As a black academic at a fine institution of higher learning, I have constantly tried to overlook the repeatedly blatant verbal shots thrown at President Barack Obama. Many Republican politicians and conservative media critics have taken to attacking almost everything about Obama from his ethnicity, scholarship and ethics to his wife and children. And while many of these remarks can cross racially insensitive boundaries, there has been a trend of spotlighting black scholars who criticize the president and this often creates buzz. But more often than not, the two black intellectuals who stand to grasp the most limelight for taking spiteful jabs at President Obama are Cornel West and Tavis Smiley.

An author, media personality and one of the self-proclaimed leading voices in the black community, Tavis Smiley has a national audience and influence. However, when taking time out time to recently describe the president's remarks about race as "weak as pre-sweetened Kool-Aid," you can only begin to question the motives behind such a very immature and unintelligent insult.

Smiley's good friend and radio show co-host of Smiley and West, the accomplished scholar Cornel West only added more fuel to the fire. Earlier this week, West went to the extreme by calling Obama a "global George Zimmerman"and further added that those who would want to be critical of the president, notably Rev. Al Sharpton, "can't because he's still on the Obama plantation.

For one, there is nothing wrong with being critical of our president. Poverty, drug laws, and gun crime are some of the major issues that have yet to be tackled effectively. I have had my fair share of discussing possible outcomes and solutions along with noting the current failure to do so by our Congress. However, turning those critiques into rhetorical personal attacks only hurts one's credibility. For West and Smiley to be slanderous with their level of power and visibility only does more harm than good.