BET founder and Hillary Clinton supporter Bob Johnson, said Sunday he is “insulted” with the Obama campaign’s latest criticism of Clinton and appeared to take aim at the Illinois senator for his admitted drug use as a young man.
“As an African American, I’m frankly insulted that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Bill and Hillary Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues when Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood that I won’t say what he was doing but he said it in his book,” Johnson said while campaigning with Clinton in Columbia, South Carolina.
Moments later, he added: “That kind of campaign behavior does not resonate with me, for a guy who says, ‘I want to be a reasonable, likable, Sidney Poitier ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.’ And I’m thinking, I’m thinking to myself, this ain’t a movie, Sidney. This is real life.”
At a rally for Clinton at Columbia College, Mr. Johnson was defending recent comments that Mrs. Clinton made regarding Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She did not mean to take any credit away from him, Mr. Johnson said, when she said that it took President Johnson to sign the civil rights legislation he fought for.
Dr. King had led a “moral crusade,” Mr. Johnson said, but such crusades have to be “written into law.”
“That is the way the legislative process works in this nation and that takes political leadership,” he said. “That’s all Hillary was saying.”
In a statement released by Obama’s campaign Sunday afternoon, former South Carolina State Rep. “I.S.” Leevy Johnson, an Obama supporter, said he was offended Clinton did not condemn Johnson’s comments.
“It’s offensive that Senator Clinton literally stood by and said nothing as another one of her campaign’s top supporters launched a personal, divisive attack on Barack Obama,” he said. “For someone who decries the politics of personal destruction, she should’ve immediately denounced these attacks on the spot.”
Clinton’s campaign says Johnson was not referring to Obama’s past drug use, but rather his career as an organizer and state legislator. Meanwhile, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, another African-American supporter of Clinton, said of the comments, “Sometimes people say things that aren’t sanctioned … I can’t speak for Bob.”
Later Sunday, Johnson maintained the comments were not in reference to Obama’s drug use: “My comments today were referring to Barack Obama’s time spent as a community organizer, and nothing else,” he said in an issued statement. “Any other suggestion is simply irresponsible and incorrect.”
In Obama’s 1995 book Dreams of My Father — a book that was little read at the time, but recently reprinted — the future presidential candidate writes he was once headed in the direction of a “junkie” and a “pothead.”
Referring to his emotional struggles as a young man, Obama writes, “Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though.”
Last month, Clinton New Hampshire co-chairman Bill Shaheen resigned his post after suggesting Republicans would likely raise the issue in a general election.
“The Republicans are not going to give up without a fight … and one of the things they’re certainly going to jump on is his drug use,” Shaheen said then. “It’ll be, ‘When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?’”
Both campaigns are locked in a heated back and forth over recent remarks from the New York Democrat and her husband that have touched off concerns among some African-American voters. Clinton has alleged Obama’s campaign is distorting the remarks — an accusation Obama has called “ludicrous.”
It’s sad…Politics gets so dirty, I feel that the issues that affect so many people are lost due to the fact that the candidates get so caught up throwing dirt on other candidates…
Hillary Clinton for President!!
He need to shut the fuck up, so what if obamab did drugs when he was younger, he’s human we all mistakes and grow from it!!! wtf, does that make him not a good leader because he did something that was stupid when he was youngerrrrrr!!! boy plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. didn’t bill clinton fuck his secretary whiles he was in the whiote house and married to Hilary clinton!! isn’t that shittt a sinnnnnnnnn?? but yet he was still a good president!!! it was just a stupid mistakeeeee, because whyyyy you asss, they are humnas just like the rest a the world, they have a past just like eryone else!!
I see this election is going to get really messy as the days go by. I am just going to sit back and enjoy these strategic smear campaigns!!! Any how, J., Keep up the great work!! I am so excited about these political posts!!!
Bob needs to SDASTFU (sit down and stfu). BET is primarily at fault for how people view African-Americans, so now he can’t sit down and party with the Clintons while trying to defame another black man’s name for their own political agenda. He’s just too dumb enough to see what Hilary thinks she’ll accomplish by trying to garner the ‘black vote’ with black on black criticism.
it is so baffling to me how black people don’t support obama. i feel like finally we have a black leader who is the real deal especially when it comes to black related issues and most of his support comes from white people. it is really disappointing to me.
ObAmA
If he he did smoke some weed ..let it be! Its not like we KEEP bringing up Hilary’s HUSBANDS personal issues every second of the day!!
Bob Johnson needs to shut the fuck up. He’s a two faced ass hole. He created BET also known as the bane of all black peoples existence.
He’s the same bitch ass nigga who funded the movie “Who’s Your Caddy?” the most cooning movie ever made. The movie has been ranked as the worst movie of all time by IMDB and other reputable sources.
Talk about someone who’s always looking to bring black people down.
Go to hell Bob Johnson. Go straight to hell. Do not collect $200.
And don’t fuck with Barack Obama. He’ll kick your ass.
And I will too.
Uhm………..isn’t cheating on your wife worst then doing pot as a KID??? LOL
whew!! Im totally with u #3-that is so correct. LOL-#9
this campaign is getting grimmey.
Sure, the same sorry excuse for a man that sold his vision out to a white establishment to continue his half ass job of raising black kids on poison.
I’m sure he gives a rat’s ass about “black issues.” I swear, some “African Americans” have ZERO self worth. Actually, make than many.
Just the fact that Obama is willing to air out hs past and admit his mistakes makes him ideal in my opinion. So often, politicians want to give us B.S images of themselves and sell us the “I’m free of sin” act. People gravitate towards those they can relate to and who can relate to them. Obama put himself out there about his past and he’s giving people the option to jump on the bandwagon with him or not, which I can appreciate. I rather get the truth before hand and not after I’ve already supported you and a year later after your in the White House all your skeletons fall out the closet.
Oh Yeah, BTW…..BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT!
Bill Clinton smoked too, and I bet he did too. This is getting so lame, I still support Barack!
Agree with #5. And in addition to that, if anyone remembers the BET going away party for him, when Beyonce was shaking her tail feather all over the stage, he as a senior citizen and supposedly a “role model” stood right on that stage and said, if Beyonce would lap dance him like that, he would stay at BET and not retire. I was appalled, that he made such a comment and especially in the presence of Beyonce’s parents who are probably younger then him. So, he is in NO position to ever judge another Black man’s impression on others.
How about a nice big cup of stfu for Bob Johnson?? I don’t understand why one intelligent, educated, black man would support another. But instead supports a white woman who hasn’t done a damn thing for black people, but who riding on the coatail of her husband in the black community. Bob Johnson’s created the monster BET which has helped fuel this grostuque distortment of how others view the black race. But I say all that to say this is I respect Obama for being man enough to admit his past indiscretions and moving past them. Obama ’08.
Bob Johnson is like a bunch of others african american they will do anything to please the white man and seing an other nigger not smiling back and dancing for the white man cut them deeply
he need to think about uplifting black tv shows and go to bed
opps i meant wouldn’t***
agree with #5 an#15 jay z and his girlfriend, sir johnson and a bunch of others are the white man fool and that is so sad …
Didn’t Clinton admit to smoking weed as a teenager too?
And what the hell did the Clintons to emotinally for Black people? I’m black and I don’t remember? Maybe I was absent those 4 years.
And the 4 after that.
Boycott BET!
How low can you go? I am sorry, is this the same guy who exploits Black people for a living? Suddently he is trying to stand up and say that as an “African-American” he does not like Obama. Since when has he cared for Black people? Clinton and him are basically next door neighbors…so I guess Bob felt he should be loyal to the Clintons. DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE,PEOPLE! This is all a publicity stunt! Hilary is a mess!..She is creating dirt because she’s mad that Obama is actual competition…soo she hires Sambo in hopes of him to disenfranchise Black community…Don’t yah know she is just trying to cover her dirt she said about Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy? According to Hilary, MLK and John Kennedy was not relevant to civil rights legislations….President Lyndon B. Johnson did! Just in case yah don’t know…Mr. President Johnson turned on MLK and did not support him after King said he was against the Vietnam War. BTW, so Hilary comparing herself to Johnson proves to me that she should not be in office?!?! This is bullish!…She is making women in politics look real bad , like we can’t handle the pressure! I say…Obama’08….anything less is irrelevant!
Ah…I love politics. Dont u?
Some of ya’ll need to lay off of Bob. The guy was in no way referring to Obama’s past drug use. That’s ludicrous and he’s right; it is incorrect and irresponsible. The man already said what he was referring to, which was Obama’s past as a community organizer. Why waste time attacking Obama’s past discrepancies when he’s already been so transparent about them?
So please, i understand you don’t like Bob Johnson b/c of BET and his selling of the channel to white corporations, but hey, it’s business and he didnt want to be in charge of such a huge establishment anymore. But yeah, the guy is at fault with some of the immoral viewings we saw on BET.
But Bob has a point. Obama, great guy, but y would his campaign try to make Hillary out to be a racist of some sort when she’s clearly not? Hillary was right in saying that it took legislation from a president (Lyndon Johnson) to allow Dr. King’s dream to come to pass. It DOES take the law to create equality. And didn’t King become an advocate for Lyndon Johnson’s own presidential campaign?
I wish we could have honest campaigning, but its obvious that the situation is getting tense. I hope Obama and Hillary stop attacking each other so that things dont get too ugly and eventually the two will run together on the same ticket as Prez. and Vice Prez. I dont care which is which.
And oh…Bob Johnson is probably the reason why The Boondocks:The BET Hunger Strike episode is not airing. I can not respect anyone who takes advantage of their power!
So what Obama did drugs? Didn’t Clinton say he didn’t inhale which is a bunch of bull.
Who made Bob Johnson ruler over black ppl creating B.E.T don’t mean a thing has he seen the shit they show now? He sold out right over to Viacom.
Hillary being deeply rooted in black community over a black person he sounds like he smoking
# 16 said: “I don’t understand why one intelligent, educated, black man would support another.”
Great post.
I wonder the same thing too. African Americans are a strange breed of people. Stay bitching about being disrespected when they have zero love or respect for themselves. If I was a white person looking at the buffoonery of a so called “successful African American man” in that picture, I would also assume that African Americans are dumb as rocks and have my go at them. Look at the lady behind him.. like a bunch of mindless cows. How sad.
* I meant Hillary deeply involved in black issues
Dammit Bob isnt referring to Obama’s past drug use! That was what some idiot incorrectly inferred based on his comments.
Dont u people read the whole damn post b4 u reply like a Black Panther!!? People just take things entirely the wrong way. No one is attacking Obama’s integrity. Hillary’s racial views were attacked by someone from Obama’s camp.
Obama-Hillary 08
@ 9, I didn’t know they had the “hell” option in monopoly!
With the state of BET and everything that it showcases of the African American community, Bob Johnson is really in no state to discuss how he feels as a black man about Barack Obama. How can he sit down and see what his channel purports and make social commentary? He needs to step up to the plate and discuss the fact that BET is helping to kill the black community before he jumps down another man’s throat for his past indiscretions. Both candidates are strong, but Hillary’s comment were wrong (I am sure she didn’t mean it the way it sounded but I mean even before anyone said anything I took it the wrong way) and Barack isn’t perfect…but I mean lets be real Bob Johnson needs to look at the damage his channel is doing and focus on that before offering his opinions.
@11 I swear you said want I am feeling in to sentences!
@20 No you weren’t mistaken Clinton “puffed not inhaled”lol….I love truthful lies!
Game recognize Game….Hilary is making her self look more undesirable by the minute!
This coming from the man who founded BET, the worst thing to happen to black men and women since the AIDS virus went rampant.
Don’t believe me on how bad BET is? Well a canned Boondocks episode feels the same way:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VhhF7UM4cks
Nomosoul, i hear but your logic as well as Bob Johnson’s doesn’t add up. It’s apparent he was speaking of something negative in reference to Barack, what could be negative about community service and organizing? How is Obama’s campaign behind these attacks? These statements have come from Hilary’s mouth as well as Bill’s mouth as well as Bob Johnson’s mouth. I haven’t heard the Obama camp respond at all prior to today. I think it is unfortunate that we as a people talk about wanting change and then when we have someonet that can offer that change we tear them down. I’m all for people choosing a candidate, but come on Bill Clinton was President not his wife. Just look at each candidate objectively and not have some silly allegiance to either of them based on nonsense (i.e. color, gender, affiliations). I think Barack Is a formidable candidate and at the very least we should take a closer look at him and decide from there. All in all Bob Johnson was full of SH**!!!! They are all backpeddling now.
Nothing wrong with a black man supporting a black man. Im black and i am PROUD. I am in love with being black.
But…this isnt just about black people and their own suffering b/c guess what? America is a MELTING POT and EVERYONE is SUFFERING!! Especially with this “Bush nigga” that we got in the White House destroying the morals upon which this country was built. Now, sure Obama will look out for everyone’s interest and he’s a good honest blk man.
However, i just get this vibe that Hillary would be a better executor, despite the claims that she is too divisive. Hillary is strong woman (one tear dont mean shit), she has dozens of accomplishments, she’s punctual, she’s focused. I dont know, coming from a guy, i really do feel that its time America had a woman’s touch. I think with Barack as her running mate they can accomplish shitloads….
LMAO some of you people worship Obama like he is God, he ain’t even that good, you see his skin color and suddenly want him to be president smh! Half ya’ll probably don’t even know what he stands for.
Edwards 08.
i hate when people bash others when they experimented with drugs. everybody is human, nobody’s perfect, everybody makes mistakes. you live life, learn from your past and keep moving forward.
just because you did something as a child doesn’t not make you a horrible and/or incapable adult. people need to get a life.
Talk about crabs in a bucket!!!! That is what is wrong with our race now. We finally have a black man who is qualified to run for president and black people can’t even support him. Saying negative things in the media about Obama is NOT a good look for Bob Johnson~I’m not saying that he has to vote for him because he’s a black man, but at the very LEAST support him!
What? Dont come into this with some Edwards bullshit. That guy is untrustworthy. Something about him screams “poser”.
yea, i said it. Edwards is BULLSHIT. BOO BOO. The guy used like $400 of donation money on a HAIRCUT.
Can we trust a fool like that?
And if u notice, lately instead of attacking Obama (his wife ceased as well), he’s been AGREEING with everything Obama has been saying. He’s pretty much backing him up, especially against Hillary. Do u know what that means?
It means that Edwards knows he is losing, just like everyone else knows he is losing and wont win this campaign. And b/c of that he’s hoping to at least get on Barack’s good side so that Obama will nominate him as his running mate for VP.
Edwards thinks he’s sly. He aint foolin no one
@34
Thank You.
@39
Thank You 2
When you bash someone who experimented as a kid and wound up graduating Harvard Law School with top honors and winning the majority vote in a white-ass state, you end up looking bad. Especially when your best contribution to black issues is BET.
Dear Bob Johnson,
Learn how to speak some fucking English before you criticize Barack Obama. At least he’s not a sellout like you!!!!
Oprah’s coming to get you!!!!
Love always,
#1 Obama Fan
I don’t care who wins as long as we get Hillary and Obama on the same ticket. THAT would be history right there, the first woman/black president/vice president combo, I support both of them.
@NOMOSOUL: I’m sorry but you are wrong. Bob Johnson WAS refering to Obama’s past drug use. I just saw Johnson’s speech on CNN and you can tell from the inflection in his voice when he made the statement that the “drug use” was what he was refering to.
I for one think this is all a game and the damage has been done. These politicians or their supporters say or infer negative things about other candidates to plant seeds of doubt in the voters minds. Then they try to “retract” their statements with lame apologies.
But isn’t Bob Johnson the same man who gave us “Who’s your Caddy”?
Now just curious… if Obama wins the Presidential bid, I wonder if Bob Johnson will still bash him??? Prob not.
Lmaoooo @ #36! Where the hell did that come from???
Listen to yourself.. you’re not even making any sense!!
Bob Johnson is such an Uncle Tom! He won’t take a take a stand on the ‘nappy headed ho’ comments, but he chooses to use his influence to attack Obama. All the while Republicans are laughing because they know this willl split the Democrat votes , thus making easier for them to stay in office. He should be ashamed of his self. Clinton is just as self -serving as any of the Republican candidates. She does not care about black people. He may want to do some research before decides top bad-mouth Obama and jump in bed with Clinton.
Give me a break Mr. Johnson, and I am insulted that you even take honesty and life expriences/mistakes as an insult! We are all human, you should be proud that a BLACK man has come thus far in this WHITE man worlds. He has Opera’s support him who needs Bob Johnson on their side? SHUT THE HELL UP!
BET is for the buffoons.
@36
Never assume because you’ll make an ass out you and me! I respect that you vote for Edwards, but to say that Obama supporters see him as a God is not coo! He too me is the best candidate for the job and is the only one that put a significant dent in the White House. Honestly if Al Gore was a runner up, I’d go for him! But he is not…Obama is the runner up who has the eye of a tiger. This country needs results and optimism…Obama has the tools for both!
Obama’08
“Anything Less is Irrelevant!
Ignore Bob johnson. just another black man who left his good black wifeafter he made it big . He’s trying to renew his membership in the “colored who are invited to the white house” club.
I completely agree with #35 and #36. Jus because Barack Obama is black people make it seem like it is our obligation as black people to vote for him. I may decide not to vote for him on election day. Does that make me any less of a proud black man or a traitor to my people? NO. I am black but I am also an AMERICAN. As an American I will vote for the best candidate..whether he or she is black, white, or purple. Bob Johnson has the right to express his opinion just like some of these dumb rappers do everyday.
BET founder is lame for that.Everyone has trials..and have made mistakes in life.I see even if you’re looking like your above 60.Doesn’t mean you’ve matured…or even think rational at that.
Alright, alright. So maybe and possibly Bob J was referring to Obama’s past drug use. If so then I agree, it was done inspidly. I was just blinded by my desire to see Hillary and Obama running together on the same ticket because that pair alone has so much POTENTIAL to be one of the best things to happen to our country, especially such a demoralizing period.
But if they keep attacking each other blindly, then it wont happen.
Shit, all of this just from something Hillary Clinton said? Sure she could have said it with more tact, but damn, she was not in any way trying to offend Dr. King or his dream or JFK.
Lets just disregard Bob Johnson. His comments should be deemed as futile in this campaign.
First off, Mr, Johnson, the impetus to get everything signed into law was directly because of MLK. What kind of ignorant crap is “moral vs political” crusade? Check your Lincoln history about that.
Second, umm, it is Bill Clinton, not his wife, that has the great realtionship with the black community. When Chris Tucker made that famous statement that there already was a black Pres, Hilary wasn’t there. Bill’s office was in Harlem…and I am convinced there are some sisters in his past but they are too damn smart to open their mouths…lol
And Mr. Johnson, since your daughter had such a serious drug prob as a teen, who the heck r u to be the pot calling the kettle black?
Bob, you are not Oprah. I agree with #5: SDASTFU
And for the last time, we are black…an African-American is a naturalized citizen from Africa!
bob johnson is a certifiable coon.
I hope Obama becomes president and that he proves everyone wrong.And do the right thing..
It’s a damn shame Obama is bringing race into this, it was barely brought up, but now he is campaigning in a black state and now he wanna bring it up.
Voting for him because he is black is reverse racism.
Fuck Bob Johnson – King of the Coonery