trade and things like that be true, oakland you see basically the rate this third world as you see in june thomas burke south africa and so it seems like a distraction. it's not that big a deal personally. there's so much more to be concerned about. the irony of this book and barack obama is that at the time we appoint this black president we are black people, more isolated from the mainstream from our neighbors than ever at any point in the history of america when you think about jim-crow is gone which in some ways to deliver on how far we could go and now we have incredible distance between wealthy african-americans and everybody else which is true of the entire country and that is unsustainable.

that is how the communities and people collapse so i'm just kind of agnostic on the census issue. >> after we take your question why don't we in power women and see if any have a question. [laughter] [inaudible] >> ibm willy parker and i grew up in alabama so the deep south [inaudible] to respond to two things. you sit in the book there's a wide variety of opinions for people in african comerica and community. would you consider that a demonstration of the fact that the notion of the leadership in one charismatic to lead people from the promised land the failure of president obama luft any significant agenda there would leave a black people that

he's going to be able to do what he thought he was going to be about to do. the fault he can't move things would that suggest like a king or malcolm x interest of the whole group that is antiquated because he's the most powerful position in the plan that [inaudible] not to be considered and the flip side is because we get in terms of president obama becoming the first black president he is now the icon with our meritocracy like he has risen from the place that many black people have risen from the please let people start and the pedigree that nothing is further from the truth so one of the leadership is steady at number

two, our presence has become indictment against us. >> messianic -- the country when we start talking about the media it's hard -- it's easy to do that though. it's hard in the of media environment in which we operate. that's what i don't want to say cells necessarily the that is how you end up -- our community is different than it was when martin luther king was there. there are different voices and let me step back a little bit. when we talk about what broke the baala's agenda is and what he's not been able to get accomplished first of all a lot of things people as privacy wanted to get accomplished she never said he was going to do so we have to back up and say what did he say he was going to do for instance when we talk about

afghanistan he's doing exactly what he said he was going to do. people say we should have been out of the board back but he said on the campaign trail in going to increase the troops in afghanistan so that's not something you can knock him on because he said he was going to do that and another number of issues that are similar so that's one issue. the second part is i'm not sure -- i think going back to the question earlier there was a certain segment of the community, maybe some who are not participating young people and who otherwise feel like they are left out of the mainstream who thought you could get things done right now but most of the people we talk to understand clearly that improvements or a process like for instance the couple we talk to out of prince george county they wanted one thing, largely one thing. they are small business owners and they say don't get rid of

bush's tax on people over to under $50,000. they are not looking and a pipe in the sky, and do for me but you did for the big corporations. that is one level of focus and angela in the chapter we are talking about, the white woman with two mixed-race daughters wanted something done about health care, very specific i want you to focus on the environment of health care, and her basic thing was the disappointment in barack isn't that he hasn't achieved all those things but they don't feel like he's throwing a rock on their behalf. all i want you to do is throw back up the structure jon is talking about that says all these corporations get whenever it is they want but i want to feel like you've recognize the

problems i'm having and we will try to at least impact them. >> i just want to say one thing because i think the idea of a messianic figure in the politics is so strong it goes back and robert vandiver privileged to live in south africa a short time and the idea of the messiah, we got it honest, that is something that africans and african-americans but we've always believed and i have to say i'm not sure it's ever existed in this country and to some extent the failure of a messianic figure in barack obama or even the last 30 years it is emblematic of just the sort of polarizing class divisions that have erupted in the last 40 years in the community and so what you have for people who are more and more distanced from the

working-class people and concerns of working-class people and i don't want to get to a satiric there is a fury in one of the chapters we talk about the factory workers in chicago and these are essentially when they want to decide they are going to strike and argue should the strike, should they had a sit-down strike there was basically the discussion came down to whether or not mexicans most of whom came over the last ten years many of whom didn't have their papers to be honest with the be deported and the blacks many of whom had previous arrests would they be arrested and at the end they said this great if we are deported we reported and if we are arrested we are arrested, what ever. and i think so much of when you look at king of course is from a middle class family in atlanta but if you look at the rest of the movement somebody from the middle class family, the people who in power king are from the

working-class environments that is what is missing so the messiah was always in some ways if you look at king and malcolm who was directly a working-class family, fred hampton who i am a huge fan of, very much working-class families and even if you look at all for the bold you look at the impact of unions and radicalizing people and making them sort of want to understand what their rights are and what their rights should be and that is what is missing because ultimately what you talk a bit is isolation of people and that is the greatest danger for the community now is we are isolated from one another rich from poor and that is true the entire country but that to me is where the messiah comes up short. we can't produce it anymore. >> good evening. thank you for sharing your

thoughts tonight. in the last question you touched on this issue and that is the obama campaign did i say anything specific to black people except he took responsibility for issues. r specific things so that it seems like i'm also sure that you talk about all of this [inaudible] we just want to make sure the taxes are not cut for us so my question is to the extent we talk about how the discussion we haven't decided what we actually want besides saying we want to our

children to perform rather than saying we want to which children to [inaudible] no matter what the rate is for black children. >> but that goes back to the question who is weak. it isn't a monolith's because when you start talking across there are some folks whose issue is their kids are graduating in a high level. if you've got money your kids are doing fine so those black people, that's not their main issue, like i'm good with that. this is what i need so why don't know -- i think there is -- the question you have to go back to who we is "we." the community used to have to live in the same place.

there's a lot of things that have changed in that affects sort of having one boy -- voice. >> i feel differently than robert on this, surprise, that this gets back to the responsiveness of the government and it gets complicated but we are very clear on some issues not just african-americans but the country as a whole. we are very clear. poll after poll shows we want some government financed system. we'll offer a clear on that. we clearly want to be out of iraq and afghanistan. yet we escalated the war at least in afghanistan and i think this gets to -- i know this is critical among black people but i think in some ways it raises the question of -- people talk about how smart barack obama is and i've never met him, i have no idea but the first thing he

did in the health care debate was taking single-payer off the table. what good does that do? the employee for each resect for instance we talked about in the chapter about the labor unions, this is something that really was originally offered mackall was probably the most progressive piece of legislation and 50 years and what it could have done was to strengthen labor unions and democratic base most people want to join labor unions. poll after poll shows most want to join. why would you not pass the legislation which wouldn't strengthen the workers and their ability to make a family and contribute to the economy which is what is wrong with the economy but would contribute your main base so this is my question which is who is he listening to weekend why? and part of that is our fault. you think we are not

articulating, we are not making the demand that he feels, but again, the distance between the political class and average on a celebrated americans is the last fast on the surmountable amount of things. >> the next question over here. >> first full congratulations on the book. [inaudible] i disagree on one thing and that is what you call a failed the state. i have the opposite view and something you did in one of the stories that you wrote that i have seen about race and the impact on politics from the

diverse society [inaudible] nations like sweden and scandinavian countries develop [inaudible] [inaudible] what i saw is a "washington post" reporter covering politics 15 or 16 years that a vast majority of the country doesn't and their influence on politics and democracy do exactly what they want them to do and so i don't believe that it is a failed state. i think that the polls that

you're looking at and talking about are asking people the basic question de one single-payer healthcare system? yes most of them say yes what if all of these people [inaudible] that's not happening support on health care. if you ask those people are going to be the financial areas of that -- be the beneficiaries of that i believe the vast majority of this country would and so i think that to the extent democracy works the way that it's supposed to work is we've to change the mentality of the majority of the population but they don't think like we do and i'm just curious what you think on that and i think the reason why the opposition on barack obama is virulent is because he seems to have and in body and that somebody that accomplished what no one has before which is those people

who've been disenfranchised. we can't get anything done because not just because he's listening to people who disagree but a majority of people -- >> you are asking me specifics. i see what you're saying and i agree it is no coincidence if you look at a country like one piece i've been thinking about writing recently is hot chili in 1990 was faced with almost this exact same economic environment where they hanafi's years, the cycles of boom and bust where the economy was geared toward speculation and not production and they switched course like that and it's not perfect but they created basically almost whole clause because pernod shea

destroyed. the country is overwhelmingly white. i agree. argentina, look what they've done the last five, six years, the scandinavian countries i agree completely it's not coincidence the countries are white but i do think there is having said that there is still the stick in the industrial process that we never took and a thing it happened in the 40's where we never recognized our political class was clear they were never going to let what happened in europe where you have a working-class movement, voluble working-class movement they were never going to let that happen so if you look at something like the taft hartley bill of 47 we talk about this in the book in the union movement but if you look at that dog was meant -- intended to make sure we never have and that is one of the reasons we don't have a

single pay health care because where you have a single pay health care you have voluble robust unions so you're right race is a huge component but it's more than that. i think it's the corruption of the political class and also the isolation of the political class and then of us so i guess i am saying i agree with you to some extent. this act to more questions and in time to visit personally with robert and jon. don't forget they are honored by your presence but would be more by your money so go by the book. [laughter] this leedy will be the last. we will have three questions and then you can buy the book. >> i agree with a lot but i disagree with some things.

i think one of the big issues -- i grew up in the caribbean is. [inaudible] i met resistance like why are you against obama. i have nothing against obama. i'm telling you this is not going to work well for you. [laughter] it's absolutely not who is quick to transition things and stuff like that.

[inaudible] >> there was a great sense of people even try purely symbolic standpoint i think that his elections need to be seen against heber's coming in at the important issue of the time and here was a guy useful in the bankruptcy. some of the things especially you are talking about it seems to me speak to -- [inaudible] >> if we can get to the question.

>> i think some of the critical of obama is setting we are in a crisis and to we have not found consensus yet. [inaudible] of the people you said, with an african-american community be much more critical of him at this point in time? >> black america isn't going to throw barack obama away. because they understand their own experience and you look at the polls even today where there is skepticism black america is not going to throw them away because they've been in this country too long and they understand that some of what is thrown at him is not legitimate. i am not saying that is a good thing. it may not be in the best interest but none of them so far suggest that black americans is

going to distance themselves in any real way from barack obama at this point. >> i agree with robert, you are not going to see black support for barack obama due to be low 80%. but i do think this i don't think if things continue the way they are going and they are going to i don't think they are going to turn out in the next election and the presidential elections are not that complicated. there's a few states. i'm from indiana. he won't win indiana. of the vote was today i don't care he won't win ohio or pennsylvania. if you are telling me that a laid-off auto worker was unemployment benefits expired six months ago and is going to vote for barack obama because he's seen this hope and change i don't believe it. i do not believe it so i wrote a piece recently saying i believe right now if i had to that money sarah palin would be the next president because if you look at the history of this country and every time there's been any kind

of -- when there is this sort of recognition, this sort of idea from white right-wing voters that there's some kind of egalitarian post racial or pan racial democracy have been, public schools and reconstruction, civil rights and black power movement when reagan came to office, there is a backlash that happens and it's based on two things. one is this white right-wing anger, not all white people of course this right-wing anger and the fact black people and white people will come out to the polls. no change, it's not relevant. it doesn't matter if it is george bush or durham, they are not going to come out so i do think that is what we are looking at >> [inaudible] >> let's keep the last two

questions short. this lady had the first one. >> that's not fair. >> i know what we've run so long. >> i will keep this very short. what are the expectations for barack obama? did you have expectations for him? the second part of that i've never seen a social change in this country come solely by the ballot box, the social change has always been -- there has been a success in the politics, a real change and historical changes come by the public popular movement and i think in some ways i would save the reelection of barack obama was an expression and my criticism of barack obama is not that he is a failure because it's only been here, but that the movement that has in some ways been

abandoned, that is my critique of that movement from that elected him that his campaign has seemed to abandon that movement and i have to say finally that in terms of african-americans, jon spoke eloquently in advancing the democracy in this country and i think it is rooted in our historical economic position as being completely on the opposite of the democracy continuing to push our way some ways toward the front of it. my point is i trust the wisdom of the right wing. i don't think they made a mistake and i curious to see what the answer is at this point. >> i agree i don't think they made a mistake either. i think they chose the best possible candidate but and you will understand this because we both understand chicago if you

look all washington was elected what's that now 20, 30 years ago almost 30 years ago, and we talk about this in the book, the movement led by workers that said we need change and they identified the candidate and made it happen so what would happen there. he didn't change the world obviously, he didn't fix everything that happened in the of one term and a few days but he was responsible to the people who elected him. who does barack obama have to be responsive to? that is the point i was trying to make it would like a tribute to the book which is we have been so isolated there is no hope for -- right now there is no social movement to make him respond to so i agree it is not barack obama's fault. what does he go with the union when he only owns 12% of the

work force? nothing. >> this gentleman gets the last one and then you can ask your questions directly. >> did your grandmother had a chance to read the book? >> she read the book and she was like a boy, you didn't put that in their did you? [laughter] but no, it's interesting. she did read the book and her political fault -- my grandmother first of all when she was coming up she didn't have time to think about all of these. when i was freezing 13 kids, that is how many she had i didn't have time to look of the tv. they didn't have tv initially. what her thoughts after the election were interesting because she was always afraid initially that he would be killed like a lot of people that something would happen. but secondly, her -- she didn't have lots of expectations

because she wasn't sure -- that is why talk about where he would be able to do. for her it was largely a symbolic thing that this guy would be elected president, and particularly six or seven months into the term because she got to see entire year of his presidency she was like obama, obama comegys on tv all the time. he had become in some ways like every other politician. now totally different from my mom, her daughter, who was the primary care giver who was a big supporter and used to fight about what is wrong with you all, why are you asking questions about this man but my grandmother she had lived longer and didn't have as much belief that the political structure was coming to change as much with just the election of this one man. >> thank you for coming in an excellent presentation. let's give them a hand. [applause]

>> our special