The Rev. Al Sharpton has said the 2012 election “is not about Obama, it is about your Mama.” The Gantt Report says the election is also about “your drama.”

For hundreds of years, black people have been told that their votes for the correct candidates would have a positive impact on their lives.    Well, I’m a lot older than you think (smile) and my experience suggests that, whichever politicians we put first, those same politicians put us last.

Is President Barack Obama any different? Yes and no.

President Obama cares, I think, about all Americans and he certainly has a space in his heart for Americans of African descent.

On the other hand, Obama is not too much unlike other presidents.
Before the president even considers programs to help the inner city and inner-city dwellers, he has to make sure Wall Street’s imperialist bankers and money changers are at least satisfied, if not completely happy. He has to ensure that the military industrial complex is happy with the tax money appropriated for wars and other military conflicts.

But all presidents suck up to billionaire and millionaire campaign contributors. All presidents bow down to protect and support the Hebrew nation, Israel. And all presidents try to prop up the dollar, which is currently on life support just like the Euro and other forms of worthless paper money.

Still, I like President Obama. However, if you’re a long-time reader of The Gantt Report, you know this column doesn’t endorse any candidate unless that candidate is a personal friend and TGR can be specific about how and why the friend should be supported and voted for.

I can say Obama’s plan to use government funds to create jobs is better than any plan that would make the rich richer by cutting already low taxes and hoping that the wealthy would share their wealth on their own. The "trickle down" theory is just as tricky as the people who propose it.

I can also say that talk about prosperity and good times to come are little more than wishes.

In a capitalist society, someone has to be capitalized on and, most of the time, that someone is someone of color.

African Americans can be proud to say they lived during an era when a person of color served as president of the United States.

Black people can also say they lost more homes, jobs, more businesses and more respect during that same period.

A house can’t be a home unless there is money in the dwelling. A community can’t progress and improve unless there is money in the community.

No matter how much I and other African Americans love politicians, public servants and elected officials, black people have to depend on themselves for their economic, social and communal survival.

When you go to the polls, vote for yourself. Vote for national, state and local candidates who say they will vote for you.

You will never have political peace if you don’t have politically equal rights and political justice.