Should President Obama visit Ferguson?

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Should President Obama go to Ferguson?

In light of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed teen killed by police in the Missouri town — and the violent, militarized overreaction by law enforcement to peaceful protesters and journalists on the ground — attention is focused now on how Obama will respond.

At a Monday press conference, the president spoke about the hurt Ferguson is facing and announced Attorney General Eric Holder will go to Ferguson. To be sure, there are calls for the president to go to Ferguson in person.  MSNBC guest host Michael Eric Dyson said Obama needs to “step up to the plate and be responsible.”

On Face the Nation, Dyson added:

It is not enough for him to come on national television and pretend there is a false moral equivalency between police people who are armed and black people who are vulnerable constantly to this. He needs to use his bully pulpit to step up and articulate this as a vision, not necessarily in terms of public policy alone, because Eric Holder is doing a tremendous job in filling in those gaps, but we need presidential leadership.

Holder is expected to arrive Wednesday, but is that enough?  There are pros and cons for the president making a personal appearance in that strife-torn part of the country, whose local tragedy has national and even international implications.

PROS

For Obama, the pros of visiting Ferguson are clear.  The Missouri town is around 70 percent black, one of the foremost constituencies in Obama’s base.  His presence on the ground would be met by a positive reaction from African-Americans, who want to be assured the president is thinking about them and addressing their concerns.  Further, President Obama could help ease tensions and quell the disturbance by virtue of his mere presence there.

Face time goes a long way, and with the largest and most powerful bully pulpit in the nation, if not the world, the president is uniquely positioned to speak his mind and have it mean something, shape the course of events and sway public opinion.  Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree believes it is time for the president to speak up and say we cannot allow more black boys to be shot and killed by police.  “I think he would be pilloried, but I think he has to speak out.  In the time he spoke about Trayvon Martin, you heard the real Barack Obama speaking from the bully pulpit about what it means to be a black man,” Ogletree said on The Reid Report.  “He said, ‘I was like Trayvon Martin when I was 17.’  He talked about  women clutching their purses who were white.”

At the very least, having the president in Ferguson would represent potent symbolism.  And yet, symbolism means a lot when there are sharp social divisions, and the presence of a leader can potentially make a difference in bringing clarity and resolution and ultimately bringing about change.

Such an appearance is made to order for Obama, a former community organizer, civil rights attorney and constitutional law professor.  Moreover, this is his second term in office, and now is the time to begin to cement his legacy on civil rights and criminal justice.  The Obama administration has spoken out on voting rights, has fought the conservative assault on civil rights and has called for reforms in drug policy and a review of the federal death penalty.  Now that the national spotlight is placed on the militarization of local law enforcement — with proposed legislation to reverse the trend and Obama noting the potential bipartisan support for demilitarization of the police — a trip to Ferguson could pave the way for a popular policy initiative.

In addition, although he was cited for being risk averse to speaking out on race, particularly in his first term, President Obama is less encumbered by political considerations in his second term in office.  Past presidents such as Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson enhanced their image through their willingness to insert themselves in civil rights issues and engage with local officials, leaders and residents.  The White House can be a bubble, but the president can resist and counter the image of appearing aloof and distant.

And some would argue that Missouri officials, through their actions, overreactions, missteps and omissions, have bungled up things in a major way.  Despite what Ferguson Mayor James Knowles says, his city is racially divided.  And this is a particularly egregious case in which a white cop shot and killed an unarmed young black man.  Further, that the FBI is conducting its own independent investigation in the Brown shooting is proof the White House has no faith in the efforts of state and local officials in the Show Me State.

CONS   

On the other hand, there are possible pitfalls to an Obama trip to Ferguson.

By inserting himself into the controversy in an overt way, President Obama could receive political blowback from his detractors, who will claim he should not get involved in a local issue and rather should allow the legal process to handle things on its own.

Further, Obama’s conservative critics may attempt to label him a “black president” who is too biased in favor of African-American issues as opposed to other concerns.  To some degree, the president is caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place when it comes to his critics in GOP and tea party circles, those who will accuse him of being “too black,” even as his base pushes him to do more.  And while the Republican opposition may accuse Obama of slacking off and taking too much vacation — ignoring his predecessor’s leisurely pursuits — they will find fault with him for taking action, or too much action, on civil rights, Obamacare, the stimulus, and anything with which they disagree.

An argument can be made for President Obama to skip Ferguson entirely and opt simply for the Holder visit.  After all, the attorney general has street cred in the civil rights community.  Moreover, as a representative of the president, Holder’s self-proclaimed role is to “talk about things the president can’t talk about as easily” — particularly matters of race or a pending federal investigation where Obama prefers to remain mum or vague.  With Holder playing the “bad cop” to Obama’s “good cop,” the president is able to advance certain values and policies while not personally putting his face in the local situation.

Follow David A. Love on Twitter at @davidalove.