Cotton-What? You Be the Judge

Take a look at this clip from Friday's Situation Room on CNN. Lou Dobbs gets caught up in the moment, responding to Condoleeza Rice's comments on race in America and appears to almost say ...

So ... what's your verdict?

Related: CNN Scrubs Dobbs' Racially Charged Comment From Transcript

Geoffrey Bennett

7:11 PM ET | 03-31-2008 | permalink

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It's All About Choice and Convenience

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"The need to hold media that you consume -- the physical purchase -- is going away."

That quote comes from a New York Times article about how choice is driving the way Americans consume media.

The beleaguered recording industry should take note. Says the Times:

"Maybe changing the equation isn't so much a matter of throwing out old media as adjusting to hybrid models that enable an infinite inventory on a digital shelf -- embracing, rather than trying to control, choice."

So ... here's an informal survey:

When was the last time you held a hard copy of a photo you took? Do you still file your pictures into albums, or do you upload to photo-sharing sites like Flickr and Snapfish?

When you rent a movie, is your preference Hollywood Video and Blockbuster ... or Netflix and Blockbuster online delivery?

What was your last music purchase? Did you download it on your computer or go to the store to but it old-school style?

Geoffrey Bennett

12:05 PM ET | 03-31-2008 | permalink

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HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson to Resign

HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson announces his resignation at HUD headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Win McNamee, Getty Images

Amid charges of cronyism and ethical impropriety, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced his resignation from the post, effective next month.

This from CNN:

"The FBI has been investigating allegations that Jackson steered a federal contract to a golfing buddy based in South Carolina. Jackson has denied wrongdoing and White House officials have said for months that the president still has confidence in Jackson. No charges have been filed against him."

The folks at Politico say the resignation will complicate matters for the White House:

"Jackson's departure comes at a critical time for the Bush administration and Congress as political leaders in Washington scramble to deal with the fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis. HUD oversees the Federal Housing Administration, a critical player in any federal response to the problems in the nation's housing market."

Flashback: Jackson on News & Notes
Is Home Ownership Still Achievable?
HUD Secretary on Making Homes More Affordable
FBI Investigating HUD Secretary's Contracts

Geoffrey Bennett

11:51 AM ET | 03-31-2008 | permalink

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Rice: "I Don't Do Politics"

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke today about the race issues in America and revealed the truth behind speculation of her vice presidential candidacy:

She isn't running for anything.

As the top-ranking African American in the Bush Administration, some political analysts have put bets on Rice as a contender for VP.

Yet, she says running for office is "sort of not in my genes."

Rice did have some interesting comments about black patriotism in America, however:

"There is a paradox for this country and a contradiction of this country and we still haven't resolved it. ... But what I would like understood as a black American is that black Americans loved and had faith in this country even when this country didn't love and have faith in them, and that's our legacy."

What do you think Rice's legacy will be? How will history books record her tenure in office? Do you think she will ever enter the world of politics?

Drew Tewksbury

5:56 PM ET | 03-28-2008 | permalink

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Going After Hillary on Bosnia

The political satirists have sharpened their knives after Senator Clinton backpedaled on her statements about coming under sniper fire in Bosnia. (We covered that inthis week's politics segment.)

Check out this video:

And this "fan-fiction" style parody.

What strikes me is that:
1) For the video, computer graphics have become so accessible to people outside of the big studio system that it adds and entirely different flavor to a parody. It's no Lord of the Rings, but it's certainly got some technical chops.
2) Fan fiction is a specialized genre for the political satire.
3) All of this is getting much more sophisticated and diverse ... political humor, that is.

But is it turning you off? Do you like it, or does it make you cynical?

Farai Chideya

3:08 PM ET | 03-28-2008 | permalink

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Chuck Berry: Father of Rock 'n' Roll

On today's show, we took a trip back in time to revisit the "Father of Rock 'n' Roll," Chuck Berry. His bluesy guitar licks, swaggering vocals, and lively showmanship indisputably made Berry an indispensable element in the evolution of rock.

Here's some history about his rise to popularity in the 1950's:

He quickly found out that black audiences liked a wide variety of music and set himself to the task of being able to reproduce as much of it as possible. What he found they really liked -- besides the blues and Nat King Cole tunes -- was the sight and sound of a black man playing white hillbilly music, and Berry's showmanlike flair, coupled with his seemingly inexhaustible supply of fresh verses to old favorites, quickly made him a name on the circuit.

His influence on rock is undeniable, even Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry tells Rolling Stone that "Chuck Berry is like the Ernest Hemingway of Rock 'N Roll."

Today at the age of 81, he still tours the world and performs his hits "Johnny B. Goode," "Maybellene," and "Memphis, Tennessee" and a new box set Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode: His Complete '50s Chess Recordings will drop into record stores and iTunes soon.

What role do you think Chuck Berry held in American music history? What musicians do you think belong on the list of icons of rock? What musicians are missing from the canon of the "classics?"

See his 1965 performance on French television. His personality certainly comes out as he describes "the blues."

Or you may remember his song, "You Never Can Tell" from the classic dance-off scene in Pulp Fiction (1994).

Drew Tewksbury

1:34 PM ET | 03-28-2008 | permalink

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Did Your Vote Count?

Today we spoke with a reporter and a Harlem resident about whether votes in New York's primary were not counted, specifically Obama votes.

In some Harlem and Brooklyn voting districts, initial polls showed Obama didn't get ANY votes in some of the precincts. What happened next? Check out our story.

Also: are you a Democratic voter from Florida or Michigan? What do you want the party to do since it doesn't look like there will be a "do-over" primary? Do you feel disenfranchised?

Also in political news: the New York Times did an interesting article on how the news organizations are cutting back on their on-the-ground political reporting.

Farai Chideya

6:43 PM ET | 03-27-2008 | permalink

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'L.A. Times' Apologizes for False Tupac Story

Tupac Shakur at the MTV Music Video Awards in 1996.

Evan Agostini, Getty Images

The Los Angeles Times published a controversial article last week, alleging that Sean "Diddy" Combs was implicated in the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur.

Today, the paper apologized for the article after The Smoking Gun found that it was based on false information.

Times Deputy Managing Editor Marc Duvoisin said, "In relying on documents that I now believe were fake, I failed to do my job. I'm sorry."

Don't worry. Diddy is going to be okay.

The story is interesting not necessarily because of its subject matter -- Tupac conspiracies are more than abundant -- instead it gives insight into an attempt by print media to deal with a changing marketplace.

The story was originally released only on the Web -- as a "blockbuster investigative piece."

Now in a Brave New World scenario, the original article has almost completely disappeared, only to be replaced by the apology.

Where do you think the breakdown within the L.A. Times occurred? How do you feel about online journalism? Do you trust it in the same way that you trust other forms of media?

[But all this media noise is irrelevant anyway, because Tupac is still alive according to this terrible, terrible Website.]

Flashback: Tupac ... Is That You?

Drew Tewksbury

11:32 AM ET | 03-27-2008 | permalink

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Open Thread: You Take the Mic

iStockphoto.com

Taking off our Election '08 blinders for a minute ... what other big stories have your attention at the moment?

What's going on in your hometown that big media is overlooking?

Anything on your mind that you want to share?

This is your space.

Geoffrey Bennett

12:26 PM ET | 03-26-2008 | permalink

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Chris Rock Reveals Obama's 'Handicap'

Comedian Chris Rock performs at Hard Rock Live held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Larry Marano, Getty Images

Chris Rock, who appears on the April 2008 cover of Rolling Stone, explains why this election season has been a godsend: "Black guy runnin' for president against a woman -- it's tailor-made for me," he says.

The magazine offers an excerpt of his newest material -- which has been cleaned up for reprinting on our blog:

"Bush has [messed up] so bad that he's made it hard for a white man to run for president. 'Gimme anything but another white man, please! Black man, white woman, giraffe, anything!' A white man's had that job for hundreds of years -- and one guy [messed] it up for all of ya! ... Each candidate tells you how humble they are. No, you're not humble! Do you know how big your ego has to be to say you wanna be president of the United States? Do you know how much Puff Daddy juice you have to drink? How many Kanye injections you have to take? ... Barack Obama -- he's a black man with two black names! Barack. Obama. He doesn't let his blackness sneak up on you. As soon as you hear Barack Obama you wonder, 'Does he have a spear?' ... He's so cool, too, man. I don't think he realizes he's a black candidate! When you're the only black guy doing something, people expect you to take it up a notch. If you're the only black playing basketball with a bunch of white guys -- they expect you to dunk! ... Barack has a handicap the other candidates don't have: Barack Obama has a black wife. And I don't think a black woman can be first lady of the United States. Yeah, I said it! A black woman can be president, no problem. First lady? Can't do it. You know why? Because a black woman cannot play the background of a relationship. Just imagine telling your black wife that you're president? 'Honey, I did it! I won! I'm the president.' 'No, we the president! And I want my girlfriends in the Cabinet! I want Kiki to be secretary of state! She can fight!' "

Geoffrey Bennett

11:55 AM ET | 03-26-2008 | permalink

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Hillary + Barack = ???

Hillary + Barack = Hillarack.

Nancy Burson, The New Republic

Check out this photo, as featured on the cover of The New Republic.

Clinton and Obama have had heir mugs splashed across the covers of mags like Time and Newsweek. But artist Nancy Burson has taken it a step further. (She's the brains behind The Human Race Machine and the morphing technology in Michael Jackson's "Black or White" video.)

She's used the technology to create a composite image of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. You can check out a larger version on The New Republic blog.

So ... what do you think? Oh, and here's yet another photo mash-up.

Geoffrey Bennett

7:45 PM ET | 03-25-2008 | permalink

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If You Lived in Boston in 1968, We're Looking for You

The 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's assassination is approaching (April 4th) and News & Notes will be observing the day with remembrances of how it reverberated throughout the country:

On April 4, 1968, the day before [James] Brown was scheduled to play a concert at the Boston Garden, King was shot to death in Memphis. In Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, rioters set fire to white-owned businesses.

After some back-and-forth, the Boston show went on, and as the Globe puts it, "Brown brought calm to a simmering city."

If you or a family member lived through that moment and care to share your recollection on our show, drop us a line via the comment section below. Be sure to leave an accurate e-mail address so we can contact you.

Geoffrey Bennett

6:54 PM ET | 03-25-2008 | permalink

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On YouTube: Hillary Clinton, Sinbad and Snipers

Forget the endorsements and all-powerful superdelegates. The Democratic presidential nominee may well be influenced by ... YouTube of all things. First, YouTube clips of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's incendiary sermons almost derailed Sen. Barack Obama's campaign.

Now, a CBS News report -- contradicting Sen. Hillary Clinton's recollection of her 1996 trip to Bosnia -- is getting major traction on the site today.

Clinton said she "misspoke" when saying she landed in Bosnia under sniper fire.

In the end, more people may see this report on the Web than viewed it when it originally aired on television. What do you think about this report ... and of the Web's influence in the political process?

Related: The Internet Effect on News

Related: Why Wasn't The Truth Good Enough For Hillary?

Geoffrey Bennett

12:28 PM ET | 03-25-2008 | permalink

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Racially Insensitive Photo or Oversensitive Response?

Lebron James and Gisele Bundchen appear on the cover of Vogue's April 2008 issue.

Professional basketball player LeBron James made history this month, as the first black man to ever appear on the cover of Vogue magazine.

But the fanfare was short-lived. Some say the Annie Leibovitz photo, showing LeBron in a gorilla-like/King Kong pose plays on racial stereotypes.

ESPN.com writer and News & Notes sports roundtable regular Jemele Hill said the photo is "memorable for the wrong reasons." She adds:

"Vogue deserves criticism, but more blame should go to LeBron and other black athletes, who need to exercise stricter control of their images. If LeBron is brave enough to wear a Yankees cap at an Indians playoff game, picking up a history book and educating himself shouldn't cause a strain."

Tell us what you think. Then, take a poll over at AOL Black Voices.

Geoffrey Bennett

12:05 PM ET | 03-25-2008 | permalink

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Take Care of Children in Need

This week's installment of Speak Your Mind is actually a Get My Vote submission from novelist ZZ Packer. She says the party that best tends to children in need is the party that will earn her vote.

What is Get My Vote? Get a refresher here.

Do you agree with Packer? What would it take to get your vote? Sound off!

Geoffrey Bennett

11:38 AM ET | 03-25-2008 | permalink

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When Is a Sex Scandal NOT a Sex Scandal?

Today we led with the indictment of Detroit's "Hip Hop Mayor," Kwame Kilpatrick. He faces multiple counts on charges including obstruction of justice.

But the charges are about obstruction of justice -- or a cover-up -- not about sex itself.

Still, it seems like headline writers get a lot more mileage out of the idea of a sex scandal than an investigation into whether the Mayor lied to the court. Some of the headlines running on the wires and in the papers today include:

Detroit Mayor Faces Charges in Sex Scandal

Detroit Mayor Charged in Text-Message Sex Scandal

Another U.S. Democrat Involved In Sex Scandal

(That last one is from Radio Netherlands.)

The Kilpatrick case seems, to me, Nixonian. (Of Watergate, the former president said, "It's not the crime that kills you, it's the cover-up.")

Nixon fought to stay in office, but eventually resigned.

Kilpatrick's been indicted, and he's still fighting ...
Do you think he will resign or hang on until he's forced to go?

Farai Chideya

6:43 PM ET | 03-24-2008 | permalink

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Have You Ever Considered Suicide?

As part of our month-long series on mental health, we are looking for people who have, at one time, contemplated suicide.

If you would like to talk about your experience on our show this week, drop us a comment below. Please be sure to leave an accurate e-mail address, so we can follow up. It will not be made public.

Geoffrey Bennett

4:23 PM ET | 03-24-2008 | permalink

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Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick Facing Felony Charges

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick gives his State of the City address on March 11, 2008 in Detroit, Michigan.

Bill Pugliano, Getty Images

It's never the lie; its always the cover-up ...

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, a one-time rising star and Detroit's youngest elected leader, was charged Monday with perjury and other counts after sexually explicit text messages contradicted his sworn denials of an affair with a top aide.

Perjury is a felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. But for Kilpatrick, a conviction also would mean his immediate expulsion from office. The Detroit City Charter calls for any elected official convicted of a felony while in office to be removed.

Kilpatrick has said he would not resign and last week said he expects to be vindicated when all aspects of the scandal are made public.

Read the rest from the Associated Press. Will this indictment now force Kilpatrick to step down? What does this scandal mean for the future of Detroit?

Geoffrey Bennett

11:57 AM ET | 03-24-2008 | permalink

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Will Barack Obama Lose Because of Racial Battles?

I'm going to keep this one really simple.

Polls aren't everything ... some people think they're a menace.

That said, USA Today published new Gallup poll results today. The paper wrote:

Sen. Barack Obama is now 2 points behind Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in Gallup's daily "tracking poll" of Democratic voters.

She leads 47%-45% -- less than the poll's +/- 3 percentage point margin of error. Gallup says it surveyed 1,227 Democrats and voters who "lean" Democratic from Tuesday through Thursday.

Over the past two days, Clinton's advantage has narrowed from 7 points to 5 points and now to 2.

Gallup writes that:

Clinton moved 7 percentage points ahead of Obama in Gallup's March 19 report and sustained a significant 5-point lead on March 20. Her gains were coincident with the controversy over Obama's former pastor and "spiritual mentor," Rev. Jeremiah Wright. However, the surge in Democrats' preference for Clinton that Gallup detected earlier in the week has started to move out of the three-day rolling average, and the race is back to a near tie. It is possible that Obama's aggressive efforts to diffuse the Wright story, including a major speech ... have been effective.

Wednesday, Clinton strategist Mark Penn said her 7-point lead at that time was a sign of "buyer's remorse" among some Obama supporters.

So: the according to these numbers, Senator Hillary Clinton has a statistically insignificant lead. But some friends of mine (black friends, I'll add) think that some swing voters won't let these issues go ... and that Obama will lose either the primary or the general election.

It's all armchair quarterbacking ... and it's absorbed the nation.

What do you think? Do folks have sharp knives and long memories, or is this week's controversy over and done? Have you changed your mind about which candidate you are voting for? And if you are a McCain voter, how do you think he fared this week?

Farai Chideya

7:44 PM ET | 03-21-2008 | permalink

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All the (Political) News That's Fit to Print ...

iStockphoto.com

Lots of political news today ... so here's a quick wrap-up. Like to hear it? Here it go:

New Mexico governor Bill Richardson just
endorsed Barack Obama. Richardson said he made his decision after hearing Obama's speech this week about race, religion and politics.

This endorsement comes the morning after the State Department said it fired two staffers for unauthorized snooping in Barack Obama's passport files.

And -- as it turns out -- Hillary Clinton's passport files got the same treatment. "Sorry," said Secretary of State Condi Rice.

The endorsement and passport flap could be a boon for Obama, who needs to deflect attention from the controversy involving his pastor, Jeremiah Wright -- who, by the way, has turned up in this photo, contradicting his perception among some as a fringe religious figure.

One last hit on the Wright controversy: in an effort to dig himself out of a political hole, Obama stepped in it again yesterday, when referring to his grandmother as a "typical white person."

That comment spurred a round of Obama-bashing by a Fox News morning show team, which led to an on-air chiding by Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace.

Speaking of the wider race ... now that it seems primary re-vote plans for Michigan and Florida are non-starters, some political watchers say it'll be tougher for Clinton to win the nomination.

And ABC News wins the "Headline of the Day" award for its reporting on John McCain's world tour: John McCain: International Man, It's No Mystery.

Tell us your take on the week's political news.

Geoffrey Bennett

12:33 PM ET | 03-21-2008 | permalink

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Insert the Caption

Given the news today that New Mexico Governor and former presidential candidate Bill Richarson is set to endorse Barack Obama, let's take another look at this photo of Richardson and Bill Clinton watching this year's Super Bowl together.

(Clinton reportedly paid a visit, in an effort to secure Richardson's endorsement for Hillary.)

Courtesy Rebecca Craig, The Santa Fe New Mexican

Insert the caption!

Geoffrey Bennett

11:43 AM ET | 03-21-2008 | permalink

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Remembering Actor Ivan Dixon

Ivan Dixon was an prolific television and film actor, who starred in Hogan's Heroes, The Twilight Zone, and the film Nothing But a Man.

The film -- depicting a railroad worker who fell in love with a minister's daughter and fought against racism in their Alabama town -- was his most meaningful role, Dixon said.

"That was me," Dixon said, "I had lived every moment. ... I was reliving my whole life on film."

Dixon died on Sunday in Charlotte, N.C. He was 76.

Take a look at the diversity of his work in these clips:

"A Big Tall Wish," The Twilight Zone (1960)

(Check out the rest of this episode to get a great feel for Dixon's skill. They just don't make 'em like this any more.)

The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1970), directed by Dixon.

(This trailer is a movie unto itself. Wait for the end of this clip: "He turns gangs of ghetto kids into a highly trained guerrilla army.")

Genius.

Drew Tewksbury

6:22 PM ET | 03-20-2008 | permalink

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Blacks on the Broadway Stage and in the Audience

The stage is often a mirror to life.

Now for some, the Broadway stage has become both an imitation of life and an invitation to participate. Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof recently landed on Broadway with an all-black cast bringing in a largely black audience.

'Cat,' which stars James Earl Jones, Terrence Howard and Anika Noni Rose, has a large audience, all right; last week it sold nearly $700,000 in tickets, an outstanding number for a nonmusical. Stephen C. Byrd, the rookie producer of 'Cat,' estimates the audience to be between 70 percent and 80 percent African-American.

The 1958 film version of Williams' classic starred Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor, and various stage adaptations of the play were produced over the years, including a version starring the Tony nominated Kathleen Turner in 1990, and a 2003 adaptation with Ashely Judd and Jason Patric.

The recent version is the first to showcase an all-black cast.

How does the altering of race inhibit or augment the effectiveness of the play? What other plays would you like to see with a racial update? And who would you like to see in them?

Drew Tewksbury

1:17 PM ET | 03-20-2008 | permalink

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States Report False Graduation Rates

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Many states keep two sets of records when it comes to reporting graduation rates to the federal government: real and fake.

The New York Times reports that many states send inflated graduation rates to the federal government.

Mississippi takes the cake. They reported an 87 percent graduation rate, while the federal Department of Education estimates their graduation rate to be 63.3 percent.

In a related story:

The Bush administration is easing the "No Child Left Behind" law, saying that the initiative is labeling too many schools as failing.

In six years it has identified 9,000 of the nation's 90,000 public schools as "in need of improvement," the law's term for failing, and experts predict that those numbers could multiply in coming years.

The rising number of failing schools is overwhelming states' capacities to turn them around, and states have complained that the law imposes the same set of sanctions, which can escalate to a school's closing, on the nation's worst schools as well as those doing a reasonable job despite some problems.

To the parents: How are your children's schools? Have you noticed any improvements because of the "No Child Left Behind" law?

To the teachers: How has "No Child Left Behind" affected your school? Is the law bringing your school up to speed, or is it creating an unneeded burden?

Drew Tewksbury

11:57 AM ET | 03-20-2008 | permalink

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The Iraq War: 5 Years Later

President George W. Bush makes his way to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C.

Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images

This from the AP: "Five years after launching the invasion of Iraq, President Bush strongly signaled Wednesday that he won't order troop withdrawals beyond those already planned because he refuses to 'jeopardize the hard-fought gains' of the past year."

Here's more:

"The surge ... has opened the door to a major strategic victory in the broader war on terror," the president said. "We are witnessing the first large-scale Arab uprising against Osama bin Laden, his grim ideology, and his terror network. And the significance of this development cannot be overstated."

"The challenge in the period ahead is to consolidate the gains we have made and seal the extremists' defeat," he said. "We have learned through hard experience what happens when we pull our forces back too fast -- the terrorists and extremists step in, fill the vacuum, establish safe havens and use them to spread chaos and carnage."

We're talking about the five-year anniversary of the war all this week -- and today on the bloggers' roundtable. What is your position on the war? How has it changed over the years?

Geoffrey Bennett

1:47 PM ET | 03-19-2008 | permalink

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Clinton's Schedules as First Lady Released

Democratic presidential hopeful New York Senator Hillary Clinton pauses during a press conference after giving a speech on her policies for the war in Iraq.

Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images

The National Archives has released about 11,000 documents, detailing Hillary Clinton's tenure as First Lady.

Clinton often refers to her "35 years of experience," when speaking of her readiness for the presidency. Now, you can scour eight of those years on your own:

Hillary Clinton's First Lady Schedules

The release comes in response to a Freedom of Information Act suit filed by journalists and the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch.

NPR's political team says it appears that the documents are exclusively her public schedules, which have always been public, just not in this form. At this point, they say, expect tidbits and curiosities rather than news.

Geoffrey Bennett

12:34 PM ET | 03-19-2008 | permalink

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Post-Post-Black is The New Black

So, Barack Obama gave his big speech on race today, which we have amply covered online and on the air.

He broke new ground, according to some of our on-air analysts (and many others on many networks), in speaking of his ties and loyalty to black America, while trying to fend off the idea that he absolutely had to disavow the critique of America as racially destructive offered by his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Although it's been building for some time, today officially marked the end of Obama's campaign as a non-racial or post-racial candidate.

But, are we surprised?

What I mean by that is, are we surprised that the (presidential) race cycled back to ... race?

Think of the terms bandied about early in the campaign:
Color-blind.
Non-racial.
Post-racial.
And (my favorite) "Post-Black."

Those are all ways that people have looked at the evolution of race in America.

But as l'affair Wright shows, it's awfully difficult to escape race. It's sticky. It follows you, no matter whether you are Minister Farrakhan or Clarence Thomas.

So, can you really be "Post-Black?"

I don't think so.

Instead, I reckon we're in the era of Post-Post-Blackness, the time when many of us who have thought (however fleetingly) that race could or should be erased realize it is with us indefinitely.

And maybe that is not a bad thing. After all, race could be (but too rarely is) value-neutral. We could live in a country or a world where race was a cultural signifier but not steeped in inequality and blame games. In that case, there wouldn't be a need to be post-racial.

Is it race we are trying to escape, or bias? That's the question that remains after this phase of the presidential election; and how voters interpret that question could profoundly shape the outcome of the race.

Farai Chideya

6:28 PM ET | 03-18-2008 | permalink

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Barack Obama Delivers Major Speech on Race

Barack Obama, photographed in silhouette, speaks to supporters in Monaca, Pennsylvania.

Jeff Swensen, Getty Images

Obama is in Philadelphia today at the National Constitution Center, where he is -- at this minute -- delivering a speech on race and politics -- in response to the controversial statements of his pastor Jeremiah Wright.

The full text of the speech is available after the jump.

Tell us what you think of the speech and how it will impact the campaign.

Continue reading "Barack Obama Delivers Major Speech on Race" »

Geoffrey Bennett

11:10 AM ET | 03-18-2008 | permalink

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What Would Get Your Vote?

NPR.org

We're not even in the general election season, and Election '08 is already in overdrive. But stepping back from the talking points and news of day ... what issues and personal convictions are behind your vote this time around?

NPR wants to know. The newly launched initiative, Get My Vote, is all about you telling us how your life experiences have shaped your political beliefs.

See what other folks have said so far.

So tell us -- either in video, audio, or text -- what it will take for a candidate to get your vote.

We may even use your submission on the air. So check it out.

When uploading, please be sure to tag your submission with News & Notes, so we can easily find it.

Geoffrey Bennett

4:30 PM ET | 03-17-2008 | permalink

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Have You Experienced Voting Irregularities?

If you have had problems registering to vote this election season or experienced any irregularities inside the voting booth, we want to hear from you.

News & Notes is working on an upcoming story about this issue, and we're looking for firsthand accounts.

If you would like to share your story, drop us a comment below. Please be sure to leave an accurate e-mail address -- which will not be made public -- and we will get back to you.

Geoffrey Bennett

12:00 PM ET | 03-17-2008 | permalink

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N. Ireland and the U.S.: A Shared Civil Rights Struggle

In observance of St. Patrick's Day, we decided to take a look at the connections between the Civil Rights Movement in the United States and in Northern Ireland in the 1960s.

We spoke with noted journalist, author and activist Eamonn McCann, about the influence that the Civil Rights Movement in America had in Northern Ireland.

McCann personally witnessed the beating of protesters in Derry in 1969, as well the notorious Bloody Sunday in 1972, where 26 civil rights protesters were shot by British paratroopers.

Check out our interview with McCann (click the player):

We also spoke with Brian Dooley, author of Black and Green: The Fight for Civil Rights in Northern Ireland and Black America. Here's some of what he said:

"As early as 1963, civil rights protesters in Northern Ireland had compared themselves to blacks in Alabama and Little Rock, and identified themselves as the 'Negroes' of Northern Ireland. They sang 'We Shall Overcome' at their marches and in early 1969 deliberately modeled a protest march on the lines of the Selma-Montgomery march. Oddly, perhaps, the Northern Ireland protesters identified more with black American protests than the myriad of protests in Europe that year -- in Paris, Prague, Berlin, Rome and London. They saw their struggle as closer to that of African Americans in the U.S."

Read the rest of our Q&A with Dooley after the jump.

Continue reading "N. Ireland and the U.S.: A Shared Civil Rights Struggle" »

Drew Tewksbury

1:18 AM ET | 03-17-2008 | permalink

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Obama Responds to Jeremiah Wright Row

Barack Obama has issued a definitive statement on the controversy surrounding his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

A report this week by ABC News -- showing Wright saying such inflammatory things as "God damn America" -- sparked interest in Obama's relationship with the fiery Chicago pastor.

Earlier today, Obama posted a response on the Huffington Post blog. It reads, in part:

"Let me say at the outset that I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy. I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue.

The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation. When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments. But because Rev. Wright was on the verge of retirement, and because of my strong links to the Trinity faith community, where I married my wife and where my daughters were baptized, I did not think it appropriate to leave the church.

With Rev. Wright's retirement and the ascension of my new pastor, Rev. Otis Moss, III, Michelle and I look forward to continuing a relationship with a church that has done so much good. And while Rev. Wright's statements have pained and angered me, I believe that Americans will judge me not on the basis of what someone else said, but on the basis of who I am and what I believe in; on my values, judgment and experience to be President of the United States."

Read the piece in full, and tell us what you think.

Geoffrey Bennett

6:37 PM ET | 03-14-2008 | permalink

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Bill Gates: Big Technological Leaps Ahead

iStockphoto.com

So according to Bill Gates, this is what the next ten years will bring us:

"Gates speculated that some of the most important advances will come in the ways people interact with computers: speech-recognition technology, tablets that will recognize handwriting and touch-screen surfaces that will integrate a wide variety of information. ... Gates also said the coming years will bring rapid changes in media as television increasingly becomes a targeted medium, where viewers can select niche content for news, sports and entertainment."

["And most of this technology will come from Apple," Gates absolutely did not say.] My biased computer preferences aside ... what kind of technology would you most like to see on the market in the next ten years?

Geoffrey Bennett

10:48 AM ET | 03-14-2008 | permalink

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NPR's Star Trek Fanbase

Farai Chideya (left) gets her 'Star Trek' fix.

I was at the NABJ (black journalists') convention this summer in Vegas and Phyllis Fletcher of Seattle's KUOW and I decided to take a detour and hit the Star Trek Experience.

If you are a fan of the show, it is like a huge sugar rush ... just way too many exhibits (in a good way), rides ... and the chance to take your own photo on the classic Enterprise bridge. (The gent in the center, Ivan, is also a NPR person.)

What is hilarious to me is that when we had our big fancy convention dinner, SO MANY of us turned out to be big Star Trek geeks. (Allison, you know we're talking about you!)

Leonard Nimoy (left) and Farai Chideya

Bettina Wiesenthal-Birch

So, today, when Leonard Nimoy came into the office, I had to hit him up for a picture.

I think I've already blogged about the way that science fiction has been a space for people to play with concepts about race and gender right here on earth right in the present day.

But it's also plain fun ... enjoy ... and holler if you're a fan.

Farai Chideya

6:30 PM ET | 03-13-2008 | permalink

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Paterson to Ascend to New York's Top Spot

New York Lieutenant Governor David Paterson walks to his office at the state capitol in Albany, N.Y.

Daniel Barry, Getty Images

On Monday -- when New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's officially resigns his post -- New York Lieutenant Governor David Paterson will become New York's top state official. He would be the state's first black governor -- and he's also making news for being legally blind.

But his blindness may not be much of a hindrance:

Former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo recalled playing basketball against Mr. Paterson in a charity game a decade ago.

"David was on the other side," Mr. Cuomo said. "I said: 'What are you doing here? You're supposed to be blind.' He said, 'I'm guarding you.' Just what I wanted: a blind guy to guard me. The second time down the court, he stole the ball."

According to the Times, Paterson will be the third black governor of any state since Reconstruction.

With the rise of Deval Patrick, Barack Obama, David Paterson and others -- how will history look upon this period of black leadership? Why now?

Geoffrey Bennett

12:15 PM ET | 03-13-2008 | permalink

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Insert the Caption

Check out embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (second from left) photographed with members of Earth, Wind & Fire at the Bermuda Music Festival back in October.

Amy Sussman, Getty Images for The Bermuda Department of Tourism

What's really going on here? Insert the caption!

Geoffrey Bennett

12:07 PM ET | 03-13-2008 | permalink

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Ferraro Quits Clinton Campaign

Former congresswoman and Clinton backer Geraldine A. Ferraro stepped down from her fundraising post, CNN reports.

"I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what is at stake in this campaign," Ferraro wrote in a letter to Hillary.

Her comments about Barack Obama landed her in hot water. She told the Southern California paper Daily Breeze:

If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color), he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.

She said that the media has twisted her words, and she told Good Morning America that she is not sorry for what she said.

What do you think? Should she have stepped down? What will this mean for the Clinton campaign? How responsible are candidates for the comments of their supporters?

UPDATE: Hillary Clinton Apologizes to Black Voters

Drew Tewksbury

7:12 PM ET | 03-12-2008 | permalink

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Political Satire Gone Viral

The YouTubeification of politics has been an insane boon to political satirists. Check this new spoof of the will.i.am Obama ad.

So, what else have you seen online that's worth checking out?

Farai Chideya

4:50 PM ET | 03-12-2008 | permalink

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Steinem and Crenshaw on Race + Gender + Politics

We had veteran feminist Gloria Steinem on the air Tuesday, talking about the controversial New York Times op-ed she wrote earlier this year.

You remember -- Women Are Never Front-Runners:

So why is the sex barrier not taken as seriously as the racial one? The reasons are as pervasive as the air we breathe: because sexism is still confused with nature as racism once was; because anything that affects males is seen as more serious than anything that affects "only" the female half of the human race; because children are still raised mostly by women (to put it mildly) so men especially tend to feel they are regressing to childhood when dealing with a powerful woman; because racism stereotyped black men as more "masculine" for so long that some white men find their presence to be masculinity-affirming (as long as there aren't too many of them); and because there is still no "right" way to be a woman in public power without being considered a you-know-what.

We also had on Kimberle Crenshaw, who wrote an article with Eve Ensler for the Huffington Post about what they called either/or feminism. It read in part:

In seeking to corral wayward souls into the Hillary Clinton camp, the new players of this troubling game are no longer the hawkish Republicans but "either/or" feminists determined to see to it that a woman occupies the Oval Office. Drawing their feminist boundaries in the sand, they interrogate, chastise, second-guess and even denounce those who escape their encampment and find themselves on Obama terrain. In their hands feminism, like patriotism, is the all-encompassing prism that eliminates discussion, doubt and difference about whom to vote for and why. Armed with indignant exasperation, this "either/or" camp converts the undeniable misogyny of the media into an imperative to vote for Clinton.

Tempers are running hot over identity politics.... we'll talk about that more on Thursday's show. Stay tuned! And tell us whether you think the Democratic Party needs to do some fence mending... or whether this is all part of the game.

Geoffrey Bennett

11:34 AM ET | 03-11-2008 | permalink

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What to Do About Florida and Michigan?

Sens. Clinton and Obama are photographed during a break at the NBC Democratic debate in October 2007.

Stan Honda, AFP/Getty Images

As Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continue to run neck-and-neck in the popular vote and number of ammassed delegates, questions are swirling about how to handle the now unseated delegates from Florida and Michigan.

Both states' delegates were excluded from this summer's Democratic National Convention after moving up the dates of their voting contests -- violating national party rules.

Now ... every vote counts. And everyone has their own idea about how it should happen.

Al Sharpton is threatening to sue the DNC if it counts Florida's primary results.

Meanwhile, two East Coast governors (and Clinton backers) say they will raise the millions of dollars needed to hold new primaries in Florida and Michigan.

And the Clintons are pushing the idea of a Hillary/Barack ticket -- Barack as VP, of course -- to make this all go away.

Not to be left out, John McCain is fighting for what's left of the spotlight.

What should happen in this situation? What do you think will happen?

Geoffrey Bennett

10:07 AM ET | 03-10-2008 | permalink

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'The Wire' Says Farewell

I'm told The Wire is the best show on television. (Gotta say I'm not convinced). But for you die-hard fans who are mourning the show's finale, the L.A. Times takes a look back with the cast.

Clarke Peters (Freamon): Looking back and reflecting on it over the last five years, you realize that to a certain degree we've been actors on a mission, telling a story that's needed to be told for a long time about inner-city America. People look at "The Wire" and they say, "Ooh, it's another black show." I have to say those people are the most ignorant people in the world. There are those that say it constantly depicts black people as being drug addicts and thieves and dysfunctional. If that's what you want to see, you'll see that.

What's your favorite moment from the show?

Flashback: 'The Wire' Opens Final Season
Related: Behind-the-Scenes of the Final Season (Video)

Geoffrey Bennett

9:15 PM ET | 03- 9-2008 | permalink

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Check the Aesthetic

Can it trigger epileptic fits?

How much does it remind me of the Optic Nerve exhibit?

Farai Chideya

5:45 PM ET | 03- 7-2008 | permalink

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Robert Downey Jr. Goes Black for New Role

Courtesy MovieWeb.com

The above photo is a leaked still from the upcoming summer action movie Tropic Thunder.

Actors Jack Black (left) and Ben Stiller (right) star ... and that would be Robert Downey Jr. in the middle ... in blackface.

Why, you ask? Here's more from The Canadian Press:

Downey Jr. plays overly committed actor Kirk Lazarus, a white man cast to play a black soldier in a satire of the performing profession.

"If it's done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago," Downey told Entertainment Weekly magazine. "If you don't do it right, we're going to hell."

Stiller said he was "trying to push it as far as you can within reality," with the intent of satirizing over-the-top actors, not African-Americans.

"I had no idea how people would respond to it," Stiller told the magazine. But at a recent screening, black viewers liked the film, he said.

Downey explained that he kept the character from becoming a caricature because he "dove in with both feet."

"If I didn't feel it was morally sound," he said, "or that it would be easily misinterpreted that I'm just C. Thomas Howell in ("Soul Man"), I would've stayed home."

Well then.

Granted, it's hard to have a view on the movie and Downey Jr.'s role without first seeing it ... but should blackface be off-limits no matter what the intent?

Geoffrey Bennett

11:46 AM ET | 03- 7-2008 | permalink

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Kara Walker's Art Shocks, Subverts and Scintillates

The art of the silhouette may seem like child's play, but in the hands of controversial African-American artist Kara Walker, the Victorian-era medium is pushed to the cutting edge. On today's show, we spoke with Walker about her large scale exhibit at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles entitled: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love.

Walker's subversive works often exist in an aesthetically neutral space, wherein the images seem innocuous on first glimpse, often revealing nefarious narratives hidden underneath. The images are undeniable dialog starters, so take a look this interview with Art:21 and let's talk about it.

Multi-media artist/photographer/collagist Barbara Kruger describes Walker for Time's 100 People Who Shape Our World series in 2007:

Walker's vigilance has produced a compelling reckoning with the twisted trajectories of race in America. Her installations and films forcefully pluralize our notion of a singular "history." They create a profusion of backstories and revisions that slash and burn through the pieties of patriotism and the glosses of "color blindness." Restarting the engines of seemingly archaic methods, from the graphic affect of silhouette portraits to the machine-age ethos of film, she produces a cast of characters and caricatures with appetites for destruction and reproduction, for power and sex. She raucously engages both the broad sweep of the big picture and the eloquence of the telling detail. She plays with stereotypes, turning them upside down, spread-eagle and inside out. She revels in cruelty and laughter. Platitudes sicken her. She is brave. Her silhouettes throw themselves against the wall and don't blink.

But what do you think? Do you think her art is obscene? What limitations do you think curators of public museums should have when asking the eternal question "what is art?" Do you think Walker is trying to be sensationalist or is she really making a comment on society and art in general? Should art have to make a social comment?

Drew Tewksbury

11:27 AM ET | 03- 7-2008 | permalink

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Who's Doing the Heavy Lifting in Your House?

Chalk this one up to clever headline writing: "Men Who Do Housework May Get More Sex".

The AP article points out some interesting trends in American households:

- Since the '60s, men's contribution to housework doubled from about 15 percent to more than 30 percent of the total.

- Between 1965 and 2003, men tripled the amount of time they spent on child care.

- Men share more family work if their female partners are employed more hours, earn more money and have spent more years in education.

- The younger set of dads have their own expectations about being helpful and participatory.

And the obligatory black angle:

- Marriage equality is more elusive among blacks than whites, with black women shouldering a relatively higher burden in terms of child care and housework.

Read the rest. What's the division of labor in your house? What is it influenced by?

Geoffrey Bennett

12:43 PM ET | 03- 6-2008 | permalink

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Insert the Caption

Win McNamee, Getty Images

Check out the reporter to Obama's right. Insert the caption.

Geoffrey Bennett

12:05 PM ET | 03- 6-2008 | permalink

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Where Were You During the Texas Primary?

Just when you thought it was safe ... the showdown in Texas continues.

Hot off the presses, we have an update from NPR reporter Wade Goodwyn in Dallas:

In Texas, the caucus delegate count is ongoing and if the margins hold, Barack Obama will overtake Hillary Clinton's delegate lead in the state.

Hillary Clinton won a clear victory in the Texas primary beating Barack Obama by 51 to 48 percent. But a third of the Texas delegates are allocated through the caucus process, which began last night following the close of the polls. With 40 percent of the caucus vote counted, Obama is winning nearly 56 percent of that turnout. If this margin holds up, Obama's Texas total would surpass Clinton's by three delegates. More than four million Texans voted in the primary and it's estimated that more than a million returned for the Democratic caucus, shattering the old records.

We're looking for dispatches from the front lines of yesterday's primary/caucus vote in Texas.

For you folks in the Lone Star State, did you notice any irregularities in the voting procedure? Or anyone following Rush Limbaugh's urging of conservatives to vote for Clinton?

Drew Tewksbury

7:54 PM ET | 03- 5-2008 | permalink

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Is Obama Black Enough ... For Hil?

Okay, folks are aflutter over a campaign ad for Hillary Clinton that, arguably, darkens Barack Obama's skin. Judge for yourself.

Meanwhile, as one of our bloggers' roundtable participants, Baratunde Thurston, pointed out -- this hearkens back to Time magazine's infamous (and quickly pulled) cover, which darkened OJ Simpson's skin after his murder conviction.

Here are an altered/darkened cover and a non-altered one, archived on a Website called Instant History:

The roundtable was off the chain today, by the way. Blogger Arlene Fenton of Black Women Vote said that as a darker-skinned woman, she is turned off by the whole debate here because it smacks of "colorism" -- the idea that darker skin means "lesser than" (or, perhaps, "more dangerous than"). In other words, why would it be bad if Obama were darker?

We've talked on the show about the "Light Skinned Libras" nightclub party and other versions of folks being color-struck. So was this just an example of taking creative license (something the illustrator of the OJ cover said), or is it dirty tricks? Or ... neither?

Farai Chideya

6:20 PM ET | 03- 5-2008 | permalink

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Don't Call It A Comeback ... Clinton Revives Campaign

Her husband may have been deemed the "Comeback Kid," but Hillary Clinton proved that the Bill's nickname may apply for her too.

Hillary's wins in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island proved that the presidential hopeful is not out for the count yet. But as the Obama campaign plans to sharpen their attacks on Clinton, she will face challenges winning support for the April 22 primary in Pennsylvania.

This is getting juicy.

What is your take on yesterday's elections? Why do you think she won these states? How should Obama fight back?

Drew Tewksbury

6:05 PM ET | 03- 5-2008 | permalink

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The 'News & Notes' Facebook Page Is Calling You...

Would you like to supercharge your participation in News & Notes' online community?

Then join us on Facebook!

If you are already a member -- it only takes a minute or two for you to join, if not -- you can continue the conversation started here, share photos and videos, interact with Farai and show staff, and connect with other listeners.

Search for "NPR News & Notes" and become a fan.

We look forward to seeing you on Facebook ... and don't forget about our newsletter -- "News & Notes Daily." Get our show sent straight to your inbox. Sign up here.

Drew Tewksbury

5:25 PM ET | 03- 5-2008 | permalink

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Style Wars: Dissecting the Candidates' Graphics

Courtesy Campaign Websites

Has election coverage burnt you out?

We at News & Views decided to examine the candidates in a different way: by their looks.

No, we're not waxing poetic on any yellow pantsuits or baby-blue ties. Instead, we're looking at each campaign's graphic designs.

We talked to graphic designers, artists, and art professors in a no-holds-barred dialogue on the visual elements of the presidential campaign.

Watch our video, featuring analysis by graphic design guru Shepard Fairey.

On Hillary:

"The Hillary design is safe. This is more a bland strategy than a brand strategy. LCD design. Lowest Common Denominator. Design by committee. We've never met, but right away we are on first name terms, with friendly chubby serif type. The partial flag says patriotic but not nationalistic. A polite democratic 'take back the flag' from the hardliners move."

- Simon Johnston
Professor, Director of Print Design
Art Center College of Design

On McCain:

"John McCain's visual identity is on point with his militaristic and conservative message. His campaign directly appropriates the symbolism of the 'Army of One' campaign through the use of the lone star of the Brigadier General and the color palette of gunmetal with gold flourishes."

- Garland Kirkpatrick
Associate Professor of Graphic Design
Loyola Marymount University
Head of Helvetica Jones Design

On Obama:

"Obama's name and logo are not only surprisingly small, but light blue against dark blue doesn't pop out as do the other two candidates' names. He uses the flag's colors and stripes, but in a more abstract way and non-literal way, evoking a rising sun or new horizon, synonymous with his message."

- Carol A. Wells
Executive Director
Center for the Study of Political Graphics

Who do you think has the most successful marketing campaign? What do you see in the candidates' logos?

Drew Tewksbury

5:28 PM ET | 03- 4-2008 | permalink

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Faking the Gang Life

What do Margaret Seltzer and Coolio have in common? Not much.

Getty Images

The literary world is all abuzz over a woman who wrote a newly-released, highly-acclaimed memoir about growing up in foster care and joining the Bloods gang as a teen...

The only problem is that it was a total lie.

The New York Times' Motoko Rich broke the story. She wrote:

Margaret B. Jones is a pseudonym for Margaret Seltzer, who is all white and grew up in the well-to-do Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley, with her biological family. She graduated from the Campbell Hall School, a private Episcopal day school in the North Hollywood neighborhood. She has never lived with a foster family, nor did she run drugs for any gang members.

Margaret actually gave an interview to Rich, and she said a whole buncha stuff, including my favorite:

Seltzer added that she wrote the book "sitting at the Starbucks" in South-Central, where "I would talk to kids who were Black Panthers and kids who were gang members and kids who were not."

Um, I guess being in visual range of black people means that you can appropriate the ghetto experience. (Please put air quotes around that phrase ... it's meant to be ironic).

All of a sudden the song "Gangster's Paradise" is going through my head, and I'm seeing a montage of all the films, books, and conversations with people trying to put on the mantle of urban struggle.

Anyway, I'm curious what people think about why books like this are slurped up by publishers AND readers.

Speaking of which ... the big memoir scandal previous to this was James Frey, whose book Oprah pushed. (She later gave him the verbal beat-down for lying about his so-called-addict-life.)

And then there's the mysterious case of the super-mysterious (boy prostitute turned novelist turned celeb pal turned hoax) JT Leroy, who turned out to be a figment of the imagination of a woman named Laura Albert.

A lot of these fake memoirs -- and there have been quite a few -- are about the authors taking on the pain of groups they are NOT a part of: gang bangers, desperate addicts, prostitutes. What is it about (some of) us that makes us think that our day to day struggles are not enough? Or are these the case of people who are hucksters and just want money? Or people who are disturbed?

Why couldn't they just write fiction?

Anyway, we'll tackle some of these issues in Friday's show ... the story is still unfolding.

Farai Chideya

3:55 PM ET | 03- 4-2008 | permalink

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Will 'Junior Super Tuesday' Narrow the Field?

Sens. Hillary Clinton (left) and Barack Obama (right) face a crucial vote today.

Getty Images

On an election day that will likely leave us with more questions than answers, the Washington Post attempts to address the following:

Will the Democratic race end with today's results?
Can Clinton ever overtake Obama in pledged delegates?
How badly will competition split the Democratic Party?
What will superdelegates do if Obama wins one big state?
Will Clinton hold her blue-collar base?
Will Obama crack the Hispanic vote?
Will McCain persuade Huckabee to quit?
Can you explain the Texas voting system?
Did OJ really do it?

OK, so I made the last one up. But check out the article and tell us how you think today's voting contests will play out.

Related Links:
Clinton, Obama Come Charging Into Crucial Day
The Battle That Clinton Didn't Expect
Hillary's Math Problem
For Democrats, a Pivotal Night, but in Which Direction?

Geoffrey Bennett

12:07 PM ET | 03- 4-2008 | permalink

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Elections: Who Built This?

Being as it's an election year of high excitement, lots of people are paying close attention to how the American electoral system actually works. A friend of mine said yesterday, shaking her head, "I had no idea."

That is: she had no idea how complicated the system could be, particularly what is being called the "Texas Two-Step." Republican voters are part of a straightforward primary. But as an article in the Houston Chronicle puts it:

Most other states have a primary or a caucus. Texas Democrats use both. The "Texas two-step" is a cute metaphor for this electoral hybrid, but it could make for a long and potentially confusing day on Tuesday.

Primary polls will run for 12 hours. Then Democratic voters can return for their precinct's caucus. Roughly two-thirds of Texas' Democratic delegates come from the primaries, and one-third from the caucus process that night.

The Texas caucuses normally are ignored by everyone but die-hard party activists. But this year, they could tip the delegate balance toward Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton. The process is so complicated that one candidate could win more popular votes statewide, but still end up with fewer delegates.

"I think it's an odd way to run an election," said David Harms, 57, a retired steelworker from North Shore. "It would seem more fair if the popular vote determined the number of the delegates."

"It seems like a pain," said Tiffany Parnell, 27, after attending a caucus training event run by Obama supporters Thursday night. "But if it's what we have to do, we'll do it."

So how does it work? Obama volunteer Sumita Prasad boiled it down like this: "In that precinct room, you want more of us and less of them. You don't need to know math or formulas."

The caucus -- officially dubbed a "precinct convention" -- begins at 7:15 p.m. or when the polls close, whichever is later.

Caucus-goers arrive and put their names and presidential preference on the "sign-in sheet." Ideally, they should show proof of having voted in the Democratic primary, but it is not absolutely necessary, according to the Harris County Democratic Party.

The group first elects a chair and secretary. Those two then take a count, noting the total number of people and how many are for Obama or Clinton. Delegates then are distributed proportionally.

For example, say 100 people show up at a given precinct on Tuesday night. If 75 of them support Clinton, and 25 support Obama, then she gets 75 percent of the delegates and he gets 25 percent. If the precinct has 20 delegates to allot, Clinton gets 15, Obama 5.

On Tuesday night, each precinct will have a preset number of delegates to send up to the next level. The number is determined by how many Democrats from the precinct voted for Chris Bell in the 2006 gubernatorial race.

"It's a whole lot harder to explain than do," said Ella Tyler, a Clinton supporter and member of the state Democratic Executive Committee. What really matters is the number of "warm bodies who are there at the sign-in," she said.

Okay, you got that?

Have Texans?

We'll see by tomorrow night.

Farai Chideya

7:40 PM ET | 03- 3-2008 | permalink

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Black Fathers Talk Reality vs. Reality TV

Rapper Snoop Dog and his family, as depicted on Snoop Dogg's Father Hood on E!.

Courtesy of E!

Perhaps you've seen Snoop Dogg, Irv Gotti, or Rev. Run try their hands as TV dads. Heathcliff Huxtable they are not ... but this Boston Globe writer seems impressed nonetheless:

The parenting abilities displayed in these shows play against persistent stereotypes in pop culture that present black men as absent fathers. It's not only celebrities who are fighting this perception. Plenty of black men have become effective parents despite lacking a father figure growing up. Until recently, these men's struggles were barely recognized. Now a number of books, television shows, and films are celebrating this movement by showing black fathers responsibly parenting their children.

Read the rest. What do you think of the depiction of black fathers in popular culture?

Geoffrey Bennett

6:21 PM ET | 03- 3-2008 | permalink

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