When rich black people should know better

It's no secret that I have some longstanding political disagreements with Bob Johnson, the co-founder of BET Networks.

Johnson supported George Bush's plans to privatize Social Security, that would have left millions of seniors in trouble after last year's financial collapse. And he also worked with Bush to eliminate the horribly onerous inheritance tax that disproportionately affects about 7 or 8 super rich black people in America.

Then last year Johnson mocked Barack Obama, suggesting that he was busy doing drugs while Hillary Clinton was caring about black people. "I am frankly insulted," Johnson said, "that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues when Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood that I won't say what he was doing but he said it in his book."

But there's a more positive and inspiring side to Bob Johnson and his former wife Sheila. As partners, they developed a hugely successful business model at BET that revolved around low production costs and high revenue generated from cheap advertisement.

The Johnsons sold their BET holdings to Viacom in 1999, and the quality of BET has improved since then, in part, because of a greater emphasis on content instead of capital. To be sure, BET still has some issues. I've worked as a TV commentator and host for BET for several years now, through good and bad times, and I've heard all the complaints. But this isn't a story about BET. It's a story about the Johnsons, who no longer run BET.

I applaud the former power couple for their business acumen, but until now I've never known much about Sheila Johnson. Now that I do, I'm not too impressed by her politics either.

In a speech to supporters of conservative Republican Bob McDonnell, who is running for governor of Virginia, Johnson mocked McDonnell's Democratic opponent, Creigh Deeds, for stuttering. In a video (shown below), Johnson says: "Bob McDonnell can communicate. The other people that I talk to, especially his o-o-o-opponent could not articulate what needed to be done."

After the controversy reached the mainstream media, Johnson apologized in an e-mail to Politico.com:

"Two weeks ago I made reference to Creigh Deeds's inability to clearly communicate effective solutions to the serious problems facing Virginia. I shouldn't have done it in the manner in which I did and for that I apologize for any offense he, or others, may have taken."

I could go on about the non-apology apology to those who "may have taken" offense, or I could question what she meant when she said she "shouldn't have done it in the manner in which [she] did," but I'm really more concerned about the intitial comment than the apology itself.

Sheila Johnson has had a remarkable life with opportunities that most people on the planet will never enjoy. She's reportedly America's first black female billionaire, and that alone sets her apart from just about everybody else. But why not use your power and wealth to make life better for those less fortunate? Or at the very least, why use your influence to hurt people who don't have the things you do?

I'm not a billionaire, so I have no idea what it's like to achieve that level of financial security. But I hope and pray that if I were so fortunate, I would be a little more considerate to those who aren't.