Objectively, President Obama and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas are two of the "highest ranking" professional black men in the United States. They have much in common, but have barely spoken a word to one other. The divide between them is puzzling. This is not to say that all black men should be friends, or all black law school graduates should be friends, because the issue goes much deeper than that.The question is why don't they get along? It can't be purely because of ideological differences.
Both men were raised by their grandparents and had absent fathers.
Both men went to Ivy League Law schools. President Obama attended Harvard. Justice Thomas attended Yale.
Both men chose a life of public service where their annual salaries are nothing compared to what they could have made as corporate attorneys following President Obama's time as Harvard Law Review Editor-in-Chief or Justice Thomas' time on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Remember in 2008 when then-Senator Obama said he never would have nominated Clarence Thomas. Except, the Senator expanded upon that statement to tell the world that he did not think Clarence Thomas was smart enough to be a Supreme Court Justice.
During a recent speech, Justice Thomas admitted that he and Obama have hardly spoken a word to each other. It seems their only contact was a handshake at one of the President's inaugurations. Justice Thomas made another jab at the President, saying that knew the first black president would have to be approved by the liberal elites.
The back and forth comments are sophomoric (pretentious or juvenile). At this point in their careers, both men are essentially professional equals with one sitting in the highest elected office in the United States and the other holding one of the highest positions for a professional jurist. Because Justice Thomas is an Associate Justice, rather than the Chief Justice, he could arguably obtain one higher peg in the Supreme Court Justice ladder. That being said, there is no need for the in-fighting.
These men need to show each other respect. By that, they don't need to become friends, but they need to be respectful to the offices they both hold. There are ways to respectively criticize and we don't often see examples of such good behavior. President Obama and Clarence Thomas have an opportunity to peacefully co-exist.
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