This is Transformation?

» WaPo: Tavis Smiley Will Cut Ties With Joyner Radio Show

One of Sen. Barack Obama's toughest African American critics is quitting his long association with a national radio show after facing a backlash from the program's listeners.

Tavis Smiley said yesterday he will resign in June as a twice-weekly commentator on the syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show" after more than 11 years with the program. He cited fatigue and a busy schedule in a personal call to Joyner on Thursday night, but Joyner indicated otherwise on his program and in his blog yesterday, writing: "The real reason is that he can't take the hate he's been getting regarding the Barack issue -- hate from the black people that he loves so much."

I can't claim to have followed Tavis' situation all that closely before seeing this. But this certainly echoes of the approach that some of the locals are using with Rep. Jackson Lee. Funny ... I thought the Obamanauts were supposed to move beyond political bickering.

This is still at the core of my problem with the Obama campaign. A lot of candidates promise a transformation. Some even campaign in a way that warrants the belief that they may. But politics isn't what transforms society. It's a useful tool, but it's not the engine. So the letdown is as inevitable as it is foreseeable.

Inevitably, political transformations are just semantic cover for transfers of power. And that can no doubt be exciting for folks who feel disaffected by politics. But it's a power grab by any other name. It's not transformative, it's just a politically-induced rush. And from the looks of how this power is being put to use in some quarters, it's more than a little off-putting.