It’s no secret that Barack Obama is a huge music fan.  He has celebrated great musicians like Stevie Wonder at the White House, talked to Vibe and Rolling Stone about who’s on his iPod (Coltrane, Aretha Franklin, and Springsteen to name a few), brushed his shoulder off Jay-Z style in response to criticism, and like every other brother, fessed up to having a crush on Beyonce.  So what are his thoughts on the untimely death of pop legend Michael Jackson?

“I talked to him about it this morning,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a press briefing on Friday.  “Look, he said to me that obviously, Michael Jackson was a spectacular performer, a music icon.  I think everybody remembers hearing his songs, watching him moonwalk on television during Motown’s 25th anniversary.”

Obama gave Jackson praise where praise is due, while acknowledging to Gibbs that the pop star’s life was very troubled. “But the President also said, look, he had — aspects of his life were sad and tragic,” Gibbs continued.  “And his condolences went out to the Jackson family and to fans that mourned his loss.”

Gibbs said that the White House will not release a written statement on the death of Michael Jackson, and that he is unaware of whether the President called the Jacksons to personally express his condolences.

Should the President have done a little more?  Tell us here.

Image courtesy of chinadaily.com

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One.  TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)

“I told you I’m not going to criticize my successor…I’ll just tell you that there are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat and I don’t believe that — persuasion isn’t going to work. Therapy isn’t going to cause terrorists to change their mind” former President George W. Bush said during a speech to business leaders in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Though he’s been relatively quiet since leaving office, former President G.W. Bush has finally spoken out against the Obama administration.  Unlike former Vice President Dick Cheney, he isn’t “criticizing” President Obama, he is instead politely opposing and disagreeing with several Obama driven policies.  Among closing Guantanamo Bay, Bush also disagrees with Obama’s universal health care and economic recovery plan.  Bush stated, “I know it’s going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we’re in.  You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money.”

This sounds all well and good but judging from Bush’s eight year record, our issues peaked during his stay in office.  What do you think?  If Bush had the better ideas, how did we get where we are today?Image courtesy of google.com

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One.  TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)

“First of all, I’ve got one television station entirely devoted to attacking my administration…And you’d be hard-pressed, if you watched the entire day, to find a positive story about me on that front,” the President states after being asked if the media was not critical enough of his administration.

If you’ve had five minutes to check out FOX News, you’d know that the President was on point when he made this statement in reference to the channel.  If there were an Obama Hater guide, along with Dick Cheney and Rev. Manning, FOX News would notably be among the top. 

While there are talks around the water cooler that the Obama administration is treading a fine line of being overexposed and under-criticized, what FOX News does bring to the table is another point of view.  That alone, could be the instrument to keep Obama on his toes, out of scandal and among the most revered Presidents in US history.

What do you think?  Are opposite opinions in the media needed for a healthy democracy?  Tell us here.

Image courtesy of foxnews.com

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One.  TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)

“When Obama’s story is ready to be told, I’ll be too old to do it.” Denzel Washington says he will not play Barack Obama during a recent interview with The Insider.

Denzel Washington is one of the greatest actors to have ever done it and he has two Oscars to prove it.  Yet, respectfully said, it seems that a lot of Black Americans are happy that he won’t be grabbing the opportunity to portray President Barack Obama in a biopic.  In December 2008, TV One polled users on the subject.  While 30% felt Denzel would be great for the role, an overwhelming 70% thought that Harry Lennix (The Five Heartbeats, Love & Basketball) would be better suited.

Even Lennix may not get a shot, as recent rumors suggest that Tyler Perry wants the rights to direct the story and Will Smith, who has the Presidents approval, has put a bid in to portray Obama. 

What do you think?  Who would be perfect for the job? Tell us here.

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(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One.  TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)

The saga continues in the President Obama vs. former Vice President Cheney national security war.  The two have publicly stood on opposing sides for weeks and as the issue intensifies, Americans may be getting lost in the issue at hand—how do we handle terrorists?

President Obama addressed reporters yesterday and announced that he stands by his decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba, to not release torture photos and to ban torture.  The President stated that he is trying to clean up “a mess” that the Bush administration left behind.  Immediately following his address, Dick Cheney spoke on the subject and stated that the Bush administration’s decisions were successful in defending American citizens.  He also felt that the President’s decision to close Guantanamo Bay was a poor one and was made “with little deliberation and no plan.”

What does America think of this policy tug-of-war?  The country seems divided on how to handle terrorists.  We understand Obama’s suggestion that G.Bay has stained the American peace image but at the same time, we don’t necessarily want terrorists being held at a detention center around the corner from us.  We don’t want to torture anyone but we want information to prevent another 9/11 attack.  It seems like Congress understands the complexity of this situation, because while they passed a measure that would prevent detainees from being transferred to the U.S., they did ask for a plan that would layout where the detainees could go.

Americans elect officials because we need someone to make the tough decisions that we cannot, we just hope that they make the right one.

What do you think?  Whose side are you on?  Tell us here.

Image courtesy of watoday.com

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One.  TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)