Harry Belafonte Rips Obama

[Herb Schaffler]

Harry Belafonte Rips Obama
Legendary entertainer and left-wing political activist Harry Belafonte sparked controversy when he called President George W. Bush a “terrorist” and “the greatest tyrant in the world.”
Now Belafonte has directed some incendiary comments at a figure on the other side of the political aisle — President Barack Obama.
Appearing on Tavis Smiley’s PBS talk show on Jan. 18, Belafonte — who was a close confidante of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — was asked by Smiley if Obama’s election is “the fulfillment of Dr. King’s dream.”
Belafonte, the first black performer to win an Emmy, responded: “I think that Barack Obama having become president of the United States of America is but a small test as to the fact that this nation is in a rather incremental way moving forward.
“I think that it is much to America’s credit that it could go to that place. However, in the aftermath I think there are millions who have come to the table to tell you they would wish he was dead rather than alive, doing some of the things that he is doing . . .
“Barack Obama is first and foremost a man. He is flawed. He has his contradictions. He’s revealed those contradictions. There’s a question that we have — do we get behind him and push him to become what we know he should be, or do we lay back, watch him drift, watch him capitulate to the enemy, and then say, ‘Ah-ha, we knew it all along’?”
Belafonte continued his criticism of the president, citing his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan.
“I think that we have a task while we see these things going adrift, while we see reversal of promises back in Afghanistan — we’re now going to be pretty soon in Yemen — all of these things are beginning to fray at the edges,” he said.
“It is up to the people of America to take a strong stand and let its voice be heard, and not have a small few in the special interest override the greater human interest for the world.”
Smiley also voiced criticism of the administration and its response to pressure from the left: “I get the sense, and many others do, that this White House oftentimes takes being pushed as being told what to do. They take being pushed as you’re being disloyal.”

In other news:

Wayne Allyn Root, the 2008 Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee, has joined Newsmax.com as a political columnist.
Root is the author of "The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gambling & Tax Cuts." He is a regular guest on TV networks including the Fox News Channel, and recently launched his own radio talk show, "W.A.R: The Wayne Allyn Root Show."
Root’s Newsmax column is called “Wayne Allyn Root — Tea Party Patriot.”