President Barack Obama had a chat with White House correspondent April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks on Monday to answer critics who say he isn't showing enough compassion toward black America.
The president cited his health care effort as an example of how it "will be hugely important" for blacks. Another example, he said, is the billions of dollars in aid to states included in the economic stimulus bill, money that was used to save thousands of teachers, firefighters and police officers from losing their jobs. He said many of those workers are black.
"So this notion, somehow, that because there wasn't a transformation overnight that we've been neglectful is just simply, factually not accurate," Obama said in the Oval Office interview.
But the president acknowledged there are limits to what a president can do for any class of people.
"The only thing I cannot do is, by law, I cannot pass laws that say 'I'm just helping black folks.' I'm the president of the entire United States," Obama said. "What I can do is make sure that I am passing laws that help all people, particularly those who are most vulnerable and most in need. That in turn is going to help lift up the African-American community."
Source: EURWeb.com
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