No, it should not be a surprise that Rudy Giuliani’s campaign staff is all white or that Romney’s has no blacks. But it’s still kind of jarring to see it in graph form. It also shouldn’t be a surprise — and it isn’t — that Barack Obama has the most black people on his staff, despite the media’s best attempts to convince voters that black people hate him.
Lastly, Hillary Clinton deserves the diversity prize for having a very racially balanced staff (although she should work on stealing a few of Richardson’s Native Americans). Her staff demographics are almost perfect. Almost too perfect. Almost…calculated. Nevermind, I’m probably just talking crazy. I doubt Hillary pays that much attention to small details. [TS]
It looks like the people at Saturday Night Live figured out their pesky Barack-Obama-impersonation problem, surely to the chagrin of the only black guy in the cast, Kenan Thompson.
Last night’s Democratic debate in Philadelphia could have been called the “Why Hillary Clinton Should Never Be President Debate” with Barack Obama and John Edwards (but especially Edwards), realizing that it’s now or never, coming down hard on the frontrunner whenever possible. Which, it seems, was almost every time they had the opportunity to speak.
CONTINUED »
Snapshot from Barack Obama’s MTV/Myspace forum yesterday in Iowa, where, according to a recent poll, he’s in a statistical dead heat with Hillary Clinton:
Asked via an IM question if he’d be willing to run on a ticket with Clinton and if he’d bring Republicans into his cabinet, Obama answered the second part first, saying, yes, he would absolutely consider having some Republicans in his Cabinet, noting that “Democrats don’t have a monopoly on wisdom.” As for the Clinton question, Obama said forcefully that it’s too early to say who he might pick as his vice president, but stressed that “I am not running for vice president.” What if the position was offered, Cillizza wondered? “No,” said Obama. “Because, as I said, I’m not running for vice president, I’m running for president of the United States.” Coming more than 20 minutes into the forum, the latter received the first sustained applause of the afternoon.
According to an unscientific study in the New York Post, Hillary Clinton owns Harlem. Especially Harlem women.
More than half of the 96 people questioned by a Post reporter in Harlem this week said they would vote for Clinton, with most preferring her experience as senator and first lady over relative neophyte Obama…
Fifty-seven percent chose Clinton; 19 percent favored Obama.
Clinton was not surprisingly a favorite among females, with 75 percent in her corner.
Most men found the anti-war Obama to be a fresh face.
“A lot of black voters have a problem with the war. And also, Obama is a mentor to us,” said George Danquah, 28.
Bill Clinton, a Harlem favorite who actually has his offices there, and the fact that Hillary is a New York senator has probably made her victory in NYC a foregone conclusion from the beginning. But forget politics, I’m wondering if the people in Harlem acted shockingly civilized during their interviews.
[]
Dear Sen. Obama,
I’m sure this isn’t my last letter to you, but I would have preferred my first to be written under more auspicious circumstances. It’s not a secret that I support you, although I haven’t decided if I’m going to vote for you come February. No matter what I decide, I will probably always like you because of what you represent, as both a politician and a man.
Your recent scandal involving Donnie McClurkin has been disappointing, not entirely because of the fact that you invited him on your gospel tour (I assume if you had anticipated or understood the reaction you would get, you would not have done it), but mostly because of the way you have handled the subsequent backlash. If “handle” can even be the word. Everything you’ve done since — your dinky Web site statement on gay rights, the addition of a white gay minister to the tour, and your last ditch interview with the Advocate — have sort of screamed of political incompetence.
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• These two, pictured at TRL today, are totally a couple! Unless, of course, they’re just friends. [WI]
• I really don’t remember Ashanti’s voice sounding this good. [CL]
• Since when does Laura Bush dress like such a slut? [MG]
• Barack Obama adds a gay minister to his scandal-plagued gospel tour. Unfortunately, that didn’t actually placate the people who are furious about his association with Donnie McClurkin. In fairness to Obama, they should also be furious with most of the other candidates for similar reasons. [QT]
• If only someone had gotten around to checking out that DNA evidence before this guy spent more than 20 years in jail for a rape he didn’t commit. [CNN]
Some people might think that when Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement doesn’t make a difference in the polls, it’s time to give up. But Barack Obama isn’t “some people.” And that’s why he’s called on the services of the Butter Cow Lady to forge a lead over Hillary once and for all.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) needs to make a cultural connection with the rural caucus-goers of Iowa, a state that will make or break his presidential campaign.
So Obama has enlisted Duffy Lyon, a farmer famous for sculpting cows out of butter at the Iowa State Fair, to give him tractor cred on the radio, amid the farm news and pickin’ music.
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• Louisiana’s first minority governor since the Reconstruction probably has the mass exodus of the state’s most prevalent minority to thank for his victory. [MN]
• The first day of the World Series = a triumphant day for humanity and racial justice in the country and the world? Wow. I guess you have to love baseball to feel that. [BG]
• The price of a promotion: the first black person to serve as clerk of the House of Representative, Lorraine Miller, was going to get a gala thrown in her honor, but it was canned because House ethics rules banned her from raising funds for it. [WP]
• Maya Angelou will be featured in the Poetry for Young People series, which has previously only included two women and one black (Langston Hughes). [CBS]
• His dad might not think Obama’s black enough, but Jesse Jackson Jr. is enough of a fan to cut radio ads for the presidential candidate. [BS]
