Obama 100th Day Address - Where Are The Jobs For Us?

President Barack Obama marked his 100th day in office with a primetime televised press conference. Covering a wide gamut of issues, from swine flu to waterboarding to the auto bailout, it wasn't until close to the end of the nearly hour-long press conference that he fielded a question relating specifically to the black community.

"As the entire nation tries to climb out of this deep recession, in communities of color, the circumstances are far worse," said Andre Showell of BET. "The black unemployment rate, as you know, is in the double digits. And in New York City, for example, the black unemployment rate for men is near 50 percent. My question to you tonight is: given this unique and desperate circumstance, what specific policies can you point to that will target these communities and what's the timetable for us to see tangible results?"

In a very carefully worded answer the president explained that his administration's plans for Americans who are down on their luck -- such as extending unemployment insurance and health care coverage for those who have lost their jobs -- will help all such people. He added that blacks and Latinos tend to be "overrepresented" among the unemployed, and so these measures benefit us.

He also said:

When we put in place additional dollars for community health centers to ensure that people are still getting the help that they need, or we expand health insurance to millions more children through the Children's Health Insurance Program, again, those probably disproportionately impact African-American and Latino families simply because they're the ones who are most vulnerable. They have got higher rates of uninsured in their communities.

So my general approach is that if the economy is strong, that will lift all boats as long as it is also supported by, for example, strategies around college affordability and job training, tax cuts for working families as opposed to the wealthiest that level the playing field and ensure bottom-up economic growth.

And I'm confident that that will help the African-American community live out the American dream at the same time that it's helping communities all across the country."

What do you think of the president's response? Does the what-benefits-everyone-will-benefit-blacks approach work for you, or do you want to see more specific plans for addressing black unemployment, health disparities, and other problems we face?