• introduced an amendment to the Voting Rights Act would require evidence of intent to discriminate and thus weaken the act;


•  expressed concern over the cost of honoring Martin Luther King with a national holiday (but signed the law because Congress seemed "bent" on it);


• launched his 1980 election campaign with endorsements of "states rights" in Philadelphia, a city famous for the murder of three civil rights workers; and


• joined Barry Goldwater in opposing the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

And what about President Bill Clinton, whose two terms in 1990s you disparage and discount?  

Update [2008-1-18 15:43:12 by susanhu]:

Really, Mr. Obama? The Republicans have been the party of ideas for the past ten to fifteen years? Including the last seven years of Bill Clinton's administration? Really, Mr. Obama?

So just what did William Jefferson Clinton do for blacks and Latinos?  

Since the economy is the hot topic these days, let's just look at what President Clinton did for minorities in terms of economic gains. (There's far more, but for the sake of brevity we'll focus on the economy.) From a U.S. government Web site in April 1999:

Unemployment Rate for African Americans and Hispanics Remains Historically Low. Under President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Hispanic unemployment rate has dropped from 11.3 percent in January 1993 to a record low of 5.8 percent in March 1999. The unemployment rate for African Americans has fallen from 14.1 percent in January 1993 to 8.1 percent in March 1999--one of the lowest levels on record for African Americans.

Here are additional economic accomplishments of the Clinton/Gore administration -- as of 1999 (during the administration's second term) -- that also had a direct positive effect for minorities:

• 18.2 Million New Jobs. ...


• Unemployment at 4.2 Percent in March ...


• Highest Share of New Jobs in Private Sector in 50 Years. Since the President and Vice President took office, the private sector has added 16.7 million new jobs--with 2.4 million jobs added in the past year. Since 1993, 92 percent of the 18.2 million new jobs have been in the private sector--the highest percentage in 50 years.


• Fastest and Longest Real Wage Growth in Two Decades. Last month, average hourly earnings increased 0.2 percent. Under the Clinton-Gore Administration, real wages have risen 6.1 percent--compared to declining 4.3 percent during the Reagan and Bush Administrations. After adjusting for inflation, wages have increased almost 2.7 percent in 1998--the fastest real wage growth in more than two decades and the third year in a row--the longest sustained growth since the early 1970s.


• Construction Jobs Are Coming Back. ...


• Manufacturing Jobs Have Increased. After losing 2.1 million manufacturing jobs between 1981 and 1992, the economy has created 350,000 new manufacturing jobs since 1993. After losing 46,000 jobs in the auto industry during the Bush Administration, the United States has 147,000 new auto industry jobs under the Clinton-Gore Administration.


• Inflation Rate Is the Lowest Since the 1950s. ...

Briefly, here's one more example: President Clinton signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, "which passed Congress without a single Republican vote."

It raised taxes on the wealthiest 1.2% of taxpayers,[35] while cutting taxes for 15 million low-income families and making tax cuts available to 90% of small businesses.[36] Additionally, it mandated that the budget be balanced over a number of years, through the implementation of spending restraints.

Listen, Mr. Obama. If you think that President Clinton and Vice President Gore accomplished those amazing turnarounds for the economy and for minorities by singing "Kumbayah" with Republicans, you've just shown how naive you are.

And you've exposed how uninformed you are about the brutal history of U.S. politics where every progressive step is spattered with the blood, sweat and tears of all who fought so hard for those gains.

How we yearn for those 1990s that you dismiss, Mr. Obama.