HBCUs Suggested To Merge With Majority Schools

Should historically black colleges merge with white-majority schools to save money?

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The state of Georgia is looking to cut costs by up to 10 percent, and some lawmakers are suggesting that historically black colleges should merge with their white-majority neighbors to save money.

Under the plan, historically black Savannah State University would be merged with Armstrong Atlantic University in Savannah, and historically black Albany State would be merged with Darton College in Albany. The institutions were formed during a time when education in Georgia was segregated.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has more:

Any decision to merge the schools would have to be made by the University System's Board of Regents. The system receives about $2.3 billion in annual state funding, but the governing body makes decisions about the system's 35 schools.

System Chancellor Erroll Davis said merging historically black colleges is more than an economic issue because the schools have a long history of providing education to African-Americans in Georgia. The idea would probably face strong opposition from supporters of historically black colleges nationally.

Do you support these cost-saving measures, or do you feel there is still a need in the African-American community for historically black colleges?

Geoffrey Gardner

12:41 PM ET | 12- 2-2008 | permalink

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Obama Names Clinton In National Security Team Rollout

President-elect Barack Obama, left, stands with his choice to be secretary of state, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, at a news conference in Chicago today.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP Photo

Following weeks of speculation, President-elect Barack Obama nominated one-time Democratic rival Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State.

Here's more from NPR's Linton Weeks:

President-elect Barack Obama introduced Sen. Hillary Clinton, his archrival in the 2008 Democratic presidential race, as his secretary of state on Monday.

"I have known Hillary Clinton as a friend, a colleague, a source of counsel, and as a campaign opponent. She possesses an extraordinary intelligence and toughness, and a remarkable work ethic," said Obama, speaking at a news conference in Chicago where he has been managing his transition. "Hillary's appointment is a sign to friend and foe of the seriousness of my commitment to renew American diplomacy and restore our alliances."

In introducing his national security team, Obama said he will keep Robert Gates as secretary of defense. "I will be giving Secretary Gates and our military a new mission as soon as I take office: responsibly ending the war in Iraq through a successful transition to Iraqi control," Obama said.

... The president-elect also formally nominated Eric Holder as attorney general, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Susan Rice as ambassador to the United Nations. Obama named retired Gen. Jim Jones as his national security adviser.

By choosing Clinton as his secretary of state, Obama may be solving several problems. Because of her long, variegated political experience, Clinton is one of the most qualified people for the prestigious position.

Rice and Holder would be the first African Americans to hold those respective positions.

What do you think of Obama's chosen war Cabinet? What does this selection of prominent names say about the President-elect and how he will govern?

Geoffrey Bennett

1:20 PM ET | 12- 1-2008 | permalink

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Researchers Discover Lost Slave Ship

A marine archaeologist compares the hull remains of known shipwrecks off East Caicos.

REUTERS/NOAA

For the first time, remains of a wrecked slave ship have been uncovered. Marine archaeologists located the ship off the Turks and Caicos Islands, where it sank in 1841. This accident set free the ancestors of many current residents of those islands, as 192 Africans survived the sinking of the Spanish ship Trouvadore.

Over the years the ship had been forgotten, said researcher Don Keith, so when the discovery connected the ship to current residents the first response "was a kind of shock, a lack of comprehension," he explained in a briefing organized by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

But after word got out "people really got on board with it," he said, and the local museum has assisted the researchers. He said this is the only known wreck of a ship engaged in the illegal slave trade.

When the Trouvadore sank, the importation of slaves had been internationally banned but still flourished via pirate ships and illegal slavers that eluded British and U.S. naval forces in the region. The ship's 20 crewmen were arrested and sent in chains to Cuba for trial on what was a hanging offense, though their fate is not known.

About 20 of the African passengers were resettled in Nassau in the Bahamas. The rest were apprenticed to work in the salt ponds in the Turks and Caicos for a year in order to pay for their rescue, and then freed.

The artifact salesman noted in his letter nearly four decades after the shipwreck that "their descendants form ... the pith of our present laboring population."

Have you ever tried tracing your roots? If so, please share your own "discovery" stories with us below.

Geoffrey Gardner

11:40 AM ET | 12- 1-2008 | permalink

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After Black Friday, It's Cyber Monday!

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Happy Cyber Monday! It's the unofficial start of the online shopping season.

Black Friday wasn't a total disaster for retailers, as some had worried.

Your e-mail inbox has no doubt been inundated today with offers ranging from free shipping to steep discounts.

If you are still looking for some of the best deals, check out CyberMonday.com and these tech deals from PC World.

And if you hear of other good offers, leave a comment below.

Geoffrey Bennett

11:38 AM ET | 12- 1-2008 | permalink

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Eric Holder Tells Us How Obama Would Handle Gitmo And More

Former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder is President-elect Barack Obama's top choice to be the next attorney general.

Susan Walsh, Associated Press

Amid the news that President-elect Obama has decided to nominate Eric Holder as attorney general, let's take a look back at Farai Chideya's interview with Holder, as he talks about some of the issues facing the nation's next top law enforcement official.

Holder on the future of Guantanamo Bay:

"Well, I think the utility of Guantanamo has long since passed. It is a place now that has given, I think, this nation a black eye around the world. It has an impact on our ability to interact with our allies. It certainly gives fuel to our adversaries, who would say that we are a nation that is not governed by law. And so I think the need for it to be closed and to come up with alternatives is pretty clear."

On overhauling the Justice Department:

"When you look at the other issues that I think the next president is going to have to deal with, chief among them is going to be trying to revitalize and remake a Justice Department that has been really sullied in the last four, eight years or so by people who tried to politicize. And I want to make very clear, I am excluding the present Attorney General [Michael Mukasey], who I think is doing a good job, as well the people who served as Deputy Attorneys General, who I also think have done a good job. But other people at the Justice Department have not necessarily done what has always happened under Republican and Democratic administrations, where the Department has essentially been seen as something not political, and really kind of left to its own. That was not the case in this past administration."

On investigating corporate malfeasance:

"Well, I think some really intense, vigorous investigation needs to be done to see if any laws were broken. We're facing the greatest economic calamity since the Great Depression and to the extent people have done anything -- either by fraud, conspiracy or broken any federal laws -- I think that needs to be uncovered, and people need to be held accountable. The United States taxpayers are going to be paying substantial amounts of money for a good many years in order to make this thing better and to prevent this thing from getting worse. And to the extent that people have profited illegally, or done things illegally, they need to be found out and they need to be prosecuted. And I think that should be a priority for the next Attorney General."

Read the rest. If confirmed, Holder would be the country's first African-American attorney general.

Geoffrey Bennett

5:51 PM ET | 11-18-2008 | permalink

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Stoning Death In Somalia

Tomorrow, we're going to look at Somalia on Africa Update ...

The nation is dealing with pirates (yes, pirates, who just hijacked a tanker full of $100 million in crude oil), possible links to al Qaeda, and the aftermath of a horrific stoning death.

As an article in the Sunday Herald summed things up:

ASHA had been raped by three men. The 13-year-old girl from the Somali port city of Kismayo was taken to the police station by her aunt to report the crime. Asha was the one who was arrested. After being held for three days and tried in secret by an Islamic court, Asha was sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery.

Kismayo's rulers encouraged people to come to the football stadium to watch the execution. A lorry load of stones was laid out. Asha, dragged kicking and screaming into the stadium, was buried in the ground. With around 1000 people watching, 50 men stepped forward and started hurling the stones at Asha's head. After a few moments, the stoning was stopped.

Two nurses were asked to step forward and check if she was still alive. She was, they said, so the stoning continued. Somalia has witnessed some brutal scenes in recent years. Ethiopian forces have been accused of assassinating civilians, firing indiscriminately at market crowds, and bombing residential areas. Somali government forces have deliberately killed journalists and human rights workers. All of the armed groups in Somalia have blood on their hands. But Asha's killing has served to highlight the growing power of a hardline Islamist group which analysts believe has links - or wants to have links - with al Qaeda.

The infamous "Black Hawk Down" incident happened in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993. (Here's a link to multimedia packages including the original, incredible, Philadelphia Inquirer series on the story.)

With that kind of history and rancor, will the U.S. be able to intervene successfully in Somalia even if it wants to? And with this economy, plus the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will Somalia even rank on the list of U.S. priorities?

We'll take a look tomorrow at Somalia from a foreign policy perspective ... and a human rights one as well.

Farai Chideya

4:46 PM ET | 11-17-2008 | permalink

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It's The Costliest War You Never Heard Of

That's what BlackPressInternational.com calls the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We covered it in last week's Africa Update, and we'll have more tomorrow.

Here's more from the report:

As many as five million people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A quarter million have perished in Darfur, western Sudan. Both are abominations, but only Darfur rates coverage in American media and subsequent concern by the public action. Genocide has been occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been occurring for years, and it's time concerned people asked "why has out attention been directed elsewhere?"

The DRC war is the widest interstate war in modern African history, yet western media has ignored the brutal conflicts to decry regime-change targets in Sudan and Zimbabwe. Formerly called Zaire, the DRC is the third largest country in Africa. Located in Central Africa, the Congo's eastern area hosts the world's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Quiet as kept, the DRC conflicts involve numerous foreign players, some within the immediate region, and some from Western and Asian capitals. Yet, it is unheard of among most Americans that rely on establishment-oriented forces to shape their perspectives. The DRC conflicts illustrate how the mainstream media skews information it presents us on Africa are skewed. Our perspectives on who is who and what is what among Africa are based on selective agendas of media, governments, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and lobby groups. One or two of scores of ongoing conflicts throughout the world are 'chosen' to be the subject of intense scrutiny and selective indignation -- very rarely on the basis of scale or the level of humanitarian emergency.

Read the rest. Five million people dead in the Congo, according to the report. What do you think it will take for stories of this magnitude coming from the continent to register on Western media's radar?

Geoffrey Bennett

1:00 PM ET | 11-17-2008 | permalink

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Marrow Transplant May Hold AIDS Cure

German hematologist Gero Huetter speaks during a news conference about a successful treatment of an HIV-infected patient.

Michael Sohn, AP Photo

An American man who suffered from AIDS appears to have been cured of the disease 20 months after receiving a targeted bone marrow transplant normally used to fight leukemia, his doctors said.

While researchers and doctors caution that the case might just be a fluke, others say it may inspire more interest in gene therapy to fight the deadly disease, which claims two million lives each year.

Black Voices has more on this discovery:

Dr. Gero Huetter said his 42-year-old patient, an American living in Berlin who was not identified, had been infected with the AIDS virus for more than a decade. Huetter's patient was under treatment for both AIDS and leukemia, which developed unrelated to HIV.

As Huetter -- who is a hematologist, not an HIV specialist -- prepared to treat the patient's leukemia with a bone marrow transplant, he recalled that some people carry a genetic mutation that seems to make them resistant to HIV infection. If the mutation, called Delta 32, is inherited from both parents, it prevents HIV from attaching itself to cells by blocking CCR5, a receptor that acts as a kind of gateway.

"I read it in 1996, coincidentally," Huetter told reporters at the medical school. "I remembered it and thought it might work."

Before the transplant, the patient endured powerful drugs and radiation to kill off his own infected bone marrow cells and disable his immune system -- a treatment fatal to between 20 and 30 percent of recipients.

He was also taken off the potent drugs used to treat his AIDS. Huetter's team feared that the drugs might interfere with the new marrow cells' survival. They risked lowering his defenses in the hopes that the new, mutated cells would reject the virus on their own.

"It helps prove the concept that if somehow you can block the expression of CCR5, maybe by gene therapy, you might be able to inhibit the ability of the virus to replicate," Fauci said.

Even for the patient in Berlin, the lack of a clear understanding of exactly why his AIDS has disappeared means his future is far from certain.

"The virus is wily," Huetter said. "There could always be a resurgence."

If this does indeed prove true, will it come quicker to those with access? Africa is inundated with AIDS cases, but would they be last in line to get "the cure," due to a lack of resources?

Geoffrey Gardner

1:18 PM ET | 11-14-2008 | permalink

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King Family Seeks Money From Sales Of MLK-Obama Merchandise

These unlicensed T-shirts are currently being sold on eBay.

eBay

The family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. has a long tradition of protecting the image and peaceful message of Dr. King. Now that Barack Obama has been elected the first black president, it makes sense that artists and vendors would combine the two iconic figures in a symbolic way. What has the King family upset is that they often don't see a dime of the profits that result from using MLK Jr.'s likeness.

According to an AP report:

Isaac Newton Farris Jr., King's nephew and head of the nonprofit King Center in Atlanta, said the estate is entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees - maybe even millions.

"Some of this is probably putting food on people's plates. We're not trying to stop anybody from legitimately supporting themselves," he said, "but we cannot allow our brand to be abused."

But while Obama's election as the first black president may be the fulfillment of King's dream and could yield a big windfall for his estate, policing his image and actually collecting any fees could prove to be a legal nightmare because of the great proliferation of unauthorized King-Obama paraphernalia, much of it sold by street vendors.

Any proceeds from King-Obama merchandise would also go to the King Center.

What do you think? Should the vendors pay up? And should the family profit from the use of King's image?

Geoffrey Gardner

6:15 PM ET | 11-13-2008 | permalink

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The Internet As An Election Game Changer?

The Drudge Report, which examines political fare, is among the most visited sites on the Internet.

Getty Images

The two-way dialogue that Barack Obama's campaign opened up with eligible voters made a difference this election, according to an article at RealClearPolitics.

We all remember the way Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign levied the Internet, albeit briefly, to gain a wave of enthusiastic supporters. President-elect Obama took that strategy and ran away with it.

As Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi said of the Obama campaign's online work: "They were Apollo 11, and we were the Wright Brothers."

This year, the Internet was a force for both recruiting and organizing volunteers and for real-time distribution of political messaging directly to millions of voters. Both campaigns relentlessly used their own Web sites to post videos of campaign appearances and policy addresses, share campaign ads, solicit donations, and roll out policy papers. The Internet became their town center.

For most voters, the Internet has replaced the campaign rally. The Pew Foundation reports that 39 percent of voters have watched a campaign video online; and the Internet is where five million turned for replays of the President-elect's 37-minute race relations speech last March. Until this year, Americans would have been restricted to a 90-second sound bite of that speech on the nightly news. What we have is a new business model for politics in the Internet era.

And, this collaboration between old and new media multiplies the power of both. Among the campaign's most damaging moments was Sara Palin's fumbling interview with Katie Couric on CBS Nightly News. The impact was heightened by voters who watched the video online and shipped it to friends with an e-mail.

With all the advantages of this digital technology comes a price to pay. Newsweek recently reported that hackers had compromised the campaign computer systems of both Barack Obama and John McCain.

In midsummer, the Obama campaign's computers were attacked by a virus. The campaign's tech experts spotted it and took standard precautions, such as putting in a firewall.

The next day, the Obama headquarters had two visitors: from the FBI and the Secret Service. "You have a problem way bigger than what you understand," said an FBI agent. "You have been compromised, and a serious amount of files have been loaded off your system."

The security firm retained by the Obama campaign was finally able to remove the virus. The Obama team was told that its system had been hacked by a "foreign entity." The official would not say which "foreign entity," but indicated that U.S. intelligence believed that both campaigns had been the target of political espionage by some country--or foreign organization--that wanted to look at the evolution of the Obama and McCain camps on policy issues, information that might be useful in any negotiations with a future Obama or McCain administration. There was no suggestion that terrorists were involved; technical experts hired by the Obama campaign speculated that the hackers were Russian or Chinese.

What was your on-line experience like during Election 2008? Do you follow Barack Obama on Twitter? Are you Facebook friends with Ron Paul? Honestly, how many times did you watch Tina Fey's impersonation of Sarah Palin on Hulu? Leave us a comment below!

And just for fun, here's a look back at Bill Clinton and Bob Dole's innocent-looking 1996 campaign Web sites. Maybe those Russian hackers will enjoy Elizabeth Dole's cookie recipe.

Geoffrey Gardner

5:51 PM ET | 11-11-2008 | permalink

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The Obamas Meet The Bushes

Credit: Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images

From the Associated Press: President-elect Obama and President Bush gathered today for their first face-to-face meeting, an Oval Office session that comes during a historic shifting of power to a new administration. Read the rest.

Geoffrey Bennett

2:26 PM ET | 11-10-2008 | permalink

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Looking For A Job In An Obama White House?

Looking for a job in the new Obama administration? It turns out that the "Jobs" tab on the new transition Web site change.gov might be more legit than first thought.

According to an internal staff e-mail, intercepted by Politico.com, Obama advisors Tony Lake and Susan Rice are encouraging campaign staff to re-apply for White House positions on change.gov -- just like everyone else (emphasis ours below):

The transition operation will be brief and comparatively lean. Given the need to complete this work expeditiously and efficiently, please understand that only a limited number of people will be able to support those activities. But, please also be assured that participation in the transition is in no way a prerequisite to, nor an assurance of, being offered any position in the Obama-Biden administration.

For those of you interested in applying for a position in the future administration, a transition website has been set up where you can (and, in fact, must) apply by filling out a form and submitting your resume. It is: www.change.gov. We hope very much that you will apply. You should follow the instructions to indicate your interest in being considered for a position in the government. This is a real website, which will be used to fill important positions in the government below the cabinet level. There will be no other channel through which applications will be accepted. Please also feel free to copy Mona Sutphen who will be tracking your applications at: REDACTED, with any resumes and materials you submit in the official channel.

Do you plan to apply?

Geoffrey Bennett

11:17 AM ET | 11-10-2008 | permalink

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Physicist Reveals His Secret Time Machine Project

Dr. Ronald Mallett has been working on a time machine since he was 10.

John Nikolai, Boston Phoenix

Dr. Ronald L. Mallett, a tenured theoretical physicist at the University of Connecticut, has been holding on to a big secret for most of his life. Only the 79th African American to receive a doctorate degree in physics, Dr. Mallett spends his days lecturing and writing about subjects well within the normal scope of science. Yet, when he gets home every night, he turns his considerable intellect towards building his lifelong pet project: a functioning time machine.

Mallet's father passed away suddenly when he was a child, and for some reason he latched on to the idea of inventing a time machine so he could go back and warn his father about the dangers of smoking (a factor in his death).

The "overwhelming shock" of his father's death caused Mallett, now 63, to "just disconnect from reality," he says. So when, at age 10, he started building a jury-rigged jalopy, based on the gyroscopic contraption on the cover of the Classics Illustrated version of H.G. Wells's The Time Machine, it might have seemed as if he had gone over the edge.

But the next decades only saw Mallett's focus on his mission intensify with laser-like precision. He devoured every book on Einstein he could find. He boned up on differential equations and tensor calculus. And by 1973, at Penn State, he'd earned his Ph.D. Moved by the intensely personal nature of his quest, Spike Lee announced this past summer that he's currently writing a screenplay for a movie -- which he'll direct -- based on Mallett's book, Time Traveler.

So, did Mallett actually build his time machine? Not exactly, but the unique theories that he has developed over the years have brought the concept of time travel closer to reality -- and we think his father would be plenty proud of that.

More on Dr. Mallett's fascinating story can be read at The Boston Phoenix.

Geoffrey Gardner

11:48 AM ET | 11- 7-2008 | permalink

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Black, Latino Voters Reponsible For Gay Marriage Bans?

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As many African Americans celebrated progress with the election of the nation's first black president, gays and lesbians saw setbacks, as bans passed on same-sex marriage measures in three states.

Here's more from the New York Times:

A giant rainbow-colored flag in the gay-friendly Castro neighborhood of San Francisco was flying at half-staff on Wednesday as social and religious conservatives celebrated the passage of measures that ban same-sex marriage in California, Florida and Arizona.

In California, where same-sex marriage had been performed since June, the ban had more than 52 percent of the vote, according to figures by the secretary of state, and was projected to win by several Californian news media outlets. Opponents of same-sex marriage won by even bigger margins in Arizona and Florida. Just two years ago, Arizona rejected a similar ban.

The across-the-board sweep, coupled with passage of a measure in Arkansas intended to bar gay men and lesbians from adopting children, was a stunning victory for religious conservatives, who had little else to celebrate on an Election Day that saw Senator John McCain lose and other ballot measures, like efforts to restrict abortion in South Dakota, California and Colorado, rejected.

... The losses devastated supporters of same-sex marriage and ignited a debate about whether the movement to expand the rights of same-sex couples had hit a cultural brick wall, even at a time of another civil rights success, the election of a black president.

... Frank Schubert, the campaign manager for Protect Marriage, the leading group behind Proposition 8, agreed that minority votes had put the measure over the top, saying that a strategy of working with conservative black pastors and community leaders had paid off.

Early exit polls may back up Schubert's anecdotal evidence. The L.A. Times reports that whites largely opposed the measure, blacks supported it, and Latinos were divided.

What do you think? And what does it mean for the future of coalition politics?

Flashback: Gay Rights Vs. Civil Rights In Same-Sex Marriage Debate

Geoffrey Bennett

12:44 PM ET | 11- 6-2008 | permalink

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Report: Palin Didn't Know Africa Is A Continent

Talk about adding insult to injury.

A day after Sen. John McCain and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin lost their White House bid, Fox News is reporting -- in detail -- the governor's alleged "knowledge gaps" which concerned many McCain aides.

Among the problems -- according to Fox News chief political correspondent Carl Cameron -- she "didn't understand that Africa was a continent, rather than a series, a country just in itself."

Watch for yourself:

Related: Strains Between McCain and Palin Aides Go Public

Geoffrey Bennett

12:00 PM ET | 11- 6-2008 | permalink

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Should We Forgive Jesse Jackson?

Credit: Joe Raedle, Getty Images

With tears streaming down his face, Jesse Jackson stood among the crowd of thousands who watched Sen. Barack Obama address the nation after winning the presidency last night.

But few can forget the words Jackson uttered just months ago, using a pejorative phrase in reference to Sen. Obama, for what Jackson saw as the senator "talking down" to black audiences. At the time, your reaction on our blog was overwhelmingly negative.

Jackson is popping up all over TV today, sharing his reaction to Obama's win and, in some cases, having to explain away (again) his incendiary words.

So ... should bygones be bygones?

Flashback:
Jesse Jackson Uses N-Word on Fox News Tape
Jesse Jackson: 'The Message Remains The Same'

Geoffrey Bennett

12:38 PM ET | 11- 5-2008 | permalink

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Congratulations, President-Elect Obama!

Credit: Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Geoffrey Bennett

11:42 PM ET | 11- 4-2008 | permalink

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Obama Holds Strong Lead In Electoral Votes

Sen. Barack Obama has put the key states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico in his column, as the path to victory becomes more difficult for Sen. John McCain.

Our next videoblog is coming up soon, but in the meantime, share your thoughts about the latest returns.

Geoffrey Bennett

10:03 PM ET | 11- 4-2008 | permalink

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Barack Obama's Grandmother Dies

Barack Obama with his grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, during his high school graduation in 1979.

Obama Presidential Campaign / AP

Sen. Barack Obama today said Madelyn Dunham -- his grandmother who helped raise him -- died after a battle with cancer. She was 86.

Late last month, Obama took time off the campaign trail to visit her in Hawaii.

Below is a statement from Obama and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng:

It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer. She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances. She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Our debt to her is beyond measure.

Our family wants to thank all of those who sent flowers, cards, well-wishes, and prayers during this difficult time. It brought our grandmother and us great comfort. Our grandmother was a private woman, and we will respect her wish for a small private ceremony to be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation to any worthy organization in search of a cure for cancer.

More: Madelyn Dunham, Obama's Grandmother, Dies

Geoffrey Bennett

4:40 PM ET | 11- 3-2008 | permalink

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Should McCain Have Played Up Rev. Wright?

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, former pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, addresses the National Press Club in April.

Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

With most polls showing Sen. Barack Obama leading rival Sen. John McCain heading into Election Day tomorrow, some political watchers are wondering if more ammunition could or should have been squeezed from Obama's relationship with the fiery Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Politico.com is wondering what if:

What most all Republican strategists agree on is that in order to use Wright against Obama effectively, the assault would have needed to have been begun earlier in the campaign and as part of a broader message -- unlike the McCain camp's halfhearted attempt to link the Democrat to 1960s-era domestic terrorist William Ayers in early October, a line of attack McCain himself never fully embraced and that the campaign ultimately removed from Sarah Palin's stump speech.

Yet there would have been challenges, even with an early anti-Wright message.

First, if McCain's campaign could have coaxed the candidate into signing off on hammering Wright, the candidate's unease with the topic may have diluted its effectiveness.

... And even if McCain been willing to drive a Wright message beginning in the summer and done so consistently, keeping it up during the financial crisis may not have been plausible.

"[Targeting Wright] pre-Labor Day may have gotten lost in economic news," said Carl Forti, who runs the conservative group Freedom's Watch.

Alex Castellanos, a veteran Republican media consultant, said that Obama was lucky in a way that Wright got so much exposure in the spring as to become effectively old news.

That hasn't stopped a political action committee called The National Republican Trust from trying to capitalize on the Rev. Wright controversy. Here's their last-ditch effort, airing now in key states:

What do you think?

Geoffrey Bennett

12:26 PM ET | 11- 3-2008 | permalink

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109-Year-Old Daughter of Slave Votes Obama

Amanda Jones, 109, recently mailed in a vote for Barack Obama.

Larry Kolvoord, American-Statesman

How far we've come. An elderly Texas woman, the daughter of a slave, is helping to make history by voting for Barack Obama. Unlike previous elections held in her long life, like when she voted for Franklin D. Roosevelt, this one doesn't feature such discriminatory practices as "poll taxes." Yes, there was a time when Americans actually had to pay to vote.

According to the Austin-American Statesman:

Amanda Jones, a delicate, thin woman wearing golden-rimmed glasses, giggled as the family discussed this year's presidential election. She is too weak to go the polls, so two of her 10 children -- Eloise Baker, 75, and Joyce Jones -- helped her fill out a mail-in ballot for Barack Obama, Baker said. "I feel good about voting for him," Amanda Jones said.

Jones' father herded sheep as a slave until he was 12, according to the family, and once he was freed, he was a farmer who raised cows, hogs and turkeys on land he owned. Her mother was born right after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Amanda Jones' father urged her to exercise her right to vote, despite discriminatory practices at the polls and poll taxes meant to keep black and poor people from voting. Those practices were outlawed for federal elections with the 24th Amendment in 1964, but not for state and local races in Texas until 1966.

Amanda Jones says she cast her first presidential vote for Franklin Roosevelt, but she doesn't recall which of his four terms that was. When she did vote, she paid a poll tax, her daughters said. That she is able, for the first time, to vote for a black presidential nominee for free fills her with joy.

Jones isn't alone. Watch below as 114-year-old Gertrude Baines -- believed to be the oldest living woman of African descent in the world -- casts her vote. Pretty amazing stuff.

Geoffrey Gardner

11:47 AM ET | 10-31-2008 | permalink

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What Did You Think Of Obama's TV Infomercial?

Sen. Barack Obama is reflected on a glass table, as he appears on television screens at an electronics shop in Wheaton, Maryland.

Nicholas Kamm, AFP/Getty Images

Did you watch Sen. Barack Obama's half-hour TV infomercial last night? If so, what did you think of it? New York magazine sums up the TV event this way:

Of course Obama's prime-time infomercial was sappy, overstuffed with images of Americana, and pretty much devoid of anything new for people who've been paying attention to the campaign. But it's not trivial that Obama appeared nothing like the terrorist-friendly, paycheck-snatching secret socialist he's being portrayed as in these closing days. We got so comfortable watching Obama calmly explain his solutions to downtrodden Americans that if he started reading Goodnight Moon, we would have passed out on the spot. Maybe that's exactly the feeling that those miraculously still-undecided voters were waiting for.

Related Links:
Money Doesn't Mean Victory, But It Does Buy Major TV Time
The Root: Closing the Deal

Geoffrey Bennett

11:41 AM ET | 10-30-2008 | permalink

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From Hope to Hero: Political Art In Election 2008

On yesterday's show, we focused on the impact of political imagery -- specifically the iconography surrounding Sen. Barack Obama. Here, News & Notes producer Roy Hurst, who attended both political conventions this summer, expounds on the issue in word and video:

No candidacy in recent history has inspired more artistic expression than Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

During the 2008 election year, Obama imagery seemed to be everywhere -- on walls, on bumper stickers, on clothing, and on the Internet.

The vastness and variety of Obama paraphernalia has generated untold sums of money and become both a cottage industry and an arts movement. Meanwhile, for better or worse, Barack Obama's image has become an icon.

The creative push of support for Obama has its roots in black culture, in youth culture, and in a general feeling of uncertainty among everyday people about the future of world.

With two wars, a sagging economy, and a deteriorating environment, many Americans yearned for something new in national politics.

Obama spoke directly to that yearning, and has become a symbol it.

It all seemed to start with an image called "HOPE" by guerrilla artist, Shepard Fairey. The image is rendered in red, white and blue, and features the face of Sen. Obama looking upward and outward to the future, above the word "hope."

Earlier in the year, reproductions of the image began to pop up in public spaces across the country. It seemed to be on the vanguard of a wave of artistic political expression that followed.

By contrast, Sen. John McCain's campaign seemed to focus on the imagery of the candidate's past. We saw photos and video footage of "McCain the soldier" and "McCain the POW." With these images, his campaign emphasized the theme of "Country First."

We've compiled a few video examples of election images below. Some are focused directly on the candidates; others are more ambiguous. We've also recorded interviews with an array of artists, vendors, and supporters of the two candidates.

Check out the first video below, as there are more to come. Hopefully, they will serve as a small record of this unprecedented season of artistic expression during Election '08.

-- Video Produced by Roy Hurst

Geoffrey Bennett

5:34 PM ET | 10-29-2008 | permalink

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Charles Barkley, Future Governor of Alabama?

Charles Barkley photographed in December 2006.

Scott Wintrow, Getty Images

Ronald Regan, Jesse Ventura, and Arnold Schwarzenegger ... you might soon be able to add Charles Barkley to the list of celebrities-turned-governors.

Last night, Sir Charles told CNN's Campbell Brown he plans to run in 2014:

When asked if he was serious, the former Philadelphia 76er said, "I am, I can't screw up Alabama."

He added that his native state could only improve. "We are number 48 in everything and Arkansas and Mississippi aren't going anywhere," Barkley said.

He said that his top priority as governor would be education. "The public school system in this country is the worst it has ever been and what that does is that hurts crime, it hurts the judicial system," he said. "You know if you don't give people education and hope, they become criminals. They get involved in drugs. So we have got to fix the public school system."

Geoffrey Bennett

11:59 AM ET | 10-28-2008 | permalink

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Will Black Turnout In Red States Spell Doom For McCain?

Could black folks cast the deciding collective vote in Election 2008?

On Sunday's Meet the Press, NBC political director Chuck Todd said that early voting among African Americans -- "somewhere between 95 and 100 percent in some states" -- could undermine Sen. John McCain's standing in places that he is favored to win, like Georgia and North Carolina. (That's assuming, of course, that all of those votes are for Sen. Barack Obama.)

What do you think? Do you live in a state that allows early voting? If you've already cast your ballot, tell us your story.

Geoffrey Bennett

12:14 PM ET | 10-27-2008 | permalink

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Stay of Execution Issued for Troy Davis

Georgia Dept. of Corrections

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay of execution today for a death row inmate who had been scheduled to die this past Monday in Georgia.

Troy Davis was convicted in 1991 for the murder of a Savannah police officer three years earlier.

He has always maintained his innocence in the killing of Officer Mark MacPhail.

Witnesses claimed Davis, then 19, and two others were harassing a homeless man in a Burger King parking lot when the off-duty officer arrived to help the man.

Witnesses testified at trial that Davis then shot MacPhail twice and fled.

Since Davis' 1991 conviction, seven of the nine witnesses against him have recanted their testimony. No physical evidence was presented linking Davis to the killing of the police officer.

Web Resources:
-- Inside the Effort to Stop the Troy Davis Execution
-- Assessing Capital Punishment Trends in the U.S.

Geoffrey Gardner

12:53 PM ET | 10-24-2008 | permalink

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McCain Supporter's Mutilation Story A Racist Hoax

UDPATE: Police: Campaign Worker Admits Making Up Story

Citing "inconsistencies" in her story, Pittsburgh police are still questioning Ashley Todd, a 20-year-old woman who claimed she was robbed and then attacked for being a McCain supporter.

Here's more from WTAE TV:

[According to police spokeswoman Diane Richard:] "She further stated that the male actor approached her from the back again and hit her in the back of her head with an object, she doesn't know what the object was, causing her to fall to the ground where he continued to punch her and kick her and threaten to 'teach her a lesson' for being a McCain supporter."

Richard said the woman refused medical treatment after the assault, which happened outside the view of the bank's surveillance cameras.

Speaking to Channel 4 Action News on Friday, Richard said they're still questioning Todd because of some new developments.

"We have learned that the victim's statement has a few inconsistencies in it and her statement has changed," said Richard.

Richard said Todd now says she isn't sure if it was a bumper sticker on her car or a campaign button on her jacket that angered the attacker. Richard said Todd added new details to the attack, saying at one point she lost consciousness.

"She also indicated she was sexually assaulted as well. She indicated that when he had her on the ground he put his hand up her blouse and started fondling her. But other than that, she says she doesn't remember anything else. So we're adding a sexual assault to this as well," Richard said.

Even conservative Michelle Malkin is skeptical:

We have enough low-lifes and thugs in the world running loose and causing campaign chaos and fomenting hatred without having to make them up. I've been blowing the whistle on the real, left-wing rage not on the front page and in-your-face tactics throughout the election season.

Hate crimes hoaxes -- by anyone, of any political persuasion, and of any color -- diminish us all.

Todd described the robber "as a dark-skinned black man, 6 feet 4 inches tall, 200 pounds with a medium build, short black hair and brown eyes."

Could she be the Susan Smith of Election 2008?

Geoffrey Bennett

11:40 AM ET | 10-24-2008 | permalink

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Robber Reportedly Carves 'B' Into Face of Female McCain Supporter

DrudgeReport.com

This is the face of a 20-year-old Pennsylvania woman, who was reportedly robbed and later attacked today by an assailant who saw a McCain bumper sticker on her car.

The Associated Press has more:

A woman robbed at knifepoint at a Pittsburgh ATM told police her attacker knocked her down and carved a "B" in her face after noticing a John McCain sticker on her car.

Police say the victim refused medical attention for the wound. An officer saw the injury, but a police report does not describe its size or severity.

Authorities say the woman is from Texas, but aren't identifying her.

Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Diane Richards says the woman was withdrawing money at 9 p.m. Wednesday when a man approached her from behind, put a knife to her neck and demanded money. She says she gave him $60.

The woman told police the robber then noticed the bumper sticker, punched her in the back of the head, knocked her down and carved a "B" on her face.

Pittsburgh's WTAE TV has more on the alleged robber and a response from the Obama campaign:

The robber is described as a dark-skinned black man, 6 feet 4 inches tall, 200 pounds with a medium build, short black hair and brown eyes. The man was wearing dark colored jeans, a black undershirt and black shoes.

The Obama-Biden campaign released a statement, commenting on the attack. The statement said "Our thoughts and prayers are with the young woman for her to make a speedy recovery, and we hope that the person who perpetrated this crime is swiftly apprehended and brought to justice."

This heinous crime, as described, is sure to dominate local Pennsylvania news and will likely make national headlines, as it develops.

The Obama campaign was quick to respond to the story. One has to wonder what effect, if any, it will have on uncommitted voters going to the polls in the battleground state.

On today's show, we focused on the psychology of voting. Robert Luskin, David Bositis, and Frank Luntz -- all experts on the topic -- explained how a candidate's stance on the issues sometimes matters less to voters than his/her overall persona and other, outside factors.

What do you think?

UPDATE: "Politically Motivated" Mutilation - Real or Hoax?

Geoffrey Bennett

5:56 PM ET | 10-23-2008 | permalink

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Do You Get Time Off Work to Vote? Check Your State Law

iStockphoto.com

This Election Day, November 4th, falls on a Tuesday. That means most of us will be at work, and being allowed time off to vote is not a guarantee every employer must make. In fact, the law differs from state to state.

Voter turnout for this presidential election is expected to be above average, which means you could be waiting in line at the polling place for hours. It's important to know if your employer is required by law to offer paid time off, or if you'll have to vote on your own dime.

Luckily, FindLaw.com and Google Maps have teamed up to create a Time Off to Vote Laws by State mash-up that aims to answer this important question, or at least get you pointed in the right direction.

Visit FindLaw's Time Off to Vote Laws by State and get prepared for Election Day!

Geoffrey Gardner

3:02 PM ET | 10-23-2008 | permalink

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Barack Obama On Commanding A Fantasy Football Team

iStockphoto.com

Sure, Sen. Barack Obama is a formidable presidential candidate ... but can the man pick a decent fantasy football team?

ESPN reporter Rick Reilly "asked each candidate to be my running mate for one week in a fantasy league, just to see what kind of president he'd make -- how he'd handle decisions under pressure and balance a budget. Only Obama bit. We settled on the Week 6 games."

Here's more from his column:

He is taller, grayer and quicker to laugh than I expected. Moves sort of like an athlete -- cool and smooth. "Now, you're the expert," he began. "And I'll gladly be the junior partner in this, but I really think we should take Drew Brees. He could have a big week. Oakland's secondary is a wreck."

Ohhhh, so that's how it's going to be. "Well, I like Carson Palmer," I said. "He's due for a big week, plus he plays in Ohio and I figure that's a state you need, so ..."

He looked at me like I'd stuck my elbow in his soup. "Man, this is more important than politics!" he insisted. "This is football!"

This is a man who could potentially audit me forever. We paid $7.3M for Brees.

He wanted Clinton Portis. I wanted Adrian Peterson. We took Portis ($6.6M). He wanted Brandon Marshall. I wanted Bernard Berrian. We took Marshall ($5.7M).

Doesn't work well with others. Check.

Have to admit, though, he knows his stuff. Turns out, he played a little. He was a tight end in ninth grade until a coach told him to "trample" an opponent's back. He gave up football for hoops. In 2004, when Mike Ditka considered running against him for Senate, Obama--remembering how Ditka let William Perry score a Super Bowl TD instead of Walter Payton--said that "anybody who would give the ball to Refrigerator Perry instead of Sweetness doesn't have very good judgment." Ditka didn't run. "Too bad," Obama says. "We were hoping he would."

Likes to bait Hall of Famers. Check.

It took us 30 minutes to pick nine slots. The man was into it. I said I'd need to talk to him the following week about how we did.

"Cool," he said. "How's Tuesday?"

"Sorry," I said. "Getting married Tuesday."

He looked stunned. "Who'd marry you?"

Wise guy. Check.

We wound up in a dark tunnel under Fifth Third Field in Dayton for a campaign event. He was telling me a story about throwing out a first pitch when suddenly I heard over the PA system, "... the next president of the United States, Barack Obama!" He looked at me, said "Gotta go!" and sprinted up some steps to a thunderclap of a roar.

Read the rest.

Geoffrey Bennett

12:37 PM ET | 10-23-2008 | permalink

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Gay Rights Vs. Civil Rights In Same-Sex Marriage Debate

iStockphoto.com

As political analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson once wrote, "The gay rights vs. civil rights comparison has long been a sore spot for many blacks."

Here in California, that comparison has special significance. Voters head to the polls next month to vote on a ballot measure, which could overturn a state Supreme Court ruling legalizing statewide, same-sex marriages.

According to an article in today's Los Angeles Times, "African American voters could play a crucial role in the fight over same-sex marriage. Though they make up only about 6% of the electorate in California, they are expected to vote in record numbers this election because of Barack Obama's presence on the ballot."

Here's more:

A "yes" vote on the measure means that the Constitution would be amended to disallow gay marriage.

... The Yes on 8 campaign is counting on them [blacks], arguing that some polls suggest African Americans are generally less open to same-sex unions than other groups.

"They are our strongest supporters," said Frank Schubert, who is managing the Yes on 8 campaign.

But opponents of the proposition say they think that black voters may be more tolerant than many political professionals predict.

"People have this impression that black people in general are more homophobic than the population as a whole," said Ron Buckmire, who heads the Barbara Jordan/Bayard Rustin Coalition, a black gay rights group in Los Angeles.

Both sides, meanwhile, are contending that Obama would approve of their view. That's because the first black presidential candidate of a major party has said that he is against Proposition 8 but has also expressed opposition to gay marriage.

"He said both sides. We are picking the one we like," said Derek McCoy, a minister who came from Washington, D.C., in August to organize African American clergy across the state to oppose the measure.

What do you think?

Geoffrey Bennett

11:44 AM ET | 10-22-2008 | permalink

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Do Black Women Give Too Much?

Are black women generous to a fault? That's what a new study indicates:

The study of 1,000 professional black women and 454 non-black professional women by financial group ING, found that among the reasons black women didn't save enough was that they regularly gave money to family, friends and religious institutions.

More than 50 percent of the black women polled said they have loaned $500 or more to a friend or family in the last year. A third had loaned family more than $1,000.

"Black women's sense of obligation to community and family is both extraordinary and commendable," Rhonda Mims, president of the ING Foundation, told the website Diversityinc.com.

"When you are pulled in so many directions financially, something or someone has to pay the price. For black women, it appears their financial well-being suffers."

Do you agree? Read the rest.

Geoffrey Bennett

5:24 PM ET | 10-21-2008 | permalink

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Terrence Howard Surprised About 'Iron Man' Recasting

It was reported last week that the summer blockbuster, Iron Man, would be filming a sequel without popular actor Terrence Howard. The role of Tony Stark's best friend, Jim Rhodes, will instead be played by Don Cheadle.

When MTV asked about the recasting, Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige responded:

"As is the policy with most people, when you talk about dotting I's and crossing T's, certainly that isn't the case yet on a number of things we're doing, but that Hollywood Reporter story was not an announcement. That was, as it tends to happen in the business, is rumors and leaks and things like that. I do think there will be clarity soon."

Well, we hope for Terrence Howard's sake that this whole mess has a happy ending. The sensitive soul sat down with NPR's Scott Simon on Weekend Edition Saturday and discussed -- among other things -- his reaction upon hearing the Iron Man news.

"It was the surprise of a lifetime. There was no explanation. The contract just ... up and vanished. I read something in the trades that implicated it was about money or something, but apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on, sometimes. Promises aren't kept, and good faith negotiations aren't always held up."

Related Links:
-- Terrence Howard Talks Tunes, Family, Science
-- Watch Video of Terrence Howard on Weekend Edition Saturday

Geoffrey Gardner

5:40 PM ET | 10-20-2008 | permalink

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Rudy Ray Moore aka 'Dolemite' Dies

Actor Rudy Ray Moore, creator and star of the classic Dolemite films, poses in Las Vegas, Nev., back in 2005.

Ethan Miller, Getty Images

The Website EURWeb is reporting that Rudy Ray Moore, the actor/comedian best known as Dolemite, has died.

Moore, who won fame after his role as a rhyming, kung fu pimp in the 1975 film, Dolemite, died in Akron, Ohio, at the age of 81.

Rudy Ray Moore was also known as the "king of the party records" and released many comedy records throughout the 1960s and 1970s, developing a style even more rude and explicit than contemporaries like Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor. This kept him off of television and major films, but cultivated an enduring fan base.

Geoffrey Bennett

5:36 PM ET | 10-20-2008 | permalink

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Who Would Round Out Obama, McCain's Cabinets?

iStockphoto.com

Inasmuch as a president is only as good as his counsel, many political watchers (and News & Notes editors) are beginning to flash forward beyond Nov. 4 -- Election Day -- and straight to Jan. 20 -- Inauguration Day. How would a President Obama or President McCain govern, and to whom would each give Cabinet positions?

Naturally, both campaigns are keeping mum on the topic -- so as not to appear presumptuous -- but the candidates and their advisers have given signals in published interviews.

First off, Sen. Barack Obama said today Gen. Colin Powell "will have a role as one of my advisers. ...Whether he wants to take a formal role, whether that's a good fit for him, is something we'd have to discuss."

John Podesta, a former White House chief of staff under Bill Clinton, is heading Obama's transition efforts.

Here's more, care of the Times Online (UK):

A host of well-known figures, including some Republicans, have indicated they would be willing to serve in some capacity as Obama begins to acquire a winner's glow. From Senator John Kerry, the 2004 presidential candidate with hopes of becoming secretary of state, to Larry Summers, a former US Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, and Chuck Hagel, the Republican senator who has been tipped as defence secretary, there are plenty who have signalled their availability.

Obama is thought likely to cherry-pick a few high-profile names, while