New York Daily News - Charlie Rangel, Maxine Waters and More Praise Obama's rallying of Troops at Black Caucus

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By Alison Gendar

President Obama was only rallying the troops, not picking on the Congressional Black Caucus when he told a recent audience to "stop complaining. stop crying," said New York's Rep. Charles Rangel.

"We're not crying - we're fighting. Fighting to protect the people who are hurting, who need jobs," Rangel said today.

Obama ran through his administration's wins and how they had helped African-Americans during a weekend speech at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Phoenix awards.

But he ended with a blunt message.

"I expect all of you to march with me and press on. Take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. We are going to press on. We've got work to do, CBC," Obama told Saturday's crowd at the Washington Convention Center.

"I didn't think he was lecturing the CBC, (Congressional Black Caucus) He's not in a position to lecture to members of his own party," Rangel (D-Harlem) told the Daily News.

Some Obama supporters argued the president's comments were aimed squarely at critics within the Congressional Black Caucus, many of whom supported Hilary Clinton in 2008.

"The feeling is some of their criticism of Obama is really "I told you so," a Congressional staffer said.

Rangel, who backed Hillary Clinton in the primary, said that was a misread.

"I don't know where that Hillary Clinton stuff comes from," Rangel said.

"I don't know what his purpose was in telling people to stop crying. It certainly was not persuasive to me. People are entitled to cry when they lose their job," he said.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who attended the speech, said the message was directed at those in the audience who might be comparing Obama "to the Almighty, instead of the alternative."

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) today told CBS' "The Early Show" that she was surprised by the president's choice of words.

"I don't know who he was talking to, because we're certainly not complaining," Waters said.

"Some of his words were not, I think, appropriate and surprised me a little bit. I was curious about him. But he certainly heard us," she said.

Waters said she and others hosted job fairs to make sure the economic pain in the black community was acknowledged.

"When we had these jobs fairs, they stood in line by the thousands, circling the blocks, to get a chance to talk to employers. In Los Angeles, 10,000 people showed up," she said.

The jobless rate for African-Americans is at 16.7% compared to the national rate of 9.1%.

A recent Washington Post-ABC News showed Obama's "strongly favorable" ratings among African-Americans dropped to 58 percent, down from 83 percent five months ago.

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