Well, President Obama predicted the New Orleans Saints would reign supreme in Super Bowl XLIV. And, for what it’s worth, so did I.

But many others, even great minds like former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and one-time Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, men long saluted for their acumen with projecting numbers, called for an all but automatic Colts victory. Behind the great Peyton Manning, what other outcome could there really be, they easily reasoned.

But sometimes, as seems the case in the Saints’ hugely improbable 31-17 triumph, hope not only counts for something, it ultimately proves to make a difference. Just prior to kickoff, the Prez again reiterated he was backing the Saints, while acknowledging the Colts were indeed the obvious favorite. And yet, he stayed the course in terms of what he believed in, a quality a few more of his critics and even allies in D.C. may be wise to adopt in their own approaches.

In the end, the night not only made for a glorious finish for the Saints, but also a tremendous boost for a city and state historically ravaged by the winds of poverty, not to mention the unimaginable losses brought on by the added tragedy of Hurricane Katrina.

While I must admit, I don’t completely get the Saints’ ‘Who Dat’ slogan, I fully recognize it stands for something very special.

(AP Photo)

Included in President Obama’s proposed, fiscally-responsible 2011 budget is his infamous job-creation agenda that critics are already saying is still too little and way perhaps too late. In addition they say, this sudden move is part of the administration’s knee-jerk game change response after Dems were so soundly beaten by Republican Senator-elect Scott Brown in Massachusetts, no less, home of political and party demi-god Ted Kennedy.

Specifically, the jobs bill will run in the neighborhood of $100 billion out of the total $3.8 trillion projected budget. It includes treats for small-business owners like tax breaks and financial incentives for employers that hire new workers. The president also takes particular pride in the fact that new investments will be made toward green technology, which he promises will create even more jobs, not to mention save our dear Mother Earth.

Economists critical to this way of thinking have already predicted major influx of capital in this vein will not mean job increases. And even beyond that, common folk also fear all of these so well-intended strategies will not get them work in the immediate time frame they’re desperately restricted to in the name of preserving already frayed and weakening familial budgets.

But even now Prez Obama remains one up on the economists in that he has earned a great measure of our trust. And yet as that time passes, and there continues to be less dinner to eat on the tables of all Americans, that trust will wane, morphing into further impatience and discord.

But the president is working. And no doubt, there remains much work to do.

President Obama made a number of promises during his much anticipated, long-awaited State of The Union Address; careful to soothe the fears of the droves of common folk who voted for him in earnest largely based on his ‘time for change’ agenda. And, the Prez did so at a time when his own poll numbers appear stagnant and affinity for government of any kind seems to be dwindling.

And, as was expected, Obama was lambasted before his words could even resonate with most by Tea Party Express zealots who dutifully responded to his urgent call with taunts of their own. “Tonight was a night of hot air, delivered in a way too long speech that revisited pledges we’ve quite frankly heard from Barack Obama before,” went the refrain from Party operatives. “We’ll start to believe Barack Obama when his actions match his words. Until then, it’s just more empty promises…”

Yes, our president has made many promises, a fair amount of them he has actually been able to keep despite a clearly non-receptive climate. But the reality is no one human would instantly be able to pull us upright from the rubble of economic devastation he inherited from the largely negligent Bush regime.

Yet Obama soldiers on, plan in hand. And, as a nation so imperil, what choice do we have but to follow his lead? After all, he has made promises.

Oh, the irony. All at once, we now find ourselves at a time of great progress and ultimate compromise. Following Republican Scott Brown’s startling senate win in MA, the Obama administration has come out hard in order to maintain or regain its base, again promising real change that once so unified and ignited the masses.

And to that end, President Barack Obama is expected to announce his plan for a three-year freeze on discretionary spending, a move touted as potentially cutting our trillion-plus dollars deficit by a substantial $250 billion over the next decade.

Exempt from the freeze would be The Departments of Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, yet some Dems fear the plan will manifest in more losses to major health and education programs. Even more ironically, the administration is putting such vital programs at risk, that are foremost in the minds and needs of the common man, while concurrently putting forth a major jobs creation agenda aimed at putting the nation’s citizenry back to work.

Certainly, the balancing act of appeasing the middle-class as well as the conservative, right-wing base simultaneously—while still remaining true to any agenda that highlights the needs of the masses—is an undertaking of enormous proportion.

At times, it seems as if our first African-American president must perform as if he were cast in the Cirque du Soleil, handcuffed by the notion of forever striving to please every individual member of his audience with a nuance keen and germane only to him or her.

But as any stage actor worth their salt knows, the mission is the good of the play, the honoring of the characters, the plot evolution and the finale. Under those burdensome and at times hellishly burning lights, the actor and the director must focus on the core essentials: flow, congruency and truth.

There was a man who, along with a comrade, had just been shot by local police in Haiti for allegedly stealing five bags of rice. The CNN anchors who were covering the tragedy spoke with passersby who said the men were in fact not thieves but hungry and taking the bags of food that fell from passing trucks. The first accused gentleman died before our eyes, and— for two hours of witness— was left to rot in the debris-filled street. The other, shot in his spine and unable to walk, was eventually carried out by aid workers who spotted him along the way to another mandated point of assistance.

And then, there was the unthinkable: bodies literally being dumped in mass graves along with refuse by Haitian workers. The interviewed gravediggers argued they were only doing their jobs, others claimed objection to the work, but continued they said in order to stop the spread of disease from deteriorating corpses spreading to the living.

In Luke,: 23:34, Jesus said “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they do,” as the soldiers divided his (Jesus’) garments by throwing dice.

No one man or woman can take full responsibility for the ways we have failed our brethren. But, please forgive us (all) father…

(AP photo)

Republican Scott Brown dealt an historically mighty blow to the electorate this week with his upset win over far too laid-back Democrat Martha Coakley in Massachusetts. With the loss, the Dems somehow managed to squander the seat held for more than four decades by the late Teddy Kennedy in a matter of months.

And with that, the filibuster-proof Senate majority enjoyed by President Obama is no more. What’s more, with their base, at least on the surface, somewhat shattered, Dems everywhere are being forced to rethink power strategies. As part of his contingency plan in re-establishing his public connection, Obama’s itinerary includes getting back to what the people have been calling for a long while now: jobs.

The Prez has rushed out to Ohio to talk with leadership and oversee a townhall meeting, all in an effort to ensure the citizenry he has not forgotten about the faltering economy, an albatross of sorts, that’s been hanging around all our throats far too long.

Too many common folk had gotten the impression the Obama administration had in fact forsaken them for larger, more far-reaching concerns like healthcare reform. Some dissidents say Obama’s efforts are too little, much too late. However, in terms of reconstituting jobs and rebuilding our economy, late is always better than never.

And now we celebrate the birth and hence the life of a father, a leader and a martyr for world peace. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. must have lived each day of his life as if it was his last; and, in perhaps his own spiritual understanding of his own destiny, it came to pass— and he was taken from us.

Now we find our lives in what seems unyielding crises: war, poverty and hopelessness. The devastation in Haiti, as addendum, reminds us of the precariousness of all our lives. How so suddenly, everything we hold so dear can be torn away and destroyed. Yet it is a testament to the people of Haiti that those not suffocated in the rubble, or lying beneath mass unmarked graves, still move forward— in faith.

Perhaps they move forward with the strength of the sleeping souls that surround them, pushing toward a new tomorrow. Just as Dr. King kept pushing for justice for a darker people shunned and seemingly restrained by historical shackles, so do the people of this beautiful land. With their stomachs still aching from hunger and despite death all around them, by their very resilience they keep the torch of life burning.

I believe Dr. King is surely proud.

Still so unsettled. It felt good to give a donation to Wyclef Jean’s Yéle Haiti Foundation, as I am sure he is serious about not only saving lives during the aftermath of this tragic earthquake, but in the rebuilding of a much needed infrastructure yet to come.

And, I watched Jean at ground zero, with tears in his eyes and on national television, beg for help for his brethren. Perhaps in desperation, the hip-hop star vehemently denied national reports of 50,000 to 100,000 dead— and claimed the toll to be nearly three times that figure.

This crisis, as they are known to do, came without warning, and caught us (particularly Americans) in our own dire financial straits. Thus, we give what we can because we care, and we so desperately want to help. Yet, I feel I have come up short; I cannot give enough. You cannot give what you do not have. Somehow though, I feel if we give anything we can toward the relief efforts, and keep vigilant in our prayers, more victims will be saved.

It all matters somehow. The living need immediate food resources, fresh water and medical care; and, the dead need proper, sanitary and spiritual burial. Therefore, we all must continue to do what we can.

Though typically regarded as one of the poorest regions in the Western hemisphere, Haiti— for African descendants of the greater diaspora—has long stood as a beacon of freedom. Haitians fought for and gained freedom from France, long known as one of the harshest and most brutal of colonial powers, ultimately reigning as the first free Black Republic in 1804. Africans here in America, still enslaved, then took their direction, beginning their own quest for dignity and emancipation.

Now, they need our help. Following last night’s devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince, government officials grimly estimate that there may be upwards of 100,000 fatalities, and millions more suffering. President Obama, in conjunction with the U.N., has already put the U.S. on mission, mandating massive military relief efforts in an all-out humanitarian and rescue attempt.

Haitians also make up a sizable portion of the U.S. population. That alone should not be our motivation for extending a helping hand, rather we must do so simply because other humans now find themselves in such dire straits. If you can assist, please seek to do so by going to one of the many agencies already mobilized to aid.

Native son and hip-hop star WyClef Jean has his own group, the Yéle Haiti Foundation; the American Red Cross has set up a text line where you can immediately donate at least $10; and, Mercy Corps has its web site set up to accept donations. And, certainly there are numerous other worthy agencies you have the choice of aligning yourself with. The most heartfelt and important issue is that we, as compassionate and God-fearing people everywhere, all care enough to want to.

That’s why for all those who can’t send money, prayers are just as valuable. At a time of tragedy such as this, sharing, in any form, is truly caring.

According to a recently published novel, former President Bill Clinton once uttered to Senator Teddy Kennedy that then colleague Barack Obama would have not long ago been getting their coffee. Despite his racially tinged mishap, alleged to have occurred during the height of this past historical election season, Clinton is still widely considered one of our most savvy politicos, as well as beloved by much of the world.

In the end, perhaps that’ll mean “the nation’s first Black president” will be granted a pass in some African-American circles. But Senator Harry Reid? Maybe not so much. In the same tome, the Nevada pol is quoted as saying Obama may have had the upper hand (over other Blacks I figure) in his presidential bid because he was ‘blessed‘ enough to be “light skinned” and “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”

To hear such ignorance from a man as powerful and influential as Reid is to understand just how our country has arrived at such a wayward destination. While some might argue the substance of Reid’s words hold a kernel of truth, and that Obama’s appearance and tone do in fact make him more palatable to the masses, Reid’s approach and choice of wording seem downright archaic.

Yet Obama, as we know, has accepted the Senator’s unfortunate comments, and now so must we. I mean, Reid has put his record for human and civil rights on display as testaments to his altruism. That’s OK; and some of it seems even honorable. Just please, Mr. Senator, don’t ever call me a Negro again.