Rebecca Tapscott, Weekend Edition Intern

The week may be winding down, but the campaigning never stops! Here is this week's round-up of the blogosphere, including commentary related to our Weekend Edition Sunday focus on race and politics, analysis of endorsement news and a debriefing on the presidential candidates' Achilles' heels.

Race and Politics

For the month of August, Weekend Edition Sunday is focusing on the intersection of race and politics in this year's presidential election. We definitely want to hear what you have to say on the matter - tell us your thoughts!

JACK&JILLPOLITICS: Nas Joins Color of Change to Deliver Petitions to Fox News, by Jill Tubman, Tuesday, July 22, 2008.
Jill Tubman talks about this video:

Rapper Nas teamed up with ColorOfChange.org and MoveOn.org to promote a petition against Fox News.

SWAMPLAND: Obama Trip Overload, by Joe Klein, Wednesday, July 23, 2008.
Joe Klein speculates as to why the success of Obama's European trip has not resulted in a hike in the polls. His theory? Racism. But what do you think? Is Obama disadvantaged by an inherent American racism?

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Rebecca Tapscott, Weekend Edition Intern

Is all the election fuss getting you down? Do politicians' promises sound empty and false? Vent your pent up frustration in a game of online Presidential Paintball. Select your superhero politician (now limited to Obama or McCain), and shoot up the opposition with gooey green muck. Although perhaps not as gratifying as stuffing a ballot box, this game is 1) legal and 2) in the spirit of democratic competition. Check it out!

Davar Iran Ardalan, Senior Producer

We are getting closer to the launch of our web and radio series on Race and Politics but we still need your help. Send your views to Get My Vote, an online space created by NPR for people to explain their core political beliefs and share personal stories this election season. We are particularly interested in folks supporting Senator John McCain given that we have a good number of entries from Barack Obama supporters.

Here's a sampling from the responses we have gotten so far:

Raised Racist
"Here's how I first became aware of race: I was four. My father and I were at the checkout stand in a liquor store. A dark-skinned old man in denim overalls took a place in line at the counter next to me. I had never seen anyone that color before. The old man smiled at me, and I smiled back. I turned to my father and asked, "Who's that?" He hissed: "Shhhh, I'll tell you later!"

The Truth About Race
Im going to say some things here that I think alot of people would like to say and are afraid to. Im going to say alot of things here that many people will probably get bent out of shape over. Im going to say some things here that might possibly ban this letter from appearing on "Get My Vote." Im going to tell the truth from a white mans point of view.

Laura Krantz, Assistant Editor
Rebecca Tapscott, Weekend Edition Intern

Next month, Weekend Edition Sunday will be focusing on the intersection of race and politics. So in this latest edition of Weekly Washup (which is a day late due to a run-in with some sketchy shellfish), we wanted to see what the blogosphere had to say on the matter. And, in addition, we're looking into the argument that McCain and Obama are as indistinguishable as Pepsi and Coke.

McCain and Obama...Birds of a Feather?

We've all heard it before - there's no difference between Republicans and Democrats. Here are some blogs that attempt to corroborate that argument. Take a look and tell us what you think - are Republicans and Democrats really the same?

JIB JAB:
This delightful music video is a musical parody that's sure to elicit giggles from constituents of all political persuasions.

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Rebecca Tapscott, Weekend Edition Intern

Everyone who's anyone is speculating about who will get the VP nomination-not to mention, who should get the title. But with all these eligible politicians around, how's a person to choose? Slate.com comes to the rescue again this week, with a new interactive feature to help you identify your dream vice president. Answer the questions with your preferences to "Choose Your Own Running Mate," and the site will narrow the choices for VP. The website provides a photo and short profile for each possible contender.

Jacob Soboroff, Field Vlogger

WESUN is running a month-long series to find out how Americans have changed since the 18th century - and ask what it means to be an American today. This week it's the 19th century, and I'm contributing an essay on the program about why we vote on Tuesday in the United States.
So, why Tuesday?

It's a tradition that dates to 1845, when Congress decided that because of a variety of factors, Tuesday would be the most convenient day for Americans to vote. Americans have been voting on Tuesday, smack in the middle of our modern-day work week, for 163 years, and the reason given most by non-voters for not casting a ballot is that they're "too busy." Nobody has ever changed it!

Continue reading "Why Tuesday?" >

Faye Anderson, citizen journalist

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released its report on voter turnout in the 2006 midterm election. Forty-eight percent of the voting-age population took their soles to the polls, up from 42 percent in 2002. Seven million more Americans exercised their right to vote.
That was the highest turnout in a midterm election since 1994. That election turned out congressional Democrats and marked the beginning of the so-called Republican Revolution.

Continue reading "Black Voter Turnout and Obama's Southern Strategy" >

Rebecca Tapscott, Weekend Edition Intern

It's that time of the week again, and this week, we've got a lot of dirt to wash off. Bloggers everywhere are having a field day with Obama's political shimmies to the right and they're also making note of the McCain campaign's numerous stumbles. Adding to all of this is some foreign policy uproar - Iran is testing missiles and not being entirely honest about the results.

Walking the walk (or Obama steps out):
In the past few weeks, Barack Obama has been criticized for shifting his positions on wiretapping, gun ownership, the death penalty, campaign finance reform, and America's war in Iraq. Whew! Is his "shift to the center" strategic? Or is it opening him up to the charge of "flip-flopping?" After the jump, check out these blogs and tell us what you think:

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Rebecca Tapscott, Weekend Edition Intern

Right up through November 4, you can bet that John McCain and Barack Obama will be dashing around America, fighting for votes with stump speeches, fundraisers and ad campaigns. With all that running around, keeping track of these globetrotters might be a challenge. But Slate Magazine is here to help you! Their website - www.mapthecandidates.com - lets you check out which candidate stopped where and when.

And for those of you who think these candidates have their strategy all wrong, check out this political game, select your team players and make your own moves!

Mindy Finn, political strategist

Where are John McCain's opportunities to overtake Barack Obama?

In the primary season, Obama largely took the urban areas while Hillary Clinton attracted rural, moderate and conservative Democrats.

Now, McCain's opportunities lie in winning over the rural voters who voted for Hillary either because a) they almost always vote for Democrats, or b) they voted for Bush in 2000 or 2004, and are now on the anti-Bush bandwagon.

Continue reading "Rural Districts Help McCain" >

Rebecca Tapscott, Weekend Edition Intern

Ah, the 4th of July. It's a day to kick back and celebrate American independence from Great Britain, taxation without representation and tea-time. But before you fire up your grill and relax under a fireworks-lit sky, join us for the Weekly Washup, and check out what is going on in America the beautiful. Rebecca Tapscott, Weekend Edition intern, gathered some of this week's blog news.

Patriotics

These bloggers discuss the patriotism of constituents, rather than of the candidates themselves. Is there an inherent difference between Republicans and Democrats, when it comes to national pride? Check out these posts and then tell us what you think:

Continue reading "Weekly Washup" >

Jacob Soboroff, Field Vlogger
Last week at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York City, I sat down with WNYC's Brian Lehrer to talk about the theme of the conference -- how technology is changing politics -- and also about how technology is changing public radio.

Money and politics: the words go together like shoes and socks, rock and roll, milk and cookies. How much does money influence politicians and shape policy? MapLight.org is an ambitious project to "illuminate the connection" between campaign donations and legislators' votes. The website allows you to research the voting records of members of Congress and California state legislators, as well as find out how much they received in campaign donations and who gave them. The "Video Tour" on the homepage provides a quick tutorial on how to most efficiently use the website. Does money talk? Check it out and decide for yourself.

--Rebecca Tapscott