What does the NAACP stand for in 2012?

All headlines last week and over the weekend regarding Mitt Romney’s
address before the NAACP emphasized that he was booed during his speech.
Many were surprised to hear that he accepted the invitation to speak
before a group that would be so pro-Obama. However, GOP candidate Romney
not only spoke, but he spoke about the same issues he speaks about
before all audiences. He didn’t back down from those topics he knew
would be unpopular with NAACP attendees.

This should be reassuring to many in the conservative base who have
doubted his conviction on issues of concern to them. In fact, he
actually takes after his father, George Romney, who marched for civil
rights among civil rights activists. It is refreshing to see someone in
the political arena who doesn’t just speak for applause and actually
believes in America.

{mosads}President Obama refused to show up at the NAACP convention, citing a conflict in scheduling. Instead, he sent Vice President Biden for the task. He obviously isn’t concerned about the loyalty of the American black community; in fact, he completely takes its vote for granted.

The unemployment rate for American blacks is 14.4 percent nationally, 39 percent for black youth. The black community has lost a significant portion of its wealth during his administration; the number of black babies born out of wedlock is increasing dramatically while the black family continues to disintegrate rapidly. President Obama can legitimately believe that the American black community will vote for him regardless of how detrimental his policies are to its well-being, simply because he is the first American black president. This is a sad commentary on the analytical skills of an important and critical segment of our society. Hopefully at some point, organizations such as the NAACP will advocate for policies that improve the situation of their constituencies, rather than supporting feel-good candidates and issues.