Political analyst James Carville, known for being a man who doesn't hold back on his words, made a comment about President Barack Obama that was heard around the world (well, at least they heard it on CNN). At a breakfast event recently, Carville said, "If Hillary (Clinton) gave up one of her balls and gave it to Obama, he'd have two."

Of course Carville was asked if he would apologize for his remarks, which he may or may not have expected to end up on national news. Instead, he refused, saying that his comment was a joke and that there was no need for further analysis. He didn't seem willing to elaborate on what he meant when disrespecting the president's manhood, but his decision not to back off sends a signal that he's not always happy with the president's policies.

Carville, an Obama supporter (well sort of), is a highly progressive and well-respected political consultant. He has helped to anchor the success of campaigns in all areas of politics, going back to the 1986 gubernatorial win of Roberty Casey. He achieved national prominence after helping Bill Clinton become President of the United States in 1992.

This is not the first time that a major public figure has made reference to President Barack Obama's testicles. I still recall receiving a call in 2008 from Rev. Jesse Jackson after he was recorded on Fox News making unfortunate remarks about cutting off Obama's testicles. Why men enjoy referring to other men's critical body parts, I'm not sure. But Jackson was apologetic for his statements, although his cold reception by the White House communicates that the president may still be bitter toward Jackson. Sure, I accepted Rev. Jackson's apology, but my testicles were not the ones being put on the chopping block.

Is there any merit to Carville's remarks? Well, it depends on whom you ask. There are those on the left who've long felt that President Obama was slow and weak when it came to using the Democratic advantage in Congress to get things done in the time and manner that liberals demanded. Many of his campaign promises about the war, education, the criminal justice system and other areas were not kept, and quite a few liberals were disappointed with his approach to the BP oil crisis this summer.

There is another camp which feels that Obama must not govern as a radical ideologue, but as a practical centrist. Obama's disposition as a leader is to bring people together and take care of his friends. He wants people to like him enough to help him get things done. This approach to solving problems is what allowed him to overhaul the U.S. health care system, a feat that had not been achieved in decades. But the challenge of embracing Washington cronyism (as in choosing Elena Kagan from Harvard for the Supreme Court when she was not the most qualified candidate) reminds us that Obama may be more concerned about maintaining prominence and power than in making the personal sacrifices necessary to truly change the world.

President Barack Obama may be forced to confront the reality that his greatest strength may also be his greatest weakness. As a black man who grew up in Hawaii, Obama could likely be disconnected with the fact that many members of the Right Wing do not see him as a highly educated, respectable political figure. Instead, they see him as a black man who doesn't know his place. So, when he reaches across the aisle and extends olive branches to men like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (who comes from Kentucky, one of the most politically-racist states in America), he ends up looking silly in a world that won't ever give a black president a chance to lead.

My vote on this? Carville is at least partially correct. President Obama's decision to show weakness when he really had strength makes me wonder what his approach will look like now that he's truly become politically weak. The drubbing taken by the Democrats in the mid-term elections may not get any better by 2012, and there could be quite a few Democrats wondering if Obama is worth their time like he was in 2008. If you run a campaign based on hope and change, one must realize that those are pretty big promises designed for candidates with, well, large cojones (perhaps fitting with Carville's expectation of Obama). In fact, I'm not sure if anyone can hope to change Washington anytime soon. Obama is probably the best president available to our nation right now, but given that we are an aristocracy that only gets our leading political candidates from a small pool of available Americans, that's really not saying very much.



Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.