By Bill O'Reilly
In 2008, 95 percent of African-American voters supported Barack Obama but this time around Mitt Romney apparently thinks he can do better in those precincts. Right now the black unemployment rate is 14.4 percent as opposed to 12.7 percent when Mr. Obama took office. Unemployment for black youth is an astounding 39.3 percent.
So, it is obvious that the scenario for black American voters is much different than it was four years ago. Today Governor Romney made that case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY: I'm going to eliminate every nonessential expensive program I can find. That includes Obamacare and I'm going to work to reform and save -- I know the President will say he's going to do those things but he has not. He will not, he cannot. And his last four years in the White House prove it definitively.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: All right. Now, there's no question Mitt Romney is a brave guy for going to the NAACP convention. He knew he would not be received well, there. But he also knows that if he wins the election he will be president to all Americans so his appearance is a positive in that regard.
The problem is that most African-Americans believe the Republican Party in general does not value them and then there is the race factor vis-a-vis the President that is a source of pride in the black community.
Certainly some African-American voters cast their ballots along color lines, that's true. But there is nothing any one can do about voters who choose personal over policy and that happens on both sides.
The good news for Mr. Romney is that African-Americans will not decide the presidential election this year, as many analysts believe fewer of them will vote for Barack Obama this time around because of the bad economy. And because the President has not actively supported black special interest groups, some blacks will walk away.
By the way, Mr. Obama has largely kept his promise to be a color blind president. A new Quinnipiac poll says 92 percent of African-Americans currently supporting Barack Obama while just two percent favored Mr. Romney. If that holds the President will lose three percentage points of the African-American vote this time around.
But far more important to Mitt Romney is the woman vote and we'll get to that in our next segment with Dick Morris. So summing up, Mitt Romney brave to go to the convention in Houston. Not going to change many hearts and minds but the symbolism of him being there is a positive thing. By the way President Obama is not going to the NAACP meeting himself. He is sending Vice President Biden.
And that's "The Memo."
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