Singer Evans Keeps Her Faith Alive

At the age 35, R&B singer Faith Evans been through more than most folks will in their entire lives. By the age of four, she found her first adoring audience -- in her church. By 15, she was sneaking away from home to learn how to record and mix music.

Three years after that, Faith was a college dropout, a songwriter, a single mother and the survivor of a brutal and abusive relationship.

By 24, she was a successful singer and a widow. Faith Evans is telling all in her memoir, Keep The Faith, starting with the death of her estranged husband, rapper The Notorious B.I.G.

In part one, Faith discusses the loss of her famous husband and how she survived and grew through the pain of that ordeal.

In the second part of our interview with Faith Evans, the singer discusses her violent past and peaceful present as a wife and mother of four children.

Notorious, the biographical film which details the life of Biggie Smalls, opens in January 2009.

Faith Evans' autobiography, Keep the Faith, is available in bookstores everywhere. Will you be picking up a copy?

Geoffrey Gardner

12:20 PM ET | 09-30-2008 | permalink

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$700 Billion Bailout Bill Dead On Arrival; Bush Urges Action

The day after the Congress failed to pass a $700 billion financial bailout plan, writes The New York Times, "President Bush urged lawmakers again on Tuesday to quickly approve a financial bailout plan. ... 'We are at a critical moment for our economy,' he said, adding, 'Congress must act.' "

And since a presidential election is just weeks away -- Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama "have urged Congress to make another attempt, even as they announced additional proposals they said would help shore up public confidence in the nation's financial system."

The AP calls the bailout quagmire a political dead end for McCain. Do you agree? Register below, and tell us what you think.

Take our poll:

Geoffrey Bennett

11:35 AM ET | 09-30-2008 | permalink

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Rapper David Banner Has A Question For You

We had hip hop star and outspoken activist David Banner in the studio today, and he didn't hold back any of his opinions. The whole revealing interview will air at a later date, but for now we'd like to present a short segment for your consideration.

With the presidential election right around the corner, how do you feel about our democratic process? Is the Electoral College an outdated means of representation?

Join the conversation -- and the NPR community -- by registering here. We can't wait to hear your opinions!

Geoffrey Gardner

6:30 PM ET | 09-29-2008 | permalink

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What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?

NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates conducted an interview with filmmaker Spike Lee, which aired on today's broadcast. Lee's movie, Miracle at St. Anna, is a tribute of sorts to the Buffalo Soldiers of World War II. Here, Grigsby Bates writes about her own experience with a World War II veteran -- her father:

My late father was a World War II vet, but like a lot of WW II vets, he didn't talk about it much.

Not that we didn't try to get him to.

"Daddy were you in the war?"
"Yup."

"Did you have a gun?"
"Yup"

"Did you kill anybody?"
"Hope not!"

And that was about the extent of it. He brought home a few sepia photographs taken somewhere in Southeastern France. One shows a bunch of uniformed black soldiers clustered in the doorway of a stone building, relaxed and smiling, arms draped over each other's shoulders. One of the men is cradling a bottle of wine given to them by one of the locals.

Daddy talked a little bit about how welcoming the French had been to the Colored guys from America (an experience black soldiers had with Italians in Spike Lee's new film, Miracle At St. Anna.) And sometimes my dad would talk about how important it was to be able to not only speak a foreign language but read and write it. (Apparently, they didn't discover a French speaker in his unit wasn't a French writer until they needed to read a message sent from a neighboring village...)

But details about the war, about his treatment in the war, were few and far between. My father and my father-in-law (who was assigned to the China-Burma-India theatre) served in the war because they saw it as part of their citizens' obligation. And they didn't, they wouldn't, talk about it very much. "War's over. Got enough other things to worry about."

Critics are debating how successful Spike Lee was in portraying the black soldier's experience in Miracle At St. Anna. But black veterans of a certain age will watch -- and in places wince -- and nod to themselves: the kid got it right.

And perhaps feeling it's been gotten right, those men, who are dying out every day, and taking their history with them, may decide to answer in more detail the next time one of their children, grandchildren or great-grands sidles up to their armchair and asks "what did you do in the war?"

-- Karen Grigsby Bates

Related: Spike Lee Talks 'Miracle' & Presidential Politics (Video)

Geoffrey Bennett

5:31 PM ET | 09-29-2008 | permalink

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Spike Lee Talks 'Miracle At St. Anna' And Presidential Politics

Filmmaker Spike Lee's latest movie, Miracle at St. Anna, chronicles the lives of four members of the all-black Buffalo Soldiers Division, who are trapped behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied Italy during World War II.

NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates recently sat down with Lee, who talks about the film's importance and his support of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Related: 'Miracle at St. Anna' Writer, Cast Share War Stories (Video)

Geoffrey Bennett

5:18 PM ET | 09-29-2008 | permalink

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News & Views Community Undergoes Some Changes

As we mentioned last week, our blog has undergone a renovation. We've spruced up the presentation a bit, but the biggest change is this: you have to register with NPR.org in order to leave comments on our blog. Among the benefits:

* Your comments will now be posted instantly.

* Commenting will now be possible on both NPR blog posts and stories.

* Your comments may be featured on the NPR home page and on story pages.

* You will be able to "recommend" stories.

* You can connect with NPR.org staff and other users through public profiles.

Register here after checking out some frequently asked questions. Please note that commenting on blog posts will close after seven days. Click here to read more on the changes coming to NPR's online community.

Geoffrey Bennett

4:37 PM ET | 09-29-2008 | permalink

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Cool Liveblogging Technology

I am not a huge fan of the content, but I do really like the BBC's live blogging interface. For one, it's clean and simple design. Secondly, it automatically refreshes so there is no need to navigate away from the page or hit the refresh button.

The BBC has been doing some really innovative work with how they deliver information ... including delivering it online in a variety of African languages including Zulu and Somali.

NPR is also doing some very nice organization of our political content online, thank you, which you can find right here.

Farai Chideya

9:35 PM ET | 09-26-2008 | permalink

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Debate Starts: Economy First

Yesterday, I used the "train wreck" metaphor about the economy in one of our blog posts.

In the opening debate of the final push of this presidential campaign, Senator McCain used that metaphor. It seems that at this critical night, both Senator McCain and Senator Obama are saying that they saw the train wreck coming, and called for preventative measures.

Senator McCain cited his decision to call for the resignation of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Senator Obama said that he'd sounded the warning whistle two years ago, and contacted the Secretary of the Treasury two years ago.

This was supposed to the foreign policy debate, but predictably, moderator Jim Lehrer started out with the economy. On our show today, on the Reporter's Roundtable, we asked the Chicago Tribune's Clarence Page and Marcus Mabry of the New York Times whether the American public at large had an appetite for talking foreign policy at a time when the nation was hit so hard economically. (Answer: almost certainly not.)

But Marcus is an experienced foreign correspondent (South Africa and France), as well as a business expert, and as he's said on our air many times, the U.S. economy is hardly uncoupled from that of the world. For example, China holds at least half a trillion dollars in U.S. debt. China hasn't come up in the debate yet ... nor in a serious means, America's debt ... but how the government handles that debt (and how the holders of that debt handle their stake) will surely shape America as well as any kind of bailout.

An interesting rhetorical note: Lehrer keeps asking these gentlemen to speak to each other. Instead, they address the audience with a third-person about their opponent (i.e., "Senator Obama"; "Senator McCain") instead of a second-person "you." I'm not sure why that is ... perhaps they think it speaks more directly to the audience? Or it's less confrontational?

More soon.

Farai Chideya

9:09 PM ET | 09-26-2008 | permalink

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Changes Coming To Our Blog

Thank you, as always, for being a valued member of the News & Notes online community. To that end, here's a heads up:

Starting next week, you'll have to register with NPR.org in order to leave comments on our blog. (More on how, why, and when later.)

The benefits: You won't have to reenter your name and e-mail address every time you leave a comment, and you'll also be able to respond to our show segments and interact with other readers and NPR staff via our very own social network.

Change never comes easily, but we hope you'll find these new features on our blog useful and engaging.

Geoffrey Bennett

2:15 PM ET | 09-26-2008 | permalink

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'Miracle at St. Anna' Writer, Cast Share War Stories

Spike Lee's latest movie, Miracle at St. Anna, is about the sometimes forgotten contribution of African-American soldiers during World War II. It's based on James McBride's novel of the same name.

While battling racism from the U.S. military and attacks from the Nazis, one of the soldiers in the all-black Buffalo Soldiers Division risks his life to save a young Italian boy.

Farai Chideya sits down with three stars of the film -- Derek Luke, Laz Alonso and Omar Benson Miller -- as well as writer James McBride.

In part one of the extended video interview, each actor opens up about the personal journey they took with their characters, and what they brought away from that experience. They also don't hold back while dishing about what it's like working with master auteur Spike Lee (who will be on Monday's show).

In part two of the interview, Farai asks how ethnicity and race play a significant role in Miracle at St. Anna. We also learn that Derek Luke wants to blow things up as an action star and Omar Benson Miller's life has come full circle, thanks to NPR.

Are you planning on seeing this movie over the weekend? Feel free to submit your own review below.

Related Link: Official Miracle at St. Anna Website

Geoffrey Gardner

12:13 PM ET | 09-26-2008 | permalink

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The Financial Crisis Is NOT New

I'm sitting in an airport right now, watching Senator Barack Obama talk to Wolf Blitzer on CNN. An older white woman; a young white man; and two men speaking Japanese sidle up to the flat-screen television to try to find out what the hell is going on.

By that I mean: Since the 9/11 attacks, I have never seen so many people of such a wide cross-section of society freak out at once. It's as if people just realized that the financial fairy godmother was not going to come rescue us from our credit card debt, or the larger issues plaguing the country (and the world).

Of course Senators Obama and John McCain had a tense meeting over the economic rescue package at the White House; and as of this moment, no one knows if the debate scheduled for tomorrow will actually come off. On CNN, Sen. Obama says, "Families were having trouble even before this Wall Street Crisis."

Well, that's for sure.

The economic crisis is like a freight train run amok ... but it's been coming for a long time.

Poor and working people heard this freight train coming. People saw their neighbors losing their homes for months now.

But Wall Street missed the sound.

Washington missed the sound.

The people in Lancaster, California; Detroit; Baltimore; and any number of small towns heard the warning whistle but were tied to the tracks.

This economic crisis has been reality for a long time. A lot of folks just hoped if they shut their eyes, the train would pass and everything would be okay.

Farai Chideya

6:25 PM ET | 09-25-2008 | permalink

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Loaning to Minorities ... Is a Disaster

... at least according to Fox News host Neal Cavuto.

The liberal watchdog organization Media Matters posts this on their website:

Neil Cavuto, host of Fox News' Your World, conflated giving home mortgages to minorities with risky lending practices, suggesting that efforts to increase homeownership among minority borrowers contributed to financial problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Discussing the decision by the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship, Cavuto asked Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) on September 18, "[W]hen you and many of your colleagues were pushing for more minority lending and more expanded lending to folks who heretofore couldn't get mortgages, when you were pushing homeownership ... Are you totally without culpability here? Are you totally blameless? Are you totally irresponsible of anything that happened?" Cavuto later said, "I'm just saying, I don't remember a clarion call that said, 'Fannie and Freddie are a disaster. Loaning to minorities and risky folks is a disaster.'"

Thanks to the blog, This Black Life, for the link to the story above.

Farai Chideya

6:17 PM ET | 09-25-2008 | permalink

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Run, Rev Run

I'm a man with a blended family myself, having been married, divorced and re-married. So, it's always interesting to me to talk to people who offer marital and family advice.

Who better to have on News & Notes, then, than Rev. Run Simmons and his wife, Justine.

They are the stars of the popular MTV reality series, Run's House, as well as the co-authors of a new book, Take Back Your Family: A Challenge To America's Parents. This was one of those interviews where I really didn't need any notes, but had them standing by, just in case.

I barely looked at them.

That's because Rev and Justine had more than a little to say about, well, a lot of things. Their marriage, their kids, the death of their infant daughter, their arguments, their spirituality, their happiness, even the troubles of big brother Russell and his divorce from wife Kimora.

It was reality radio, and I hope you'll tune in when we run the full interview on News & Notes. The video of that interview will also be available on News & Views, so look for it.

I was impressed with their candor. I suppose that's what makes their show so successful and presumably why they apparently have a strong, committed relationship. Like all married couples, they DO argue, which they managed to do even a few times during the interview. It was not what I expected from my guests, quite frankly, but it was fascinating to see because they were being who they are. I know that's certainly important for a successful marriage, being who you really are.

You'll have to judge for yourself.

As we ended, I asked Rev to share with us one of his famous "Words of Wisdom," which he delivers at the end of each episode of his TV show from a bubble-filled bathtub in his home. So here's Rev's words for today, just for you, but without the bubbles or the tub.

Tony Cox

4:44 PM ET | 09-25-2008 | permalink

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McKinney to McCain: I'll Go If You Won't

This Friday's planned presidential debate should go on with our without Sen. John McCain -- so says Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney.

She's volunteered to stand in his place and debate Barack Obama should the Arizona senator not show up.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

"If John McCain wants to bow out, I'm willing to step in and take his podium on Friday," said Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney, the former Georgia congresswoman. "The financial meltdown won't come any closer to a resolution because a presidential debate is postponed. Now is the best time for Americans to see how prepared their leaders are to handle emergencies."

Geoffrey Bennett

12:19 PM ET | 09-25-2008 | permalink

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Americans Boiling Over Proposed Bank Bailout

President Bush spoke live to the American people about the current financial crisis.

Mark Wilson, Getty Images

Many Washington lawmakers have found themselves caught in a political minefield -- stuck between the necessity to take quick action on the economic crisis and Americans' reluctance to buy into the Bush administration's proposed bailout plan.

From the New York Times:

Americans' anger is in full bloom, jumping off the screen in capital letters and exclamation points, in the e-mail in-boxes of elected representatives in the nation's capital.

... The backlash, in phone calls as well as e-mail messages, is putting lawmakers in a quandary as they weigh what many regard as the most consequential decision of their careers: whether to agree to President Bush's request to spend an estimated $700 billion in taxpayer money to rescue the financial services system.

What do you think of the planned billion-dollar bailout?

Related: Politicians Weigh Merits of $700 Billion Bank Bailout

Geoffrey Bennett

12:18 PM ET | 09-25-2008 | permalink

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Couric Talks With Palin; McCain Suspends Campaign

CBS News has released a clip of Katie Couric's interview with Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. The two spoke this morning; in the clip below, Couric asks, "If this [bailout plan] doesn't pass, do you think there's a risk of another Great Depression?"

Read the transcript.

In other political news, Republican presidential nominee John McCain has suspended his campaign and is calling for Friday's presidential debate to be postponed. Here's more via Reuters:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Wednesday he will break off from campaigning to help on a Wall Street rescue plan and asked that a Friday night debate with Democratic rival Barack Obama be postponed.

McCain, in a statement to reporters, said he would suspend his campaign on Thursday to return to Washington and called on Obama to join him, saying he had spoken to the Democrat about doing so.

As of now, Obama says he is inclined to move forward with the debate. The Associated Press reports:

Obama's campaign did not immediately say whether he ... would also stop campaigning.

The Obama campaign said in a statement that Obama had called McCain around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to propose that they issue a joint statement in support of a package to help fix the economy as soon as possible. McCain called back six hours later and agreed to the idea of the statement, the Obama campaign said. McCain's statement was issued to the media a few minutes later.

More: Behind McCain's Decision | McCain's Gambit

Geoffrey Bennett

3:56 PM ET | 09-24-2008 | permalink

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Media Presses McCain Campaign on Palin Access

On her CNN show, news anchor Campbell Brown turned the "Sarah Palin sexism" talk on its head, saying the McCain campaign itself was being sexist for sequestering the female vice presidential nominee.

This comes after the McCain campaign tried to restrict reporters from covering Palin's meetings with world leaders at the UN yesterday.

"Free Sarah Palin," Brown says. What do you think?

Related: What Should Katie Couric Ask Sarah Palin?

Geoffrey Bennett

11:48 AM ET | 09-24-2008 | permalink

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Supreme Court Grants Troy Davis Stay Of Execution

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted a stay of execution for Georgia inmate Troy Davis.

CNN.com has more on the case:

Davis, 39, was convicted in 1991 of killing Officer Mark MacPhail as MacPhail responded to an altercation in a Burger King parking lot.

Seven of nine witnesses who initially testified that Davis was the killer have recanted. There was no physical evidence presented at his trial, and no weapon was found.

But Davis' petitions for a new trial have been denied.

... On Tuesday, Davis refused his last meal, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections, which will still provide him with macaroni and cheese, pinto beans, green beans, lettuce and tomato salad, corn bread, fruit cobbler and tea.

Many have asked Georgia to grant Davis a new trial: celebrities like Susan Sarandon, Harry Belafonte and the Indigo Girls; world leaders such as former President Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Pope Benedict XVI; and former and current U.S. lawmakers like Bob Barr, Carolyn Moseley Braun and John Lewis.

Amnesty International has issued a 39-page report questioning his conviction, and protesters have been gathering at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta this week. Davis is scheduled to be executed at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.

Related Links:
Posthumous Exoneration Sought In Cole Tragedy
Inside The Case To Exonerate Timothy Cole

Geoffrey Bennett

5:28 PM ET | 09-23-2008 | permalink

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Guess Who's Coming To Dinner ... And Moving In?

iStockphoto.com

In tough economic times, one might expect to see an uptick of "Boomerang Kids" -- that is, young adults who move back in with mom and dad.

Well, according to new Census Bureau data, the reverse is happening.

Here's more, via USA Today:

The number of parents, siblings and other relatives who live with adult heads of households grew 42% from 2000 to 2007, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Leading the way: parents, up 67%, to 3.6 million.

The figures suggest it isn't only elderly parents moving in. The number of parents under 65 in these households increased by 75%, and those 65 and older were up 62%. Both groups outpaced the rise in the number of people in family households overall, which is up 6% since 2000.

... A host of factors -- among them higher housing costs and the USA's struggling economy -- are prompting families to combine expenses. Also, intergenerational households are more common among the country's growing number of immigrants.

Is this happening among your friends and family?

Geoffrey Bennett

12:06 PM ET | 09-23-2008 | permalink

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Singer Eric Benet Talks 'Love & Life'

After a four-year hiatus, R&B singer Eric Benet is back with his new album, titled Love & Life.

Farai Chideya sits down with Benet to talk about getting back in the recording studio, being a single father, and his estrangement from actress Halle Berry.

Geoffrey Gardner

12:06 PM ET | 09-23-2008 | permalink

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Some Women Choosing The Single Mother Route

With the marriage rate for African Americans reportedly on the decline since the 1960s, more black women are faced with tough decisions about when and how to start families. Some simply go it alone -- choosing to be single mothers.

Blogger Kira Craft offers her insight:

"I don't need a man to have a baby. I don't have to find "The One" and fall in love and get married to procreate. My body doesn't actually care if Cupid has shot my heart straight through with arrows. Love and sentiment technically have nothing to do with the fact that since my menstrual blood began I have been able to have a baby -- whenever I want.

My eggs are sitting inside of me, waiting, waiting, for their chance to engage. They've been here all my life, hundreds of thousands of them, clustered so patiently. They are quiet, tucked away from the outside world in a semblance of security. For most of my life I've barely given them a thought, hidden away as they are in the dark, deep red recesses of body and emotion.

But it feels like a both a blessing and a curse, this gift, as I have woken to the knowledge that my ability to generate life is a choice bound by time. Suddenly, it seems, I am thirty- four and single and my horizon has become a tipping point of fertility. How did I get here so quickly?

... Here I am, faced with choices. I feel lucky to have them, to be a free woman in a free country, with the financial and emotional capacity to provide for a baby. I wonder at this weaving path that embracing love can conceive. For the first time in my life, when people ask me, 'Do you want children?' my answer is yes. But I have begun to consider the question: What does family mean to me?"

Can you relate to her experience?

Geoffrey Bennett

6:06 PM ET | 09-22-2008 | permalink

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Michelle Obama Likes Her Carbs & Satin Bows

Michelle Obama appears on the October cover of More magazine.

Mathew Imaging / ATAS

Potential First Lady Michelle Obama graces the October 2008 cover of More magazine, and the publication's editor-in-chief is offering up the goods on the photo shoot, care of The Huffington Post.

"Though we were on a tight schedule (cover shoots usually last all day, but she was giving us only three hours, which included the time needed to do her hair and makeup), I was happy to oblige.

Not only had I been hovering over the catering table like a starving vulture since 11 a.m. (my 6 a.m. flight came sans snack), but I believe you can tell a lot about a person by what they eat. (Ever notice how picky eaters are also stingy lovers?) As Obama piled her plate high with all kinds of naughty carbs I thought: We're gonna get along just fine.

... As Obama got her hair and makeup done (by a Chicago professional who'd done it for years--and also happened to be the Obamas' neighbor), she invited me to chat about motherhood and the campaign. The primaries had just ended and she was relieved to no longer have to keep up with the pace set by Hillary. 'Nothing could be that hard,' she laughed, referring to the general campaign that was about to begin. Yes, her kids were adapting to life under the relentless stare of the Secret Service, but the agents--who arrived each morning in coat and tie--were having a hard time adjusting to her. 'I still work out at my local gym,' she said, 'and part of the routine requires we run up and down several flights of stairs.' It seems the Secret Service were running along with her in their suits--until they realized they could just wait sweat-free at the bottom of the staircase.

... Before she slipped on the pink shift, the More team inquired if we might remove the blue satin bow pinned at the neckline, to make the look more streamlined. The press people went off to consult Obama, and brought back her reply: 'No.' "

Read the rest, and share your thoughts.

Geoffrey Bennett

5:35 PM ET | 09-22-2008 | permalink

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500 Carat Diamond Discovered in Lesotho

Miners in southern Africa have found one of the world's largest diamonds. It's nearly flawless and weighs almost 500 carats.

Reuters has more:

The diamond was discovered in the Letseng Mine on September 8, the company said in a statement. It has been analyzed by experts in Antwerp and found to weigh 478 carats, with very few inclusions and of outstanding color and clarity.

"It has the potential to yield one of the largest flawless D color round polished diamonds in history," the company said.

Letseng is one of the most productive mines in history -- four of the world's 20 largest rough diamonds have been found at the mine, including the three largest found this century.

And given the complicated, sometimes shameful relationship between the diamond industry and the continent, of course there's this (emphasis ours):

The minister for natural resources in Lesotho, an impoverished mountain kingdom in eastern South Africa, praised the productivity of the mine, one of the highest in the world at more than 10,000 feet.

Letseng is 70 percent owned by Gem Diamonds and 30 percent owned by the government of Lesotho.

Geoffrey Bennett

5:05 PM ET | 09-22-2008 | permalink

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Gas Shortage Hits the Southeast

Wathiq Khuzaie, Getty Images (left) / strent9811, CNN iReport (right)

On the left, Iraqis wait in a gas line amid a sandstorm in Baghdad, Iraq. On the right, cars cue up in front of a Texaco station in Forsyth County, Ga. over the weekend.

A gas shortage has reportedly hit all over the Southeast, stretching from Florida to Tennessee.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has more:

Gas remained hard to find around much of metro Atlanta on Monday morning, as lingering supply complications in the wake of two hurricanes had many motorists driving miles out of their way in a search for fuel.

State and industry officials say the problem stems from supply interruptions from the Gulf, where refineries are still rebuilding capacity after the double whammy of hurricanes Gustav and Ike, and the required use of cleaner-burning fuel in metro Atlanta. That means gas can't be easily diverted from other areas where supplies are ample.

There were mixed signals about how soon the shortages will abate. Industry officials say refineries are rapidly restoring supply, and state officials say they're taking steps to boost the flow. Some station owners, however, say they've been warned not to expect normal supplies for days to come.

Adding to the frustration, metro Atlantans who find gas are paying well over the national average for it. The average price in the area Monday morning was $4.01 a gallon, about 30 cents higher than the U.S. average, according to AtlantaGasPrices.com.

If you have been affected by this, we want to hear from you.

Geoffrey Bennett

11:50 AM ET | 09-22-2008 | permalink

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Congratulations, Glynn Turman!

Mathew Imaging / ATAS

News & Notes extends a hearty congratulations to actor Glynn Turman on winning his first Emmy for his guest starring role in HBO's In Treatment -- besting Oliver Platt, Stanley Tucci, and Robin Williams.

Turman previously spoke with NPR's Tony Cox about his acting career, which spans nearly four decades. Revisit the video interview.

Geoffrey Bennett

1:35 AM ET | 09-22-2008 | permalink

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McCain Playing 'Race Card' Via Economic News?

So much for suspending the partisan bickering over the economy.

Karen Tumulty of TIME magazine writes in a blog post titled, "McCain Plays the Race Card" the following about Sen. John McCain's latest TV ad:

When politicians interject race into a campaign, they seldom do it directly. Consider McCain's new ad, which the campaign says it will be airing nationally:

This is hardly subtle: Sinister images of two black men, followed by one of a vulnerable-looking elderly white woman.

Let me stipulate: Obama's Fannie Mae connections are completely fair game. But this ad doesn't even mention a far more significant tie--that of Jim Johnson, the former Fannie Mae chairman who had to resign as head of Obama's vice presidential search team after it was revealed he got a sweetheart deal on a mortgage from Countrywide Financial. Instead, it relies on a fleeting and tenuous reference in a Washington Post Style section story to suggest that Obama's principal economic adviser is former Fannie Mae Chairman Frank Raines. Why? One reason might be that Johnson is white; Raines is black.

And the image of the victim doesn't seem accidental either, given the fact that older white women are a key swing constituency in this election.

Watch the ad, and tell us what you think.

Geoffrey Bennett

7:02 PM ET | 09-19-2008 | permalink

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Oprah Resonating With Saudi Arabian Women

Photo Illustration: Geoffrey Bennett, NPR

As Oprah Winfrey's trademarked brand of female empowerment beams into living rooms and hair salons across the U.S., her show is also resonating with women in Saudi Arabia, as reported by
Katherine Zoepf of The New York Times.

When "The Oprah Winfrey Show" was first broadcast in Saudi Arabia in November 2004 on a Dubai-based satellite channel, it became an immediate sensation among young Saudi women. Within months, it had become the highest-rated English-language program among women 25 and younger, an age group that makes up about a third of Saudi Arabia's population.

In a country where the sexes are rigorously separated, where topics like sex and race are rarely discussed openly and where a strict code of public morality is enforced by religious police called hai'a, Ms. Winfrey provides many young Saudi women with new ways of thinking about the way local taboos affect their lives -- as well as about a variety of issues including childhood sexual abuse and coping with marital strife -- without striking them, or Saudi Arabia's ruling authorities, as subversive.

Some women here say Ms. Winfrey's assurances to her viewers -- that no matter how restricted or even abusive their circumstances may be, they can take control in small ways and create lives of value -- help them find meaning in their cramped, veiled existence.

"Oprah dresses conservatively," explained Princess Reema bint Bandar al-Saud, a co-owner of a women's spa in Riyadh called Yibreen and a daughter of Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi ambassador to the United States. "She struggles with her weight. She overcame depression. She rose from poverty and from abuse. On all these levels she appeals to a Saudi woman. People really idolize her here."

Who knew? And then there's this:

The largest-circulation Saudi women's magazine, Sayidaty, devotes a regular page to Ms. Winfrey, and dog-eared copies of her official magazine, O, which is not sold in the kingdom, are passed around by women who collect them during trips abroad.

Who wants to join me in counting the days until a shipment of O magazines arrives in Riyadh, care of Harpo, Inc.?

Geoffrey Bennett

12:27 PM ET | 09-19-2008 | permalink

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Roundtable: Palin's Diversity Report Card

How does Sarah Palin stack up on diversity in her own state?

Plus, do ex-cons deserve a place at the polls?

Check out the two-part bloggers' roundtable below, recorded live in our studio at NPR West.

Joining in this edition of blogger's roundtable are Carmen Dixon of All About Race, Kevin Ross of Three Brothers and a Sister, and Marc Lamont Hill.

Geoffrey Gardner

12:37 PM ET | 09-18-2008 | permalink

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Money Markets No Longer A Sure Bet?

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You know the stabbing feeling in your heart when you check the performance of your investment portfolios these days? Well, The New York Times is taking the knife and twisting it, care of this revelation:

Money market funds have been among the few places that investors could put their cash and sleep peacefully.

At the moment, that is not necessarily true.

On Tuesday, the Reserve Primary Fund, a giant money market fund whose parent helped invent that investment, said its customers would lose money. Instead of each share being worth a dollar for every dollar invested, it said its customers' shares were worth only 97 cents. In Wall Street parlance, it "broke the buck," a rare occurrence.

With the economy in the toilet (see graphic representation above), what should you do with your earnings? MyMoneyBlog.com has a few options:

Consider sticking with an FDIC-insured bank account.

Invest in a Treasury money market fund.

Invest in big fund companies with lots of assets.

Read the explanations. And if you are considering dumping your stock entirely, consider these two questions:

Question #1: Why do you really want to sell? Can you predict future movements of the stock market? I can't. If you could, then you should have known these collapses were coming, shorted these stocks, and made a fortune. If you bet big enough, you'd be retired right now.

Question #2: When do you need the money? If it's still over 25 years from now, then what's the worry? ... Time horizon is important; Stocks are called long-term investments for a reason.

Geoffrey Bennett

11:50 AM ET | 09-18-2008 | permalink

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What Should Katie Couric Ask Sarah Palin?

TV news anchor Katie Couric (left) and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin (right).

Composite, Getty Images

CBS News' Katie Couric has scored the next major network interview with Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. (Palin also plans to speak with Fox News' Sean Hannity.)

More from the AP:

The CBS anchor will spend two days on the road with the Republican vice presidential candidate as well as presidential hopeful John McCain, the network said Tuesday.

Couric's interview material will be aired Sept. 29 and 30 ... It's timed for just before the Oct. 2 vice presidential debate between Palin and Democrat Joe Biden.

As you'll remember, the McCain campaign granted Palin's first interview to ABC's Charlie Gibson.

Left out in the cold (so far): NBC's Brian Williams. The McCain campaign has snubbed the network over what it considers biased coverage on MSNBC in support of Barack Obama.

If you were conducting the interview, what would you ask Palin? What topics should Couric be sure to cover?

Related: Gov. Sarah Palin Sits for First Post-VP Interview

Geoffrey Bennett

11:42 AM ET | 09-17-2008 | permalink

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Money Changes Everything. Or Does It?

Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden stand on stage at the Democratic National Convention.

Farai Chideya, NPR

I was doing my daily dose of Web-surfing today and came across this article on Defamer about Barack (via Barbara)'s $9 Million Dollar Payday. And I quote:

Barack Obama may have California's electoral votes in the bank, but that doesn't mean he won't make a quick trip to the ATM en route to Election Day. In what's expected to be his last rally of Hollywood pals before Nov. 4, Obama will attend a pair of sold-out, back-to-back fundraisers tonight in Beverly Hills. First up: an intimate dinner for 250 at the Greystone Mansion, followed by a trip down the street to the customary Streisand Kiss-of-Death Variety Hour at the Beverly Wilshire. Total miles one-way: Three. Total windfall: Roughly $9 million -- by one estimate, a single-day fundraising record for a presidential candidate. And celeb-culture darling Sarah Palin won't even be there! We break the evening down after the jump.

For all its flak and flubs, the Palin phenomenon has managed to neutralize Obamania since her selection to the GOP ticket on Aug. 29. That much is obvious; the rest, not so much, with a panicked Hollywood dumping out its collective wallet between tonight's $28,500-per-plate Greystone dinner and the $2,500-per-ticket Streisand/DreamWorks fete (with special guest Ben Harper, no extra charge!). Politico's Jeffrey Ressner suggests this is some kind of benchmark, though a one-day record can't be substantiated unless all the checks clear at once. Or something. Just as long as they clear, right?

Sen. Barack Obama accepts his party's nomination before a crowd of thousands.

Farai Chideya, NPR

While polls are flawed and sometimes competing, the McCain/Palin ticket is at least neck and neck with -- and maybe a hair ahead of -- Obama/Biden in the national polls. But it's also worth noting, as many have, that with our Electoral College system there are really state-by-state races, not one national race. And in the Electoral College fight, some polls show Obama/Biden ahead.

Any way you crunch THOSE poll numbers, Team Obama took in a record $66 million last month. But how will the money translate into votes?

No one knows for sure, but it's interesting tracking the numbers.

Farai Chideya

7:29 PM ET | 09-16-2008 | permalink

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Economy: How Are You Buckling Your Seatbelt?

We've been covering the major financial collapses in the investment banking market for two days now, including speaking today to our contributor Robert Traynham and Austan Goolsbee, senior economic adviser to Senator Obama.

When we spoke on Monday to the New York Times' Marcus Mabry, he argued this was "a Wall Street problem; not a Main Street problem." Our regular economics contributor, Dr. Julianne Malveaux, disagreed.

So: what are you doing to buckle your seatbelt for the bumpy economic ride? Are you ACTUALLY cutting back on expenses? (Be honest.) A lot of us (me included) hate cutting back, even or especially when we can spend less as a choice but not a necessity.

What are you doing, or NOT doing, to prepare yourself in case you have extra financial needs or less income?

Farai Chideya

3:11 PM ET | 09-16-2008 | permalink

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New Tyler Perry Movie, New Wave of Criticism

Tyler Perry attends the premiere of Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys at the AMC Loews Lincoln Center in New York City.

Brad Barket/Getty Images

It seems every new Tyler Perry movie is met with fresh criticism from those who say he peddles played-out stereotypes, subpar production values, uninspired dialogue, and embarrassing cross-dressing ... all for an increasingly larger profit.

Perry's not immune to the flak. He once reportedly wrote to fans: "Over the years, I have learned to ignore these people and keep doing what I feel that I am being led to do."

But blogger Corey Richardson of Vexed in the City sees it this way:

I was watching television the other day and I saw the trailer for a new Tyler Perry movie (and I use the word "movie" quite liberally because really, they're just plays on film), The Family That Preys. Now, I can honestly tell you that I have no idea what this film is about, nor do I care, but it just serves as a further example of the drivel that is often peddled off to me and other African Americans as art emblematic of our culture.

Again, I haven't seen this film nor do I intend to, but I'm pretty sure this is the synopsis...

-Black woman done wrong by black man.

-Black man is trifling.

-Black woman comes into conflict with other black woman (or the prototypical ancillary white girl) over aforementioned trifling black man

-They go to church.

-Black women are deified, black men are eviscerated.

-Everyone leaves happy.

-Movie makes $30 million in opening weekend.

The End.

And that's my problem with Tyler Perry movies... drop in that plot and then sprinkle in a large negro in drag and you've summed up the entire anthology of his work. It sucks. It perpetuates and amplifies stereotypes that promote riffs between black men and black women based on flimsy characters, poor plot development, and the type of circular logic that doesn't account for the complexity of black manhood and then justifies some of the flaws that are plaguing black women. But like Big Macs, Popeye's Chicken, pork, Kool-Aid, and all other sorts of products that are sold to the black community that are bad for us, we just can't get enough of it.

-- Corey Richardson

Do you agree? What do you think of Perry's movies?

Geoffrey Bennett

11:56 AM ET | 09-16-2008 | permalink

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Will Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy Affect You?

As the investment institution Lehman Brothers announces that they are filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and Bank of America is buying out Merrill Lynch, many are left wondering how this will affect their own bottom lines. While it's true that this news alters the financial landscape of America, CNN does offer these reassuring tips for the nervous consumer.

1) Your accounts are protected

If you have a brokerage account with Lehman, you will be protected up to $500,000 by the Securities Investors Protection Corp. The Securities and Exchange Commission has strict rules about keeping the brokerage's money separate from your investments. So even if the firm goes under, your money should still be there.

2) Don't panic

Granted, over the last few years financials have become one of the most important drivers of the S&P 500 and by extension index funds, which can impact your 401(k). If your portfolio has taken a hit because of the Lehman news, it's not time to panic and take your money out of the market. It's too late for that. Remember that anything that brings confidence to this sector is good -- but a well-performing financial sector is also critical to something more fundamental - an economic recovery.

3) Know the limits

If you're worried in general about the health of your bank, make sure your bank is FDIC-insured. As an individual, your deposits are insured up to $100,000 in an FDIC-insured bank. This includes your savings, your checking, any certificate of deposits (CDs) and money market accounts. Joint accounts can be insured up to $200,000. IRAs and Keoghs -- these are retirement plans for people who are self-employed -- can be insured up to $250,000.

Related Links:
Lehman Brothers Files for Bankruptcy
Q&A: The Rise And Demise of Wall Street Firms
Merrill Lynch Sold, AIG Restructures Amid Losses

Geoffrey Gardner

12:38 PM ET | 09-15-2008 | permalink

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Lose Your Home; Lose Your Vote?

Next week, we're going to talk about a new twist on voting access. The question is whether families who've had their homes foreclosed on should be barred from voting in the districts where they lost their homes.

Eartha Jane Melzer of The Michigan Messenger did an investigative report that is making waves. She tracked local Republican Party officials in Michigan and Ohio -- key battleground states -- who plan to challenge voters by cross-hatching their information against the (publicly available) list of foreclosures.

The article reads in part:

The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP's effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.

"We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren't voting from those addresses," party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed.

State election rules allow parties to assign "election challengers" to polls to monitor the election. In addition to observing the poll workers, these volunteers can challenge the eligibility of any voter provided they "have a good reason to believe" that the person is not eligible to vote. One allowable reason is that the person is not a "true resident of the city or township."

The Michigan Republicans' planned use of foreclosure lists is apparently an attempt to challenge ineligible voters as not being "true residents."

One expert questioned the legality of the tactic.

"You can't challenge people without a factual basis for doing so," said J. Gerald Hebert, a former voting rights litigator for the U.S. Justice Department who now runs the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington D.C.-based public-interest law firm. "I don't think a foreclosure notice is sufficient basis for a challenge, because people often remain in their homes after foreclosure begins and sometimes are able to negotiate and refinance."

The article is also provoking a series of opposing comments on its message board. One reads:

Being in foreclosure does not necessarily mean you have moved out of the house. Challenging voters based on foreclosure will result in illegally disenfranchising voters who have not changed their address. It will also gum up the works on election day and increase the length of the lines, which is a GOP tactic intended to discourage voting by people who work two jobs, etc, and don't have the ability to go to the polls in the middle of the day.

An opposing view comes from another person posting to the message board:

Isnt it amazing, all this outrage over vote suppression and voter inconvenience. Where was all this concern when ACORN was signing up dead people in Illinois. They are also currently under investigation here in Ohio for their "registration" campaigns in the inner city. To some on this blog who claim people shouold be able to vote anywhere as long as they are registered, That is not permitted for two reasons. One, it eliminates (or tries to) people from voting multiple times...another fine Chicago tradition. Two, there are more items on the ballot than the Presidency. How would you like outsiders voting on your school levies, congressmen and local issues? That would also happen if you lose control of the system. Follow the friggin rules, it's not that tough.

The Obama campaign is expected to respond to this debate ... when and how remains to be seen.

We expect to cover this more in the coming days.

Farai Chideya

11:15 PM ET | 09-11-2008 | permalink

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Gov. Sarah Palin Sits for First Post-VP Interview

Gov. Sarah Palin talks with ABC News' Charlie Gibson.

ABC News

After being introduced to the country nearly two weeks ago as John McCain's vice presidential pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin sat for her first interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.

The interview airs today and tomorrow on ABC. The network has released excerpts on their Website.

They are reposted below:

Sarah Palin on Experience:

GIBSON: Governor, let me start by asking you a question that I asked John McCain about you, and it is really the central question. Can you look the country in the eye and say "I have the experience and I have the ability to be not just vice president, but perhaps president of the United States of America?"

PALIN: I do, Charlie, and on January 20, when John McCain and I are sworn in, if we are so privileged to be elected to serve this country, will be ready. I'm ready.

GIBSON: And you didn't say to yourself, "Am I experienced enough? Am I ready? Do I know enough about international affairs? Do I -- will I feel comfortable enough on the national stage to do this?"

PALIN: I didn't hesitate, no.

GIBSON: Didn't that take some hubris?

PALIN: I -- I answered him yes because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we're on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can't blink.

So I didn't blink then even when asked to run as his running mate.

Sarah Palin on God:

GIBSON: You said recently, in your old church, "Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God." Are we fighting a holy war?

PALIN: You know, I don't know if that was my exact quote.

GIBSON: Exact words.

PALIN: But the reference there is a repeat of Abraham Lincoln's words when he said -- first, he suggested never presume to know what God's will is, and I would never presume to know God's will or to speak God's words.

But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that's a repeat in my comments, was let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God's side.

That's what that comment was all about, Charlie.

GIBSON: I take your point about Lincoln's words, but you went on and said, "There is a plan and it is God's plan."

PALIN: I believe that there is a plan for this world and that plan for this world is for good. I believe that there is great hope and great potential for every country to be able to live and be protected with inalienable rights that I believe are God-given, Charlie, and I believe that those are the rights to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

That, in my world view, is a grand -- the grand plan.

GIBSON: But then are you sending your son on a task that is from God?

PALIN: I don't know if the task is from God, Charlie. What I know is that my son has made a decision. I am so proud of his independent and strong decision he has made, what he decided to do and serving for the right reasons and serving something greater than himself and not choosing a real easy path where he could be more comfortable and certainly safer.

Continue reading "Gov. Sarah Palin Sits for First Post-VP Interview" »

Geoffrey Bennett

6:15 PM ET | 09-11-2008 | permalink

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How Are You Marking Sept. 11?

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As we observe the seventh anniversary of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, we want to know how you are marking the day where you live.

On today's show, we got a homeland security status update and spoke with NPR's Maria Hinojosa, who interviewed families of 9/11 victims the year following the attacks and who experienced post-traumatic stress firsthand.

Share your thoughts, as the nation marks this somber day.

Geoffrey Bennett

12:21 PM ET | 09-11-2008 | permalink

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What John McCain Could Learn From Omar Little

Our online series, "Speak Your Mind," continues: What do Sen. John McCain and Omar Little of HBO's The Wire have in common? Nothing ... and that's not necessarily a good thing, writes R. Corey Richardson, an advertising account planner from Austin, Texas.

Read and respond.

Sen. John McCain and "Omar Little"

Composite: Getty Images and HBO

If you're like me and were an avid fan of HBO's series The Wire, you're no doubt familiar with the character of Omar Little. For those unfamiliar with the show, Omar was creator David Simon's anti-hero in a sprawling pastiche of flawed individuals.

He was a trench coat clad and shotgun-toting homosexual man who made his living robbing Baltimore's drug dealers and, occasionally, dispatching of those who would attempt to do him harm. Hardly the type of character you'd think to invite into your home every Sunday, and even more uncommon a character for people to root for.

But, amidst all of his contradictory character flaws, there was something about Omar Little that made him admirable ... he had a code. He never cursed, never raised his gun to children or anyone not involved in selling drugs, didn't work on Sundays, and even made it a point to take his grandmother to church every week. Beyond the not so nice qualities that made him a thug, there were these few qualities that made him honorable.

I wish John McCain watched The Wire.

Not because it would give him a better sense of what's going on in urban America, or because it would give him a better grasp on law enforcement, school, or other municipal services that are suffering in our inner cities. Not even because it was just a really good show. No, I wish he had watched it to learn the lesson of Omar Little and what life is like for a man with a code.

I saw John McCain's new campaign ad today, where he attacks Barack Obama on his stance on teaching sex education to kindergarteners. The image is, to put it quite bluntly, jarring and to expound, perverse and disturbing. The screen juxtaposes the smiling image of a black man beside the emblazoned terms KINDERGARTEN and SEX as if to send the subliminal subtext that the happy Negro on the screen is some type of hypersexual creature waiting to come after your children or children you may know.

It is, in some senses, the most base level and disgusting political ad I've seen since Lee Atwater introduced the world to Willie Horton in 1988 (and yeah, I was only 10 back then and I knew it was f*cked up.).

This is the politics of 51/49 that we have been subjugated to and manipulated by for the past 15 years. A politics of identity and division where citizens are pitted against citizens to curry the government to address their individual needs; where we can't use the hyphen in our Americaness (African-American, Italian-American, Arab-American) to connect us, but rather, to divide us. It's the same tool the master used against the slave to keep them servile, and it is the cudgel that is used now to keep us fighting over the crumbs instead of asking where the cake is at.

But I digress.

When this campaign began, John McCain promised that he would run an honorable campaign based on the issues that the American people could be proud of, a civilized debate of the matters facing our nation, and a departure from the Karl Rove tactics of the past that even he had been a victim of in 2000. I believed him because I believed in the John McCain of 2000 ... But I was wrong.

John McCain, you have no honor.

Let me break it down 'til it can no longer be broke...

The Mafia has a code.

Gangbangers have a code.

Dope dealers have a code.

Even prisoners have a code.

Out in the streets and in the annals of the underworld that most people never see, there are rules and laws that dictate one's behavior, and they are predicated on the most primary tenet of one's character: The ability to keep one's word. You say what you mean, mean what you say, and that which is said is your credit on your name. That's all you got. That's the currency you trade on.

Back to Omar.

Omar lived by his code and stuck to his word, which made him a respectable, although not always likeable, individual. The police knew where he stood, the streets knew where he stood, and so when a question arose about what he did or did not do, he always had his word and his code to fall back on -- until he was blinded by anger and avarice and went from being a man of righteous purpose to a man of selfish vengeance. He crossed his own line and shortly thereafter, he was dispatched -- ironically enough, by one of those he would have not turned his gun on based on his own honor.

So when John McCain chooses to disregard his own word, betray his own code, and negate his own honor, he only sets himself up to become a victim of his own tactics.

I'm not espousing violence or fomenting disproportionate retribution here, people (for the feds that might be reading my thoughts). I'm just drawing a parallel based on our generation's closest thing to a Greek tragedy.

The moral of the story is: When you betray the thing you love by betraying your promise to it, that thing will destroy you.

The same can be said for Jimmy McNulty as it can be said for Bill Clinton. It can be said for Stringer Bell as it can be said for Karl Rove. You can't be yourself by not being yourself and not suffer the consequences of your actions.

I hope someone in the McCain campaign has some time to check out The Wire and can let ol' Johnny know how these stories end.

Probably not.

And probably, like The Wire, this story won't end the way I want it to and instead we won't see real change, but just the perpetuation of the same by new faces of the same faction.

I hope I'm wrong, but I'm usually not.

-- R. Corey Richardson

Geoffrey Bennett

2:38 PM ET | 09-10-2008 | permalink

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The Tax Man Cometh ... To Church?

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Should churches be able to campaign directly on behalf of candidates, while maintaining their tax-free status?

The socially conservative group, Alliance Defense Fund, thinks so.

The group, according to the Washington Post, is recruiting pastors to endorse political candidates from their pulpits on Sept. 28, "in defiance of Internal Revenue Service rules."

The effort by the Arizona-based legal consortium is designed to trigger an IRS investigation that ADF lawyers would then challenge in federal court. The ultimate goal is to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out a 54-year-old ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt houses of worship.

Yet an opposing collection of Christian and Jewish clergy will petition the IRS today to stop the protest before it starts, calling the ADF's "Pulpit Initiative" an assault on the rule of law and the separation of church and state.

Backed by three former top IRS officials, the group also wants the IRS to determine whether the nonprofit ADF is risking its own tax-exempt status by organizing an "inappropriate, unethical and illegal" series of political endorsements.

The battle over the clergy's privileges, rights and responsibilities in the political world is not new. Politicians of all stripes court the support -- explicit or otherwise -- of religious leaders. Allegations surface every political season of a preacher crossing the line.

What is different is the Alliance Defense Fund's direct challenge to the rules that govern tax-exempt organizations. Rather than wait for the IRS to investigate an alleged violation, the organization intends to create dozens of violations and take the U.S. government to court on First Amendment grounds.

A game-changing factor in this fracas: the Web, namely YouTube, where many churches are now posting Sunday sermons -- including those with political overtones. Here's more from the New York Times:

It is unclear whether the accessibility of evidence on the Internet will produce more or speedier investigations. So far this year, the rate of new cases the revenue agency has pursued roughly matches that in the campaign years of 2004 and 2006 -- when there were about 100 annually, according to Nancy Mathis, an agency spokeswoman.

"What is so fascinating here is that the Internet is instantaneous, and the government is slow," said Frances R. Hill, a professor at the University of Miami School of Law who specializes in nonprofit tax law. "Whether this will speed the government up in the use of its authority remains to be seen. Clearly, what church groups used to spend a lot of time and money doing with voter guides they can now do in a rapid, cost-free way."

Share your thoughts.

Geoffrey Bennett

12:21 PM ET | 09-10-2008 | permalink

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Thomas: Constitution Forbids Racial Preferences

Speaking at the same gathering of HBCU leaders as Condi Rice, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas today said affirmative action programs do a disservice to blacks. Here's more via the Associated Press:

Thomas, addressing leaders of historically black colleges, said affirmative action "has become this mantra and there almost has become this secular religiosity about it. I think it almost trumps thinking."

A longtime opponent of race-based preferences in hiring and school admissions, Thomas said, "Just from a constitutional standpoint, I think we're going to run into problems if we say the Constitution says we can consider race sometimes."

Thomas, 60, has voted on the court to outlaw the use of race in college admissions and in determining which public schools students will attend. He wrote with evident resentment in his autobiography "My Grandfather's Son" that he felt he was allowed to attend Yale Law School in the 1970s because of his race and took a tough course load to prove he was as able as his white classmates.

"My suggestion would be to stop the buzz words and to focus more on the practical effect of what we're doing," he said Tuesday.

"I can tell you when you have fudge words, it leaves a lot of room for mischief," he said. "People have a tendency to read their personal opinions into fudge words. You want, when it comes to the issue of race, absolute words."

What do you think of Clarence Thomas' rationale and voting record?

Geoffrey Bennett

5:17 PM ET | 09- 9-2008 | permalink

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Rice: Low Number of Black Diplomats 'Unacceptable'

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Aug. 26, 2008 in Jerusalem, Israel.

Moshe Milner, GPO via Getty Images

In a seemingly rare moment of unguarded candor, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she wants to see more people "who look like [her]" working in the State Department.

Rice said Monday it was "unacceptable" that there were so few black people like herself in the US diplomatic corps.

"I want to see a Foreign Service that looks as if black Americans are part of this great country," Rice told a gathering of black colleges and universities in Washington.

"I have lamented that I can go into a meeting at the Department of State," said Rice, the second black person to become secretary of state after her predecessor Colin Powell.

"And, as a matter of fact, I can go into a whole day of meetings at the Department of State and actually rarely see somebody who looks like me, and that's just not acceptable," she added.

She said she has been working with black Congressman Charles Rangel to target students at schools with large numbers of blacks, according to a State Department transcript of her speech.

AFP has more.

Geoffrey Bennett

1:54 PM ET | 09- 9-2008 | permalink

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Palin's "Pastor Problems"

In her brief time in the national spotlight, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been questioned about her parenting (more on that tomorrow); and her ethics, regarding whether she unjustly caused the firing of a government employee.

Now, it seems her faith -- and how and whether it affects her governance -- is under scrutiny.

CNN, among other places, is giving Governor Palin's religion deep scrutiny. CNN online writes of her current church, Wasilla Bible Church:

David Brickner, the founder of Jews for Jesus, was a speaker. He told congregants that terrorist attacks on Israel were God's "judgment" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity. Brickner said, "Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. When a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment -- you can't miss it."

The McCain campaign says his comments do not reflect her religious views. Palin's spokeswoman says she is pro-Israel.

Video has also been running online and on television of the governor speaking at the church she attended while younger, the Pentacostal church Assembly of God. Here's a portion of the video now online.

She praises the crowd as a bunch of "cool-looking Christians ... Look at you, I think that people are going to be interested in Jesus Christ through you because of the way you look." She talks, more substantively, about her wishes that government troops at war are following the will of God. She also prays over the crowd with a Word (i.e., Bible verse) she tells the crowd was given to her by Pastor Ed Kalnin earlier that day.

Pastor Kalnin's become the nexus of the religion issue. An article on a Christian Web site called Women of Grace simultaneously reiterates and attempts to refute the pastor's most scrutinized statement:

In an effort to present Republican vice-presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin's religious affiliations in the same extreme light as those of Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), the press is trying to create a "Jeremiah Wright-style" scandal out of Governor Palin's evangelical roots.

The pastor of Wasilla Assembly of God Church in Wasilla, Alaska, where Governor Palin was a member until 2002, Senior Pastor Ed Kalnin was recently quoted in the media as having suggested during the 2004 presidential campaign that anyone who votes for John Kerry is going to hell.

"I'm not going tell you who to vote for, but if you vote for this particular person [Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry], I question your salvation. I'm sorry," Pastor Kalnin is quoted as saying.

Reporters have interpreted this statement as meaning that anyone who voted for Senator Kerry may not get to heaven.

However, evangelicals say this is an incorrect interpretation. Pastor Kalnin was not saying God would send people to hell for voting for Senator Kerry, but was instead questioning whether a person willing to vote for someone with Kerry's convictions was "saved" in the first place.

By federal law, religious institutions have tax-exempt status only when non-partisan. For example, the IRS challenged the status of a liberal California church following the 2004 elections.

We -- our government and as a people -- are constantly reshaping the line between belief and governance. President Bush's creation of federal faith-based funds is still debated -- and supported by Senator Obama. But how can you tell if an official is blending faith and politics? Is it always wrong, never wrong, sometimes wrong?

So: how will Governor Palin's religious views play out in the final days of the campaign? That's one of dozens of cliffhangers in an election you couldn't make up in fiction.

Farai Chideya

8:53 PM ET | 09- 8-2008 | permalink

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Michelle Obama on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show'

Michelle Obama made an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show today. The potential First Lady congratulates host Ellen -- and new wife Portia de Rossi -- on their recent marriage, and the pair discuss the trials and tribulations of being an intricate part of a whirlwind presidential campaign.

Related Links:
What Did You Think of Michelle Obama's DNC Speech?
Mikki O and Madcap Conventioneering

Geoffrey Gardner

7:09 PM ET | 09- 8-2008 | permalink

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Mommy Wars: Children vs. Career

iStockphoto.com

Okay, we want your opinion.

We spoke earlier this year with author Rebecca Walker not only about that question, but about her own specific experiences as the daughter of acclaimed writer Alice Walker. It was a frank and controversial discussion.

Now, this political season has put a new twist on the question of whether women can have it all.

Republican Veep nominee Sarah Palin has five children, including a pregnant teenage daughter and a baby son with Down's Syndrome.

Some women (and men) are calling her irresponsible for going out on VP trail at such a critical time for her family.

Others, from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to former Ms. Foundation head Marie Wilson, say it's absolutely fair and forward-thinking for a mother to lead in this way ... and that a man would never be questioned if it were HIS family instead of HERS.

Is Governor Palin sacrificing children for career?

Are American women who lead giving their families a fair shake?

OR, as some studies suggest, are some high-powered American women dropping out of leadership positions to stay home with families?

It's a big debate, and we tackled it in a special roundtable.

Meanwhile... what do you think? Is Governor Palin a role model, or is she risking her family's health? And how have you yourself dealt with the work/leadership/motherhood tug-of-war?

Farai Chideya

4:08 PM ET | 09- 8-2008 | permalink

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Polls: McCain Deadlocked With Obama After RNC

Getty Images

First comes the convention, then comes the bounce. Following the Republicans' week-long convention in St. Paul, many polls put Republican presidential nominee John McCain even with or ahead of Democratic rival Barack Obama. Here are two:

USA Today: Poll: Convention Lifts McCain Over Obama

"McCain leads Democrat Barack Obama by 50%-46% among registered voters, the Republican's biggest advantage since January and a turnaround from the USA TODAY poll taken just before the convention opened in St. Paul. Then, he lagged by 7 percentage points."

CNN: McCain, Obama Deadlocked In Presidential Race

"McCain and Obama are tied at 48 percent each, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll out Monday afternoon. Three percent of voters are undecided, according to the survey."

What do you think about how the Republicans' post-convention bounce? And to what do you attribute it?

Geoffrey Bennett

1:51 PM ET | 09- 8-2008 | permalink

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Mark Sawyer: 'At the RNC, Shock and Woe'

Mark Q. Sawyer takes a look back at Sen. John McCain's RNC acceptance speech and offers a scathing critique, in this piece titled Shock and Woe: McCain's Speech to the Convention.

Sawyer is director of the UCLA Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Politics and the author of Racial Politics in Post-Revolutionary Cuba.

John McCain's speech to the Republican National Convention and to the American public was as Jeff Toobin noted on CNN, "the worst speech by a nominee that I've heard since Jimmy Carter in 1980. I thought it was disorganized, themeless ... I thought it was very, very boring until the end when he started talking about his personal story, which is, of course, remarkable and always important to hear. I personally cannot remember a single policy proposal that he made because they had nothing connecting them. I found it shockingly bad."

Toobin nailed it right on the head. McCain rambled and delivered his normal befuddled performance, where he seemed to wrestle with the TelePrompTer. However, those are just style points, let's turn to content.

Continue reading "Mark Sawyer: 'At the RNC, Shock and Woe'" »

Geoffrey Bennett

11:46 AM ET | 09- 8-2008 | permalink

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RNC Wrap-Up: 'More Of The Same, Only Worse'

Noted author and Columbia University professor Farah Jasmine Griffin officially brings our convention coverage to a close.

Convention season is over. Both conventions were historic. The Democrats presented the nation with its first black nominee for president. The Republicans gave us our second woman vice presidential nominee.

Now the real work begins. I fear it is going to be nasty.

If their convention is any indication, the Republicans are going to fuel fear and resentment. They warn Americans against so-called "Eastern elites," the media, the educated, those who live in cities and community organizers. They insist that a Democratic administration will guarantee an attack by terrorist extremists.

The unemployment rate has reached a five-year high of 6.1 percent under a Republican administration; they assert that you will lose your job if the Democrats win. In spite of their rhetoric of change, in spite of nominating a talented woman and a "maverick" man, this seems to be the same old party. This is the party of Richard Nixon, Lee Atwater, Karl Rove; it is not the Party of Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.

This is not change. This is more of the same, only worse.

Consider this:

The 2008 Republican Party platform is against a woman's right to chose and gun control. It defends the Bush tax cuts. While finally acknowledging global warming, the platform doesn't see a role for government in addressing the crisis.

(Sarah Palin wants to take polar bears off of the endangered species list!) It sees immigration as a national security issue and treats undocumented workers as criminals.

Those who hoped McCain would be different ought to be disappointed.

Even if he were holding true to his maverick identity he still presents major problems. Given his own compelling autobiography, one would expect him to support measures that benefit our veterans. He has voted against increased funding for veterans and military families. He has voted against efforts to improve medical care for veterans or to provide mental health services to those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

In an effort to appeal to disaffected supporters of Clinton, Republicans make note that women are not single-issue voters. By this, they mean Clinton supporters care about more than abortion rights.

They are correct. In fact, believe it or not, some Clinton supporters and a number of Democrats who support Obama are pro-life. However, beyond abortion, both McCain and Palin favor abstinence-only sex education. He doesn't think women need equal party protection, they simply need "education and training." That's not change we can believe in.

Perhaps some of those "hardworking, blue collar" Americans who supported the shot-drinking, hunting Hillary Clinton will be drawn to the McCain-Palin ticket. But those who care about the progressive issues for which Clinton has fought most of her life have to think twice. Their anger at their candidate's treatment is certainly justifiable.

Handing our country over to the retrograde politics of the current Republican Party is not.

-- Farah Jasmine Griffin

Geoffrey Bennett

6:19 PM ET | 09- 5-2008 | permalink

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RNC Wrap-Up: 'Stand Up and Fight!'

Our online series, "Conventional Wisdom," comes to a close today with the end of the Republican National Convention.

She wraps up the week's events with this final post.

Stand Up, Stand Up, Stand Up and Fight!

Experience and a real call for enacting change from a person who has proven that he is able to deliver on it. John McCain may not have soaring rhetoric in his speeches, but last night, the soldier's acceptance address packed a powerful punch. No matter how you slice it or dice it, John McCain has a PROVEN record for calling for change and actually fighting for it in Washington -- something that is very rarely seen in the nation's capitol nowadays and something that he did even to the detriment of his standing in his own party.

McCain is a true soldier in more than one sense of the word, and in the crescendo of his speech, he called on all who were listening to "stand up, stand up, stand up, and fight!"

Commentators love to call it "red meat for the base," but it was more than that. I felt the energy in the Xcel Center, and viewers felt the energy in their living rooms. This warrior once again entrenched in a battle to save his country was now reaching out to his country to help him in the fight of his life.

In Defense of Palin

Part of the electricity in the arena last night was the common resolve to cheer for Governor Palin each time her name was mentioned. Considering the current state of this country and this political environment, I cannot think of a better running mate.

Much of the media's scrutiny of her experience is unwarranted. As former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich said: "None of them want to look at the fact that Governor Palin heads a state whose budget is $11 billion with 15,000 employees, while the Obama and Biden offices have $4.6 million budgets and about 60 employees." This leads me to my next segment: "must see TV."

"Must See" TV -- Convention Rewind

My boss, Newt Gingrich, proved once again why I am honored to work for him. Like it or not, he is a brilliant thinker, policy reformer, political analyst, and former professor, who has a gift for explaining the most complicated of situations. Tuesday night, Gingrich summed up this entire complex presidential race in one short interview on the convention floor. You simply MUST see this clip of his defense of Palin on MSNBC. (Watch it through to the very end!)

Continue reading "RNC Wrap-Up: 'Stand Up and Fight!'" »

Geoffrey Bennett

2:17 PM ET | 09- 5-2008 | permalink

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What Did You Think Of John McCain's RNC Speech?

Republican U.S presidential nominee John McCain speaks during day four of the RNC. / Credit: Win McNamee, Getty Images

The AP's David Bauder said John McCain's Republican National Convention address was "marred by some demonstrations, a technical glitch and a plodding delivery." Fox News said McCain "stressed his military service." A major paper in McCain's home state of Arizona said he "fired up his party." And CNN's Jeffrey Toobin said it was "the worst speech by a nominee that I've heard since Jimmy Carter in 1980."

What did you think of his speech? In case you missed it, watch it here.

Geoffrey Bennett

10:59 AM ET | 09- 5-2008 | permalink

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Code Pink vs. Republican Convention

Here's just a quick hit from tonight ... I am watching Senator McCain right now.

A couple of protestors from Code Pink just ripped off conservative-looking jackets to reveal pink shirts with lettered with what I presume were anti-war slogans, though I couldn't see them closely enough. Code Pink is a women's anti-war protest group that brought pink-clad women to the protest marches earlier this week.

Video screens showed that one of the women protestors pushed back against the security guards to try to get more time in the hall, but they quickly hustled her out.

By the way, the Writer's Guild of America East weighed in today on the issue of reporters being corralled, blocked, and occasionally arrested while trying to cover the protests at both conventions. It reads:

We believe that the arrests and harassment of working journalists by the police, local and federal officials at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions go against the nature of our democracy.

Journalists have not only the right, but the duty, to be present at important events and to keep the public informed. Whether they represent independent media or mainstream outlets, they are the eyes and ears of the people. They must be respected and allowed to work wherever a story takes them.

We decry the mass arrests, raids, and questionable tactics that the police have deployed against working journalists at these conventions. We call for the immediate release of all journalists, the dropping of charges against them, and an investigation into allegations of police misconduct.

We encourage you to visit the Free Press website, www.freepress.net, and sign on to their letter demanding that press intimidation be stopped and the charges dropped. The letter will go to St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, St. Paul City Attorney John Choi, and the Host Committee of the Republican National Convention. Make your voice heard.

Farai Chideya

9:59 PM ET | 09- 4-2008 | permalink

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Bitter, Black: Working the RNC Party

Bitter and Black. No, I'm not talking about big-chain coffee. I'm talking about the acrid tinge in the voice of of a man I met last night. He was one of exactly three black people at an Africa-aid group's party at the Republican Convention last night. He was serving food to a crowd of white, often wasted, and usually be-suited or party dressed conventioneers and hangers-on. The other two black people in the room were me and a female food server.

Okay, earlier in the night there was one other black person in the room ... a handsome, middle-aged gentleman who was a guest. He ran for the hills when the mediocre rock band started.

As we've said, the Republican Convention is over 90 percent white. (Being in the hall is kind of like reporting on the New Hampshire Primary or the Iowa Caucus.) The black Republicans in attendance have been making a valiant effort to hold their own events. Last night, I saw an African-American guy walking around the convention handing out flyers to every black person he could find.

I intentionally went to a non-black-specific event. As we said on our show last week, Denver became a mini Chocolate City for the Democratic convention. You didn't have to go to a specifically "black" event to see black people.

The party last night highlighted Africa aid and international relief, so I figured it would be an especially good test of how folks rolled. If you can't find black people at a party focusing on Africa, where will you at the RNC?

The party was at a big club in a party/strip club district in Minneapolis. The streets were filled with drunk people, mainly twenty-somethings, and a zillion-point-five riot police who had just battled it out with protestors.

Outside the door were event staffers, who were white; and local security guards, who were black men. Inside, all the bartenders were white but all the food servers were black or Latino. A acquaintance of mine once told me that one way she judged character was whether people looked their waiters or servers in the eye and treated them as people, instead of looking down at the menu and ordering or snatching food off trays. The crowd at this event was largely grab-n-go ... very little eye contact with the people who were helping to make their night a happy one.

So: I talked to the one black man left in the room, one of the men passing empanadas on a tray. I'd noticed earlier that he was wearing pink sponge earplugs, even though the music wasn't that loud. I struck up a conversation with him, told him a journalist and that I'd just come from Denver.

He looked at me with a mix of admiration and envy. "You witnessed history."

Then he pulled out one of his earplugs. "The only reason I'm wearing these things is so that if anyone tries to talk to me, I will say, "I can't hear you.'" His disdain for the crowd was palpable. Most of the crowd's inability to connect with the people serving them was palpable as well.

As I mentioned to the gentleman serving, the Republican Convention is history too. But obviously some people, including some LOCAL people, feel shut out of that moment.

Farai Chideya

8:16 PM ET | 09- 4-2008 | permalink

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RNC Day 3: 'We Deserve Better'

"Conventional Wisdom" brings you perspectives from both sides of the political aisle during this convention season. Author and Columbia University professor Farah Jasmine Griffin watched Alaska Governor Sarah Palin accept her party's nomination for the vice presidency -- and the media analysis that followed -- and offers the following response:

They like her; they really, really like her. The Republican faithful loved Sarah Palin.

The pundits seemed to love her, as well. All have proclaimed hers a "great speech." Great Speech? It was an entertaining performance. It may even rank as a "good speech." It was not a great speech. Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address," Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream", John F. Kennedy's "Inaugural Address", Mario Cuomo's 1984 DNC keynote, Barack Obama's race speech in Philadelphia and his address at the 2004 Democratic Convention -- these were great speeches. Their rhetoric sought to unify us around an expansive vision of our nation. The same cannot be said of Palin. It was long on one liners, sarcasm and snide, mean spirited remarks. And, it was full of half-truths.

She claimed Obama would raise the death tax, business taxes and "increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars." Barack Obama's tax policy would increase the income of middle-class Americans. The working poor would fare better under Obama's tax plan. He would increase taxes on those with income over $250,000. She said that Barack Obama had not authored a single major law or reform, "not even in the state Senate." The AP reports Obama "was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation." (Also see the Lugar-Obama bill on international nuclear disarmament.)

Palin and Giuliani (whose speech was much more effective) belittled community organizers as a way of questioning Obama's credentials. Community organizers empower ordinary citizens to stand up against things like police brutality, environmental racism and inadequate services. They seek to strengthen communities, particularly those underserved by government. Take one look at the incidents of police brutality under Giuliani's administration and his disdain for community organizers make sense. He was often the target of their organizing campaigns. I don't know if the same is true for Governor Palin. Obama worked for the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a large church-based community-organizing agency in Chicago. It was started as a branch of the Calumet Community Religious Conference (CCRC). One might expect the Republicans to applaud this kind of faith-based community involvement. They do not.

If Giuliani and Palin were misleading, Mitt Romney seemed to be living in an alternate universe: one where the last eight years in Washington have been dominated by liberals, where the Surpreme Court is made up of radical lefties and where he, a very wealthy former Governor of Massachusetts is not part of an Eastern elite!

I had hoped that we might experience a different kind of campaign under the leadership of Senator McCain. In selecting Governor Palin and encouraging the kind of spiteful, venomous rhetoric on display last night he has let the American people down. We deserve better. The Republican Party leadership claims to present us with something new. Instead they have presented us with a throwback to the old nasty, divisive politics of times past. They took a page out of Karl Rove's playbook. What's next? A Lee Atwater moment? Frightening. Truly frightening.

-- Farah Jasmine Griffin

Geoffrey Bennett

5:07 PM ET | 09- 4-2008 | permalink

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RNC Day 3: Gov. Palin An Answer to GOP Prayers

Guest blogger Princella Smith watched Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's vice presidential acceptance speech from the RNC floor. Smith's take on the speech? "Out of the park!"

Smith serves as Chief Advocate for the Platform of the American People at American Solutions, an organization founded by former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich.

One question: What does "Palin" mean in Inuit? My bet is: "Pit bull" LOL! Palin's pit bull reference in her speech and other zingers were enough to have people all over the Xcel Center on their feet. In case you missed them or in case you enjoyed them so much that you'd like them listed, I have decided to highlight some of her best acceptance speech quotes for you...

1. "I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull: lipstick!"

2. "Harry Reid -- the majority leader of the current do-nothing Senate -- he not long ago summed up his feelings about our nominee. He said, quote, 'I can't stand John McCain.' Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we've chosen the right man. Clearly, what the majority leader was driving at is that he can't stand up to John McCain."

3. "My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of personal discovery."

4. "And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they're always, quote, 'fighting for you,' let us face the matter squarely. There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you."

5. "I came to office promising major ethics reform to end the culture of self-dealing, and today that ethics reform is the law. While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the Governor's Office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for. That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay. I love to drive myself to work. And I thought we could muddle through without the governor's personal chef, although I got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her."

The much anticipated moment of Governor Palin's acceptance speech lived up to its hype. In four words: "Out of the park!" I was on the floor -- watching the delegates. There was new life in them. They were excited to support a ticket featuring a real, genuine conservative with a new face! It gave them a reason to cheer.

It gave them a reason to feel that they were part of making history, too, and that the historical situation doesn't belong solely to the Democrats. I have said more than once that what John McCain needed was someone to shore up his base -- not independents.

He has a very good reputation with independents because of his willingness to part with his party on issues of his personal conviction, and in a year where the GOP base was desperately searching for conservative, there has been tension between them and the candidate ever since.

Palin is seemingly an answer to McCain's and the GOP's prayers -- evangelicals, moderates, and all.

-- Princella Smith

Geoffrey Bennett

1:10 PM ET | 09- 4-2008 | permalink

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Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Headed to Jail

Rashaun Rucker, Detroit Free Press

Ending a nearly eight-month drama that has transfixed the area, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has pleaded guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice by committing perjury, agreeing to serve four months in jail, pay up to $1 million in restitution, and serve five years' probation. He also agreed not to run for political office during that five-year time span.

Kilpatrick told the court:

"I lied under oath in the case of Gary Brown and Harold Nelthrope versus the city of Detroit ... I did so with the intent to mislead the court and jury, to impede and obstruct the disposition of justice."

According to reports, Kilpatrick also shook hands with Christine Beatty -- his former chief of staff and ex-lover -- while First Lady Carlita Kilpatrick was in the courtroom. This is the first time she's been in the same room with Beatty since the scandal started in January.

Kilpatrick is also facing two felony charges for allegedly assaulting deputies trying to serve a subpoena last month at the home of his sister.

Geoffrey Gardner

12:28 PM ET | 09- 4-2008 | permalink

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Brazile to Lieberman: 'Payback's a B*tch'

Donna Brazile photographed in 2004.

Paul Richards, AFP/Getty Images

Independent Senator Joe Lieberman might want to watch his back. Democratic strategist and News & Notes contributor Donna Brazile is fuming over his RNC speech.

According to New York magazine's Web site:

Shortly after Lieberman addressed the RNC, we ran into Donna Brazile, Al Gore's presidential campaign manager, and asked her what she thought. "I was not impressed with his speech," she said. "I'm disappointed. I was the one who went to Al Gore and said 'Joe Lieberman.'" Does she feel betrayed? She paused and sighed, and said she wanted to save her thoughts for her Washington Post Roll Call column. "I've got to have it in my own words, because you don't know the history. It's personal. But you know what, dog?" she added, cryptically. "What goes around comes around. Payback's a bitch."

Geoffrey Bennett

12:06 PM ET | 09- 4-2008 | permalink

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What Did You Think Of Sarah Palin's Speech?

Republican vice presidential candidate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin speaks to the RNC. / Credit: Robyn Beck, Getty Images

The New York Times said Palin "electrified" the GOP with her RNC speech last night; the Wall Street Journal said it was "combative." And the AP said it stretched the truth. What did you think of her speech? In case you missed it, watch it here.

Geoffrey Bennett

10:46 AM ET | 09- 4-2008 | permalink

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McCain's Cameo

As Senator Obama did during Senator Joe Biden's speech, Senator McCain came out for a brief cameo at the end of Governor Palin's speech.

All he said was, "Don't you think we made the right choice for the next vice president of the United States. And what a beautiful family."

Exit, stage left.

Farai Chideya

11:11 PM ET | 09- 3-2008 | permalink

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Did the GOP Scoop Dems on Gender?

Tonight, as I peer down from the skybox NPR has in the Xcel Center, I see people ... lots of people.

It's been a thin crowd at the Republican Convention the past couple of days, but Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska brought the Republican faithful and visitors out in full force.

This place is not filled to the absolute rafters, but the crowd is three times as large as last night.

While the crowd cheered and gave a standing ovation, Governor Palin began with a series of hellos.

Then, she kicked into high gear with a speech that the crowd went wild for. Some excerpts:

Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown.

And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening ...

------

But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people ...

--------

While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for.

That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay.

Palin also made the point that "this is America, and every woman can walk through every door of opportunity."

She also dug into the energy issue saying:

Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines ... build more new-clear plants ... create jobs with clean coal ... and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources ...

------

What exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger ... take more of your money ... give you more orders from Washington ... and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy ... our opponent is against producing it.

Former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, earlier in the evening, led the crowd in a chant of "Drill Baby Drill." This is a clear dividing line between the parties ... as is the issue of treatment of "enemy combatants"... like the prisoners in Guantanamo.

BUT, looping back to the title of this post: Former New York Mayor Giuliani said during his speech of Palin, "How dare they question if Governor Palin has enough time to be with her children? ... When did they ever ask a man that question?"

Has the GOP scooped the Dems by selecting a woman on the ticket ... and using the rhetoric that many feminists have used for decades?

We'll find out more tomorrow in our discussion with, among others, Marie Wilson of the White House Project.

Making The Scene

A couple of observations about imaging and media:

SIGNAGE: When New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani set the stage for Governor Palin, the crowd whipped out "handmade" signs, the kind that look like they were lettered by an elementary school kid ... except there are DOZENS of the same identical signs, most reading "Palin Power."

Meanwhile: "I See Black People" (Thank you for the title, Kristal Brent Zook.)

Man oh man, do the cameras love the black folks. As we mentioned on our show, only 1.5 percent of convention delegates are black. But if you watch Fox and MSNBC (and possibly CNN but I can't see their feed from my perch) ... they have shown every black person in the hall twice. I saw Robert George, one of our contributors, and if I was further down they'd probably film me.

If you can't have diversity ... make it happen on screen. Of course, that is on the media's lap, not the Republicans'.

Farai Chideya

10:31 PM ET | 09- 3-2008 | permalink

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Peggy Noonan, Mike Murphy Caught Disparaging Palin

According to The Huffington Post, not everyone is happy with John McCain's choice for Vice President. In fact, former Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan and former John McCain adviser Mike Murphy were caught on camera disparaging the Sarah Palin pick as "gimmicky" and "political bulls**t".

Watch the video and see for yourself.

Related Links:
RNC Days 1-3: Getting Beyond the Palin Distraction
RNC Days 1-2: Palin's Not Perfect, But She's Real

Geoffrey Gardner

6:02 PM ET | 09- 3-2008 | permalink

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RNC Days 1-2: Palin's Not Perfect, But She's Real

Guest blogger Princella Smith is in her element at the Republican National Convention. Check out her recaps of day one and two at the RNC.

Smith serves as Chief Advocate for the Platform of the American People at American Solutions, an organization founded by former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich.

Republican National Convention: Day Two

Well, with the speaker scheduling being shuffled and moved around due to Gustav, there was speculation as to whether or not a speaker line-up could be effective and motivating on day two of the Republican National Convention.

I must say, that from my observations, Tuesday night was "warm-up" night for the Republicans. Many heroes were highlighted and tributes were paid to past Republican Presidents -- including George Herbert Walker Bush. When he and his wife Barbara walked in, there was a grand applause reception letting everyone know how much respect the former President and wife still have within the party.

Their daughter-in-law, First Lady Laura Bush, was enchanting as usual ... I think America will miss her, and I have a GREAT DEAL of respect for her. If you think about the grace she has had to exude while her husband takes a beating in the media and entertainment world each day, then you will too.

My view was from one of the press boxes overlooking the entire convention floor. It was quite a spectacle to see all of the Texans waving their cowboy hats back and forth as well as all of the "party faithfuls" in all of their patriotic gear, elephant hats, etc. with chants of "U-S-A, U-S-A!" Of all of the speakers, I'd have to say that Fred Thompson seemed to draw this reaction the most.

His "red meat" approach to defending Gov. Palin while celebrating McCain's record of executive military experience and resilience during his days as a POW, was something that needed to be touted amidst media attacks on Palin and the chaos of batting the swirling rumors about the little-known governor. Thompson's southern "matter-of-fact" style hit-home with crowd when he touted Palin as "the only candidate who can field dress a moose." Hahaha! It's the "tough-girl" look that Republicans love.

Continue reading "RNC Days 1-2: Palin's Not Perfect, But She's Real" »

Geoffrey Bennett

2:47 PM ET | 09- 3-2008 | permalink

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RNC Days 1-2: Getting Beyond the Palin Distraction

"Conventional Wisdom" brings you perspectives from both sides of the political aisle during this convention season. Author and Columbia University professor Farah Jasmine Griffin is monitoring the ongoings at the Republican National Convention and offers her thoughts on America's "temporary fascination with this attractive mystery woman," Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

I am at a disadvantage in writing about the Republican National Convention for a number of reasons. First, I am not in Minnesota. Second, I support Barack Obama for President. Third, I have to rely on television coverage for my access to the events of this convention.

It is easier to feel the excitement and the drama of an event when you are present and participating in it. However, I don't have to be there to sense the excitement generated by Senator McCain's pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for his running mate. The Republican base is excited, the press is burning with curiosity and much of the American public has a temporary fascination with this attractive mystery woman. After watching the first night of the convention -- the lack of diversity amongst its delegates and the somewhat boring presentations of the evening's speakers (including Joe Lieberman, who in spite of statements to the contrary, is NOT a Democrat) -- I, too, am looking forward to hearing from Gov. Palin.

Palin is fascinating: a former beauty queen and a member of the NRA who hunts moose, and has given birth to five children while running for and winning public office. She is pro-life, doesn't believe in sex education in public schools and advocates abstinence as a form of birth control for teenagers. However, I cannot help but agree with New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, that much about the Palin selection and its subsequent coverage by the media serve to distract us from important issues such as the economy and the war.

She also serves the useful purpose of separating Senator McCain from President Bush. The Democrats had persuasively connected the failed Bush administration with Senator McCain's presidential aspirations. Last night, both Bush and Palin were absent from the convention hall. In her absence, Palin was more of a presence than Bush. Although the President did address the convention, he did so from Washington, D.C. Are we really to believe he stayed away from the Twin Cities because of the demands of monitoring Hurricane Gustav?

But back to Palin. There are ways to talk about her that do not distract us from the issues. Clearly she was chosen to appeal to the right-wing base of the Republican Party. Clearly, she was also selected to appeal to disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters. Suppose there are some Hillary Clinton supporters who will support the McCain/Palin ticket. (I don't know any, but that says more about my social circle than it does about the diversity of women who were excited by Hillary.) Yet, the two politicians couldn't differ more. How could anyone who was happy with President Hillary Clinton find Governor Palin an attractive alternative? Perhaps those voters who sided with Hillary after Pennsylvania, after she drank shots and spoke nostalgically of hunting with her grandfather, perhaps those are the voters who are thrilled at the prospect of Sarah Palin.

In many ways, McCain's pick of Sarah Palin is very cynical but also very Republican (think Clarence Thomas) and, unfortunately, very American. We, the American people, often are willing to settle for symbols over political heft. However, Sarah Palin is not an empty symbol of emerging womanhood. She is an extremely conservative woman whose rise to power signifies the victory of Phyllis Schafly, who has emerged again in recent days. Remember Phyllis Schafly? She helped defeat the Equal Rights Amendment. She was against arms control. She's back.

When I say that current coverage on Sarah Palin is a distraction it isn't because I want to hear less about her; it's because I want to know more. This I know: she is against a woman's right to choose. She is pro-gun. She believes the Iraq War is part of God's plan. She is a creationist. She is against sex education in public schools. I would love more details on the following: Her stance on the current state of our economy? On global warming? On foreign policy? On health care? That's why I am really looking forward to those October debates between she and Senator Biden. That's also why I would love to see one between she and Senator Clinton as well!

-- Farah Jasmine Griffin

Geoffrey Bennett

11:10 AM ET | 09- 3-2008 | permalink

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A Hero and A (Self-Proclaimed) Democrat

We'll have more on tonight's events tomorrow, but a couple things of note.

Former Senator and presidential candidate Fred Thompson gave a moving re-telling of Senator John McCain's journey as a Vietnam prisoner of war. It framed his service movingly and compellingly. But/and as Thompson said, "Being a POW doesn't qualify anyone to be president, but it does reveal character."

The closing speech of the night came from a man who just eight years ago was on the Democratic ticket as the vice presidential nominee. Senator Joe Lieberman lost his last Democratic primary; but then came back to win his seat as an Independent. Nonetheless, the McCain supporter repeatedly referred to himself as a Democrat, which is technically not true.

Among Sen. Lieberman's words:

Of Sen. Obama: "Eloquence is no substitute for a record, not in these tough times in America." (He then went on to praise Gov. Palin, who others are criticizing for her lack of experience.)

He also made a direct appeal for Democrats and independents to vote for the McCain/Palin ticket.

Farai Chideya

10:54 PM ET | 09- 2-2008 | permalink

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Are You a Closet Republican?

Black Voices

Close your eyes and imagine a room full of Republicans.

Now, do any of them look remotely like you?

If you're like many black people, the answer is probably, "No, they don't look like me, and they don't think like me." But is it really true that they don't think like you? Do you actually know what positions Republicans are taking on the issues that matter to you?

You might be surprised to find that you could share some of the same views as card-carrying members of the GOP. To find out if you're a closet Republican (or at least, not totally Democrat), take this Black Voices quiz.

Geoffrey Gardner

5:51 PM ET | 09- 2-2008 | permalink

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Pepper Spray and Party Dresses: GOP Monday

Here are a few quick hits from Monday's convention and a look forward.

First -- the look forward. The convention appears to be back on track, with President Bush videoconferencing in and Senator Joe Lieberman (ex-Democrat, now McCain-supporting independent) speaking, among others.

I'll also be continuing my service on NPR's nightly election special, as well as reporting for News & Notes.

Okay, the look back ... several stories:

1) The Palin Family

Governor Palin has hired an attorney to represent her against charges that she acted improperly in the firing of a state official. The UPI article reads:

An Alaskan law firm confirms it is representing Gov. Sarah Palin in a probe into the firing of the state's top public safety official.

Walt Monegan was fired in July as Public Safety Commissioner. Palin has said neither she nor anyone in her administration pressured Monegan to fire Trooper Michael Wooten, her ex-bother-in-law. Monegan told The Washington Post Palin repeatedly talked with him about Wooten after Monegan was named commissioner in December 2006.

Monegan said the governor's husband, Todd Palin, gave him information about Wooten, who engaged in a child-custody battle with Palin's sister. Monegan also said Gov. Palin sent him e-mails on the matter.

Rumors still abound (and I will not go into the radically unconfirmed "evidence") that Trig, Governor Palin's youngest son, is actually her daughter's son.

However, quite amusingly, the New York Post was able to access the now-hidden MySpace page of the man reported to be Bristol Palin's baby's father. The article describes his site, saying:

On his MySpace page, Johnston boasts, "I'm a f - - -in' redneck" who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes.

"But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s- - - and just f - - -in' chillin' I guess."

"Ya f - - - with me I'll kick [your] ass," he added.

He also claims to be "in a relationship," but states, "I don't want kids."

Farai Chideya, NPR

2) Protests and Pepper Spray

A large anti-war protest snaked from the Capitol to the streets, and because one of the protestors broke ranks, the police pepper sprayed the crowd. Among the people rubbing their eyes were an NPR employee, plus, according to Salon.com, Donna Brazile.

The Salon opinion piece notes the arrest of broadcaster Amy Goodman of Democracy Now:

The Washington Post has a few more details on the arrest of Goodman and the two Democracy Now producers. In addition to them, a photographer for Associated Press was also arrested today while covering the protests (h/t Edward Champion). An AP spokesman said of the arrest: "covering news is constitutionally protected, and photographers should not be detained for covering breaking news." Democratic strategist and CNN commentator Donna Brazile was hit by pepper spray on her way into the Xcel Center.

Farai Chideya, NPR

I got a couple of photographs from my perch in the Minnesota Public Broadcasting Building.

3) I also got a couple fuzzy shots of the First Lady and Cindy McCain as they addressed a two-thirds empty hall. Their visit was a surprise, since so very few non-delegates showed up. They stayed off politics per se and spoke about disaster relief, giving some Web addresses and phone numbers for donations.

Getty Images

I must rave -- and I know some people will feel this is fluffy -- over Cindy McCain's dress. This picture does not begin to do it justice ... it was the fabric and color that made it zing.

Farai Chideya

1:34 PM ET | 09- 2-2008 | permalink

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RNC Has Fewest Black Delegates In 40 Years

First Lady Laura Bush addresses the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. Credit: Stan Honda, Getty Images

Filmmaker Spike Lee, while being interviewed by CNN's Soledad O'Brien at the DNC last week, challenged the cable network to compare the racial make-up of those assembled at both conventions. The Republican National Convention, Lee implied, would be largely white.

According to a report published on EURWeb, the number of black delegates at the RNC is at its lowest in decades:

In fact, the 2008 GOP event has the lowest number of African American delegates since 1968, according to a convention guide released to delegates this week by the nonpartisan research institution, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

After seating a record number of African American delegates in 2004 (6.7 percent), blacks comprise only 1.5 percent of the total number of GOP delegates this year, according to the Joint Center, which focuses on minority issues. The 36 black delegates in 2008 represent a 78.4 percent decline from the 167 black delegates at the 2004 GOP convention.

According to the Hudson Valley Press, the Joint Center's guide recognized McCain's efforts to reach black voters, but concluded: "John McCain is very likely to receive a historically low share of the black vote."

Read the full report. Below are a few more GOP-related headlines and op-eds. Share your thoughts.

McCain: 'Ludicrous' to Say Palin Has Less Experience
McCain Turns Sour on His Onetime Media 'Base' as Election Nears
McCain Campaign Sends Operatives, Lawyers To Alaska
Stephanopoulos: Questions Republicans Are Asking About Palin
Op-Ed: A Woman -- But Why This Woman?
Sally Quinn: Palin's Pregnancy Problem

Geoffrey Bennett

11:07 AM ET | 09- 2-2008 | permalink

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Have You Been Affected By Hurricane Gustav?

Hurricane Gustav, although still powerful, was downgraded to a Category 2 storm as it began to hit the Gulf Coast.

Mario Tama, Getty Images

If you live in the Gulf Coast region and have a firsthand story related to the impact of Hurricane Gustav, we want to hear your story. Have you relocated? Or maybe you've taken in family members.

We may contact you to be on an upcoming show. Please leave an accurate e-mail address (which will not be made public.)

Geoffrey Bennett

3:48 PM ET | 09- 1-2008 | permalink

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An Opportunity To Teach the Panderers A Lesson

Our online series, "Speak Your Mind," gives you a chance to sound off on the issues you care about.

News & Views reader James Swain of Miami, Fla., offers this latest installment, titled, "Hard Working Americans Need to Get to Know Each Other Better."

"This election presents an unprecedented opportunity for Americans to teach the panderers a lesson," he writes.

Read and respond.

Courtesy James Swain

During the Democratic primary campaign, Hillary Clinton asserted a superior ability over her Democratic rival, Barack Obama, to reach "hard working Americans ... white Americans." This mini-debate really bugged me and, now that the primary is over, it still looms large over the coming election. So I wanted to share these thoughts with you.

Her statement, and the dust devils of opinion and comment that followed, foreshadow what we are likely to see over the next eight weeks. Even now, the political party machines, their surrogates and handmaidens have made it plain that they see and intend to recast voters, the American people, as demographic interest groups with differences to be exploited.

We can expect appeals to the worst in all of us as the pandering and fear mongering begin. We can look forward to voters being characterized as "working class white" and "working class black" and "male" and "female" and "young" and "old" and "rural" and "urban" and "suburban" and "native born" and "immigrant" and on and on. The idea being that we are one or the other, and that we are either with one demographic or against another. The politicians and 'talking- heads' who would divide Americans into these manufactured camps, should be ashamed of themselves.

This election presents an unprecedented opportunity for Americans to teach the panderers a lesson.

Continue reading "An Opportunity To Teach the Panderers A Lesson" »

Geoffrey Bennett

2:58 PM ET | 09- 1-2008 | permalink

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What If There Was A Pregnant Obama Teen?

"Governor Palin's daughter is now officially the Jamie-Lynn Spears of politics."

Michael Buckner, Getty Images

NOLA's LEVEES & GUSTAV:
The video is too familiar ... water sloshing/slopping/blowing over the walls of the industrial canal levee in New Orleans. Now, Katrina flooded New Orleans only after the levees actually broke. But to see that water, even smaller amounts of the water, coming into the city ... it's quite dramatic, and depressing.

Hurricane Gustav has turned out to be a lot milder than predicted, but that doesn't mean it's not dangerous. Most residents have fled; but network and cable reporters have left the convention and flowed into the city.

========

GOP CONVENTION UPDATE:

Meanwhile, the Republican National Convention planners held a phone press briefing for reporters.

Among the news:

-- On Wednesday and Thursday, the GOP plans to assemble emergency relief goods for distribution to those affected ... and do it in Minneapolis. I guess there's a bunch of extra hands, but does it really make sense to assemble care packages in Minneapolis, if you then have to ship them all the way to Louisiana and the Gulf?

-- The convention is running something inside the Xcel Center called the Affected States Information Center so that people from the Gulf states can go inside and get real-time information on how the storm is shaping up and make any requests.

-- Today (Monday), the convention will be scaled back to official business AND a brief visit from First Lady Laura Bush; and also from Cindy McCain, the Senator's wife. Vice presidential nominee Gov. Palin is also in town, while Senator McCain monitors the situation from other states including Missouri and Ohio.

-- Officials say McCain will accept the nomination as planned in St. Paul. But that may be the only thing that remains as planned.

========

PALIN'S BABY'S BABY / WHAT IF ... SHE WERE BLACK???

Some blogs and news orgs were circulating a rumor that Governor Palin's youngest baby was actually her daughter's baby.

Today, the Palin' refuted that: Governor Palin's youngest child could not POSSIBLY be her daughter's child ... because her 17-year-old daughter is just NOW several months pregnant.

An article in the UK's Independent reads:

Bristol Palin, one of Palin's five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Governor Palin's daughter is now officially the Jamie-Lynn Spears of politics. Her parents released a statement saying:

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.

Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

Also: all the way back in April, some journos were questioning why Governor Palin chose to fly for several hours while she was in labor; and some medical experts asked if it was safe. From an April piece in the Fairbanks, Alaska, paper the NewsMiner:

Gov. Sarah Palin's decision to make the eight-hour flight from Dallas to Anchorage has some people wondering about the possible safety hazards of flying while in the late stages of pregnancy.

The governor, eight months into her pregnancy, noticed amniotic fluid Thursday morning prior to giving a keynote luncheon address at the Republican Governor's Energy Conference in Texas. After wrapping up the speech, Palin and her husband consulted with her physician about possibly flying home on an earlier flight. After being granted permission from her doctor, she and her husband proceeded with the trek home......

The governor did not feel the need to inform the airline of her condition, Leighow said....

Palin's flight landed at 10:30 p.m. Thursday. She and her husband drove to the Mat-Su Valley Regional Medical Center, and she checked in with her doctor an hour later.

Trig Paxson Van Palin was born seven hours later.

The governor's long flight home to have her baby, combined with the fact that she only made her pregnancy public in the third trimester, has fueled the rumors that her fifth child was actually her grandchild. Meanwhile, the Obama campaign has said that any staffer who says ANYTHING about these rumors will immediately be fired.

So, a few questions for you: What if Senator Obama's kids were older and one of them got pregnant? How would the nation react? How would the senator react? (After all Obama has been saying about responsible fatherhood, I suspect the teen babydaddy would be locked in the White House basement with a bowl of gruel and water.)

What is your reaction to the Palin news? How do you think the story would play if it were an (older, hypothetically) pregnant Obama child?

Farai Chideya

11:38 AM ET | 09- 1-2008 | permalink

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