Jesse Jackson Jr. Mute on Blagojevich Case but Plenty to Say About Rahm Emanuel

Every time I see Jesse Jackson Jr. speak, I remember that long-winded speech he made at my elementary school graduation at Fort Dearborn. Although he was the guest speaker to talk to our graduating class in 1995, my peers did everything we possibly could not to fall asleep while he spent what felt like an hour talking to the adults in the audience about voting and city events, barely touching on the education of young minds. After awhile, I wondered if he even knew he was at a graduation ceremony for kids.

This is one of the reasons I'm not thrilled with the idea of his possible run for Chicago mayor. If he can't keep his focus at a graduation, I'm skeptical of him being focused as the mayor, especially after Mayor Daley spent over 20 years and had outstanding focus on education programs.

After reading a Sun Times interview where Jesse Jackson Jr. ran down the reasons why Chicagoans should be concerned about Rahm Emanuel running a "national campaign" instead of a "local campaign," my first thought was, "What an opportunist."

Jesse Jackson Jr.'s thoughts on Emanuel: "Suffice it to say if Rahm Emanuel does make the decision to run for mayor of the city of Chicago, it will become a national campaign. This will not be a local race run by local candidates just debating just local issues. It will be about urban policy. It will be about the president's agenda. He has served as chief of staff."

Am I the only one who finds it strange that he has so many opinions about Rahm Emanuel but was as quiet as a library when it came to the Blagojevich trial, which repeatedly mentioned his name? And if Emanuel does have similar ideas as Obama when it comes to education, where is the conflict of interest? I don't have a problem with Obama's views on charter schools or other education policy so that makes Emanuel more of a favorite.

Even Rob Blagojevich, who called Jesse Jackson Jr. a "f--king articulate incompetent," didn't make Jackson Jr. finally speak up. Instead of saying "Rahm Emanuel will have to answer the questions about those communities that have been left behind," Jackson Jr. should be more concerned with answering questions about himself.

If Jackson Jr. really does decide to run for Chicago mayor, the first questions he should answer are about his ties to Blagojevich, who will be retried around January of 2011. I wonder if Jackson Jr.'s hesitation to run for mayor has anything to do with the fact that he may be called as a witness once again for the Blagojevich trial and actually have to come to court this time. I'd certainly like to hear what he has to say.

Before Roland Burris was temporarily called as the state senator, there was emphasis in the African-American community about wanting another black politician to take Obama's place as Illinois Senator. While I do want a mayor--and senator--who can speak up for the African-American community, I also want one who I believe will be able to speak up on all diverse topics. Having a brown face doesn't make a politician the best for the African-American community. Condolezza Rice, Clarence Thomas and Michael Steele are prime examples of that.

Mayor Richard M. Daley did a fine job of standing on his own two, even though his father was the mayor before him. I wonder if Jesse Jackson Jr. can also do that or will his attitude reflect the same jealous habits of his father, who wanted to cut Obama's balls off. While I won't ignore the possibility that Jesse Jackson Jr. could be a good running candidate and can look past that speech from eighth grade, I think Jackson Jr. has more questions to answer than Rahm Emanuel does.