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SO, not trying to be sexist, but what does a working dad come home to when he returns from a (short) business trip? Pretty much what he left, right?

What does a working mom come home to? Let's see...

- A Washington Wizard's cheerleader pinup poster, PERSONALLY inscribed to my son ... who is 4 years old;

- That same 4-year-old son with a gash across his nose;

- This conversation:

Um, what happened to his nose?

Oh, yeah. Well, we had a situation.

What situation?

Well, he kind of ran into his toy trash truck. Headfirst. He was upset, but he's okay now.

How did that happen?

Oh, you know, he was racing his truck in the hallway and he just kind of slipped, or dove into it. You know ... he's fine.

Well, I'm just kind of wondering why he was racing his truck in the hallway.

Oh, you know.

Also, enormous bag of kids clothing, bought on sale, including multiple polka dot hats and gloves. (I DID NOT share the thought to self: if I rolled in with a gi-normous bag, would not the reaction be, don't those kids have enough clothes? But I kept it to myself, instead offering supportive remarks: how thoughtful! How lovely! ... And where's mine?!)

But no bananas or apple juice, or...

OK, so the house is still standing. Everybody's fine. I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY holding it down while I was out. I'm just saying...

So, we had a great trip to South Carolina. We're still thinking about everything we saw and heard.

I'm still thinking about the whole issue of how race and gender plays into the conversation on the Democratic side. Is this a media pre-occupation, or one shared equally by voters?

And, just because all the GOP candidates are white men, does that mean there is no race-gender conversation to be had? If so, what is it (as the campaign moves south and west)?

There was an interesting story in the Wall Street Journal about the so-called class divide in black America. But isn't there a class divide among whites, too? ... And what about gender?

And, is the focus on the "divides" just following the story, or creating one?

We are percolating...

Michel Martin

6:04 PM ET | 01-24-2008 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

I love Tell Me More. However, it appears to be more biased toward Mr. Obama. It also appears to follow the mainstream press of demonizing the Clintons. Let me just share my perspective. I have not seen anything wrong with the Clinton's statements regarding Mr. Obama.

The media and some African Americans took Sen. Clinton's statement about LBJ as disrespect for MLK. Sen. Clinton's statement was in fact accurate. She never made a statement of disrespect for MLK. Maybe the African Americans and the media misunderstood.

Pres. Clinton's description of Mr. Obama's postion on the war and the way he is not challenged on that issue is accurate. Mr. Obama did speak out against the war before he became a senator. Once he became a senator, he has supported it the same a Sen. Clinton and the other republi-crats. Perhaps Mr. Obama's unchallenged record on support/nonsupport for the war could be described as a "fairy tale." Certainly. Mr. Obama and his campaign is for real, and definitely not a fairy tale.

In both of the above incidents, the Clintons were not making race an issue. It appears the media was spinning it into an issue and many African Americans joined the media.

At the MLK debate this week, it was Mr. Obama who began the attacks and continued. Why do the Clintons get so much criticism for responding to Mr. Obama's attack during the debate.

Initially, was not planning to vote for either Obama or Clinton because neither has addressed any issues that are specific to the African American community. I am not opposed to voting for an African American candidate. I voted for Al Sharpton.

With respect to Dr. King, I think we should not vote for person based on the color of his skin, just because he his black.

The New York Times endorsement of Hillary Clinton provides a good explanation why she is the better candidate of the two for this nation.

However, one issue that's affecting employment in the African American community is illegal immigration. Neither democratic president has a plan to deal with this issue in a manner that's favorable to the African American community. Many educated African Americans don't really care about this issue, because they cannot see how it impacts their middle class status. But many uneducated and low wage African Americans are impacted directly by the influx of illegal immigrants. Has anyone talked to Mr. Obama about this? We know where Sen. Clinton stands.

Has anyone asked Mr. Obama about affirmative action? Or, can he discuss it without turing off white voters?

Whether African Americans vote for Hillary or Barack, we are giving our vote away for free. We have not asked them for anything in return. All other groups expect a return for their vote. Even the hispanic voters from Central and South American expect their candidate to make it easier for illegal immigrants to become citizens.

Thanks for a great program Michele.

Sent by Warren Hill | 1:08 PM ET | 01-25-2008

Warren -

I appreciate the your comments, but I would ask you to remember that your interpretation of Mrs. Clinton's comments are your opinion, and folks who have other opinions also have to be free to express theirs. It is a fact that many African Americans (and frankly a number of folks of other backgrounds I've heard from) were offended by her remarks about LBJ and MLK, including the third-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, Rep. James Clyburn.

Reporting how remarks are being perceived is not a matter of demonstrating bias; it's our job. And if the you are hungering for more from Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, I am happy to report that we had both candidates on this program. We haven't been as lucky with Republican front runners to date; I hope we will be...

Sent by Michel Martin, host | 11:43 AM ET | 01-28-2008

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'Tell Me More' with Michel Martin

"Nothing is assumed." That's the unofficial motto of Tell Me More, the new Monday-Friday talk show with host Michel Martin. Grounded in lively interviewing and compelling storytelling, the program seeks to present diverse new voices, cross borders, challenge conventional wisdom and discover how other people think.