by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright January 21, 2001
All Rights Reserved.

alling like a giant Sequoia, Rev. Jesse Jackson—the self-proclaimed heir-apparent to civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King—exposed his cosmic narcissism, admitting that he sired a child with an employee of his rolling non-profit Rainbow/PUSH ministry. Faced with an imminent headline in the National Enquirer, Jackson had no other choice but to try to preempt the bombshell with his own phony mea culpa. “This is no time for evasions, denials or alibis,” said the long-faced Jackson, “I fully accept responsibility and I am truly sorry for my actions,” trying to mitigate a potentially career-ending revelation, pulling the rug out from underneath the legions of his faithful supporters around the country. Yes, like others caught red-handed, this isn’t time for categorical denial, since it wouldn’t sound credible or get him off the hook. Blaming right-wing conspiracies wouldn’t cut it. Like Clinton, blinding egocentricity caused Jackson’s downfall. But unlike Clinton, sexual acting-out is far more tolerated among politicians than upstanding clergy.

       Jackson’s timely admission says more about damage control than any true contrition. Twenty months after the birth of his out-of-wedlock daughter—with rumors circulating but cleverly suppressed—Jackson claims that he’s truly sorry. Proving that the public’s the last to find out, an unnamed family 'friend' admitted that Jackson’s family had known about the birth of Jackson’s “love child” for more than a year. Members within the inner circle of his Rainbow/PUSH ministry did their utmost to keep the lid on Jackson’s indiscretion, fearing that it would unleash a tsunami of adverse publicity upending fund-raising efforts. Look what happened to the ministry of tele-evangelists Jim and Tammi Faye Baker once their scandal broke. Jackson’s indiscretion was a closely guarded secret precisely because of its deleterious effect on his credibility. Though Crystal Cathedral’s Rev. Robert Schuller called Jackson’s infidelity a “terribly serious sin,” others were more sanguine. “It has nothing to do with ideology or anything . . . it’s human nature,” said Rev. Lou Sheldon, chairman of the Human Values Coalition, again shifting attention away from the more psychopathic elements to Jackson’s conduct.

       Slithering into self-imposed seclusion, Jackson abandoned scheduled plans with the NAACP and ACLU to protest voting irregularities in Tallahassee on inauguration day. Jackson bowed out, saying that he’s taking an indefinite leave of absence. Discredited by his own admission, Jackson abandoned his following not because he’s submitting to his own punishment but because he’s afraid to face the media. Refusing any further comments beyond his carefully worded statement, Jackson’s been advised to go incognito. Many unanswered questions surrounding the financial circumstances under which the scandal broke leave Jackson potentially vulnerable to criminal prosecution. Paying his mistress $40,000 to relocate of California, buying her a $365,000 home, and paying her $10,000 a month has many people scratching their heads. God’s grace won’t save Jackson from disgruntled employees inside his Rainbow/Push ministry or the IRS should they press charges for misusing tax-exempt funds. With the garrulous Jackson now going mute, no one really knows the clandestine arrangement made with his 39-year-old mistress and former employee, Karen Stanford.

       Torpedoing his own credibility and the plight of countless disenfranchised voters, Jackson showed clearly his priority for self-indulgence over the downtrodden’s civil rights desperately needing his advocacy. “It’s very ironic that this . . . man who has complained bitterly and repeatedly about black poverty is, in his personal life, contributing to the major cause of black child poverty in the U.S.,” said Robert Rector, a spokesman for the conservative Heritage Foundation. Hitting Jackson with cheap shots about black sociology detours from what’s at stake and rallies more sympathy around the discredited civil rights leader. “Our prayers go out to [the Jackson family],” said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), “we are confident that through God’s grace and their tremendous faith, they will overcome.” Whether Jackson can re-emerge unscathed on the public stage is doubtful. One thing’s for sure: Nagging doubts remain not about his sexual infidelity but about his relationship and the dubious financial deal cut with his mistress and former employee.

       Getting a free X-ray into Jackson’s true character, recall his high-profile role as “spiritual advisor” in 1998, giving pastoral counseling to president Clinton during the height of the Lewinsky sex scandal. Bringing his pregnant employee to the White House for a photo-op, Jackson had no compunction about playing his phony spiritual role helping a beleaguered President Clinton. But let there be no mistake that Jackson’s symbiotic tie to the White House served a mutually beneficial purpose of both undoing Clinton’s notoriety and covering up his own lurid behavior. “[Jackson] should have brought up [his affair] when he counseled President Clinton,” said Armstrong Williams, a black commentator and columnist, “That was the time he could have come clean, saying: ‘I can sympathize with the president because I have a child out of wedlock.’” Facetious as that sounds, it underscores the shameless grandiosity of Jackson’s personality, giving the president emotional cover when he was guilty as sin.

       Covering up his affair for nearly two years, Jackson managed to protect his reputation, secure lucrative cable news contracts and avoid facing the music. Now that the scandal’s public, he’s becoming radioactive, just like other celebrities whose scandals resulted in their commercial liquidation. Jackson’s clever cover-up and the cavalier way in which he played President Clinton’s “spiritual advisor” shatters the delicate trust needed to serve as the spiritual leader of his Rainbow/PUSH ministry. Already denounced to the press by insiders within Jackson’s own organization, it’s clear that Jackson lacks the moral authority to lead his roving ministry. “I would be shocked if two years from now we don’t look and see Jesse Jackson on the radar screen,” said Jim Margolis, a Democratic political consultant, still in denial that the party’s liberal mouthpiece has fallen from grace. With Republicans taking the White House, Democrats can’t afford another black eye.

About the Author

John M. Curtis is editor of OnlineColumnist.com and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He’s director of a Los Angeles think tank specializing in political consulting and strategic public relations. He’s a seminar trainer, columnist and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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