opinions differently then the rabid right. Sure a lot of what West side will be used by the rabid right to call Obama a poo poo head, but West also believes that Obama could shove the GOP around like the GOP did for the last 10 Years to the Democrats. West, I have heard him speak out a few dozen times in the last 2 years, was one of the people that believes Obama should have called the GOP's bluff.

It is easy to sit on the sidelines sprouting your opinions, but reality is you haven't a clue about what Obama knew at the time he made his decisions. Think about it, when the left was saying go ahead let the GOP make the mistake of shutting down the government, first thing about calling a bluff is understanding the ones making the bluff, are the GOP crazy enough to cut their own throats by shutting down the government.

After the Ryan bill, just a year after health care reform passed with the GOP saying the government was going to kill granny, the GOP voted for a bill that would literally either kill granny or make life even harder for granny then what it already is. How crazy is the GOP for trying to free up money for more tax cuts to billionaires at the expensive of granny, plenty crazy it seems.

West believes that by calling the GOP bluff and the GOP does exactly what they say they will it will hurt the GOP like it did in 1996. The problem with West believing that is the reason it worked in 96 was because Newt and the rest of the GOP went on TV and crowed loudly that they were shutting the government down.

The reason it back fired in 96 was the GOP put their face on the shut down so people knew who to blame. The political land scape has changed since 96, this time if the GOP had shut the government down Democrats would have been blamed, the reason is in 96 there wasn't any Fox news to spin for the GOP who would have twisted this as Obama and the Democrats shut down the government.

For proof of that look no farther then last week with the end of Bin Laden, The right wing spin machine gave all the credit to Bush and torture even though they had nothing to do with it. McCain went onto the senate floor and admitted torture produced no information on the capture of OBL, even here we saw the rabid rights reaction, yells of RINO and McCain is not a real republican was their cries.

Remember we are dealing with a time when history, facts and truth are distorted to mean whatever the rabid right decides what history, fact and truth is. I can guarantee if the government had shut down Obama would have got the blame. In fact I heard people making that claim before Obama even made a move to stop the GOP government shut down.

ANOTHER OPEN LTR. TO 'brother' Ed :

"1. any person, animal or thing supposed to bring good luck 2. any person, animal or thing adopted by a group, esp. a sports team as a symbol or for good luck. "

The ABOVE definition is that of mascot.

"... 3. a person whose actions, ideas, etc. are controlled by another. "

This last definition for a puppet ALSO serves to make more complete the description of President Obama by Cornell West.

Had Barack Obama NOT described in his book Audacity of Hope, how much he secretly(?), quietly experienced feelings of plain, naked aspiration when touring(?) the WhiteHouse at Bushes invitation...

...Had candidate Obama NOT responded the way he did to a reporter's question on some matter I'm not able to recall, but which I DO RECALL my reaction of disappointment, shock, AND thinking how this guy is unfortunately like EVERY OTHER politician, regardless of his obvious racial distinction (and obvious intelligence as well) ...

... Had candidate and later President Obama NOT soo easily, soo often conceeded both talking points and policy to radical elements of the GOP (who soon I would disparingly label "pachyderms " ), specifically doing a 180 degree change on reforming our so called health care "system"... in favor of right wing corporate interests that DIDN'T want to compete with private option (despite THEIR preaching on their high horse about the "FREE MARKET" ) AND ESPECIALLY DIDN'T WANT OBAMA ADM. TO SWITCH US TO MEDICARE FOR ALL ...

...Had Obama NOT just ask Americans in his Cairo speech, I believe, to "make (him)" do the right ( oppsie, I mean the correct ) thing...and instead, do what his hero Rea-GUN did, appealing DIRECTLY to the American people, when it was apparent early on that John "Boner" and friends weren't going to B adult and earnest in their duty at governance...

...Had Obama NOT doubled or tripled the BUSH drone attacks on Pakistan / Afghanistan, in order to aspire to B a "tough" war president ( NOT a 'wimpy' liberal) which resulted in killing of innocent civilians, including 9 yr.old kids...had NOT "encouraged" another sovereign nation NOT to follow their own laws and not persue prosecution (or was it extradiction??) of some pachyderm friendly individual... had NOT forked over massive public $$ (borrowed from China) to Banksters and various other Wall St. Kriminals / parasites...had INSISTED on an FDR style Manhattan Project approach to infrastructure (over pachyderm state governor's objections ), which included R and D in alternative energy infrastructure AND individual retraining / education and individual household repairs and refinancing where needed...

IN OTHER WORDS...had Obama followed the mandate that reportedly, ostensibly put him and his party in BOTH the executative and legislative branches, and NOT strive to B sooo bi-partisan (weak) from the campaign thru the first 2+ yrs. in office, he would not have needed 2 wait 4 the opportunity 2 take out bin Laden in MAY 2011 to earn more political capital...

...and so far, has NOT YET USED IT TO READ THE PACHYDERMS THE RIOT ACT...

except for putting Donald CHUMP in his place at that dinner days B 4 the bin Laden kill.

So, with all due respect, Ed, U R NOT quite as liberal as U might want MSNBC viewers to think.

Don't get me wrong. I'm happy U R on the mainstream, corporate owned, commercial driven airwaves. I consider U and yor MSNBC evening colleagues as allies of our non-commercial, community operated media, like Pacifica and DemocracyNow. We need allies with a LARGER reach than what our individual radio stations currently manage.

However, where MSNBC falls short (and I include Rachel in this ) is an inability / fear to advocate AGAINST war in principle...and in effect, gloss over the situation in Iraq. I refer to a rooftop "interview" Rachel did with Richard Engel (sp) in Iraq after the smoke cleared.

I like Keith Olbermann's aggressive progressive attitude the BEST...but he seems 2 have been a sacrificial lamb in the wake of the Safeway parking lot shooting of Giffords and / or a negative personal, visceral tension between Keith and an MSNBC executative playing to the new corporate owner ?

Rachel currently occupies the top slot and U R tied for a close 2nd spot with Lawrence O'Donnell...but watch out Ed. Lawrence might put U in 3rd place if U fail to keep criticism of the administration REAL. THAT'S what REAL libs do..to presidents of ANY political persuasion.

AND DON'T PUT sweet Melissa Harris-Perry in a tough spot with HER colleague, brother Cornell.

Other than this increasingly blind support of Obama, your ok... in spite of the fact U played football. hee heee

peace :>))

if anyone has been paying attention for the last two years. really paying attention. they would have been spirited by cornel west's remarks. democrats by dismissing west's remarks as unhinged are completely unhinged themselves. unhinged from their washington-new york bubbles they live-work in. president obama is a centrist-right corporatist who will not stick his neck out for anyone but campaign donors. this much is obvious.

obama sold single payer out when he campaigned on it's promise. obama's list of retreat is very long and i won't go into everything here. melissa harris perry and ed's dismissals are very disappointing and counter productive.

tag teaming cornel west like that after he spoke was inexcusable and they both should apologize.

especially harris defending obama on marijuana and prison policy. the facts prove otherwise, obama's doj is now going after medicinal marijuana growers who are following states guide lines, you will soon see big pharma try to market a synthetic medicinal pot, but first they need to end all state allowances for a free market in this area, and obama is their man. secondly perry is wrong about the lessening incarceration rates, obama hired an executive from the second largest private prison industry to run the federal marshall service. deportations are are record levels and the war on drugs, i.e. culture war on the poor and minorities, in escalating. 37,000 people in mexico have been murdered and obama is now contemplating predator drones in mexico... step outside your bubbles for five minutes can you?

fact is, prof. west is a voice democrats desperately need, and i hope he's allowed to speak more. it is a huge mistake to silence the left in the democratic party, something obama and his cronies have done consistently while being "handled" by the right wing nut balls from fox. shirley sherrod and van jones should be absolute embarrassments which seems only prof. cornel is willing to illuminate. silencing the left will only lead to more drift to the right by obama. mark my word, democrats will lose more of the peoples social contract in the next budget debate. democrats will bargain with oil subsidies while giving away too much. and president obama will silently sign more cuts to the poor and be "held hostage" in cutting welfare to the rich.

keep up the fight professor, you are the sane voice here. stay strong my brother.

Obama is a POLITICIAN.. Just like the others. Dr. West is absolutely correct to call Obama out on his broken promises. I dont see how Dr. West's language could be 'outdated and out of touch' when he was speaking EXACTLY about the real problems we face as a community. He is speaking for the middle and the lower class of folks in this country. If you look around, it is obvious who is winning and who is losing in our society.. The rich get richer and you know the rest. Obama hasnt changed any of that. His 'HUGE' accomplishments havent done the trick... He can kill Osama, but can he stand up to the banksters and people ripping off the middle class Americans white & black? Can alleviate the growing problems of the poor by adjusting things so they dont have to pay the price for the poor economy while the rich get more tax breaks?

Obama is simply another POLICTICIAN. You had better hold him responsible for doing his job or you will get what you deserve as a nation of people.

Cornell West and Tavis Smiley are Jealous of Barak Obama and upset that he doesn't kiss their ring of self righteousness. The last thing we need are more Haters, of any kind. They need to grow up and add to the solutions and stop being a nuisance.

smiling

wonder if this West is related to the FL. West?

he make some good point, just he sounds like he is bitter in making them.

I could not agree more, and thought it was shameful the way Dr. West was treated.  This is what  happens when a faux progressive such as Ed (or Obama for that matter), has to confront a true progressive such as Dr. West.  Ed:  Defending a corporatist democratic party is not being a progressive; defending a president whom obviously does not respect his base, and is at best a tepid centrist, establishment "liberal" ( and that is giving him way more credit than he deserves) is not being a  progressive.   I know you are not a progressive, but play one on t.v..  Shame, Shame, Shame.

I could not agree more with "Help is on the way".   I thought it was disgraceful the way Dr. West was treated on the show.  This is what happens when a faux progressive such as Ed has to confront a genuine progressive such as Dr. West.  Ed: defending a corporatist democratic party is not being a progressive; defending a President whom is at best a tepid, corporatist "liberal" is not being a progressive.  But then again it should be obvious that you are not a progressive, but play one on t.v..  Shame, Shame, Shame.

Sorry, but I can't think of a single thing that West has done to improve my life as a black man. Yet, he presumes to speak for poor black folk as he attacks leaders like Obama and Sharpton who have done much. If he really wants to do something tangible for us he can start by visiting a poor black barber and paying for a haircut and leaving a big tip.

This professor, unlike Obama, doesn't understand nuance.

Before Obama is done the Bush era tax cuts will be ended.

Cornel West is just Jealous? really? is that the explanation for his scathing commentary?

Im sure folks who are upset can defend Obama better than that...

Im not an Obama hater by any means, but like I said earlier 'you get the government you deserve' and if we dont demand better from this guy (or any of the politicians elected to represent us) then we will get exactly what we deserve.

people had better stop playing the celebrity worship game and start holding these politicians accountable to the promises they make in order to have us elect them.

If half the people continue to make excuses for politicians, politicians will continue to support corporations & the top 1% at your expense

Poor Cornel West. He knows how to talk a good game, write lots of books, but that's all he is -- all talk, lots of talk and sloganeering.

He is incensed because of his perceived slight from the President and can't get past it. West needs to grow up and move on. He accuses President Obama of living in a White world, growing up with a white mother and white grandparents, yet, I hear he is married to a white woman. Of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but you wonder if West has children and that someday in the future he would like for someone them to ascribe the same nonesense he affords this president.

Unlike West, the president completed his Ivy League education and went into the inner city to work with inner city parents and their kids. Meanwhile West writes from his ivory tower about all the problems that plague our communities.

You have to wonder how many times West has ventured into the neighborhoods to shoot the breeze with those same poor people.

Yeah, yeah, West is so sore that he did not get calls from the president because he said a prayer or two for him during the campaign and so he is besides himself. He thinks that entitles him to have access to president Obama. Give it a rest Cornel West. Your skirt is showing. Your comments are beginning to put you in the same category with the birthers.

Obama, Newt ,The Clintons, The Bushs al have one thing in common they are all members of the CFR.

As a 66 year old white guy who, at present, sees no better presidential candidate in sight, I am sadly in total agreement with Dr. West's remarks. I wish that Barack Obama would use his Bully Pulpit to educate Americans as to the meaning of the word "Plutocracy" and forcefully communicate to them how thoroughly it has supplanted the Democratic Republic that was our founders' original intention.

Beside run his mouth, tell me what have West done for the black community? Let's not kid ourself this man teach at a nearly all white college, where do he live? Why don't West quit his job and go teach at a inner city school? I want to know what have West done? To me all this is, is a man who thought he was some big deal, and Obama didn't pay him the time of day. In other word, the green eight monster. I can't blame Obama for every problem facing my community, we do have to get off our butt and do something. No everything is not were we would like them to be,but the chance of us having a better life is greater today than years ago. To many of our kids are not finishing high school. Why is that? Is that Obama fault? What about college? The personal attacks on Obama tells me that West has been overlooked and he can't stand it. he haven't even been invited to the White House have he? GOOD!!!!!!