The Democrats Own Willie Horton Event; Rev. Jeremiah Wright

OK, I don't always agree with Colbert I. King at The Washington Post. But I must say, I agree with most of his recent post when he writes, " Some events in a presidential campaign turn out to be so pivotal that they can end up influencing the outcome." He points out examples like:

· The televised debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon in 1960.

· George McGovern's decision to drop Tom Eagleton from the Democratic ticket in 1972.

· Gerald Ford's famous declaration in a presidential debate on Oct. 6, 1976, that "there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration."

· Jimmy Carter's Iranian hostage crisis in 1980.

· The 2004 book "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak out Against John Kerry."

And let's not forget the use in 1988 of political advertising featuring the black felon Willie Horton.

Comes now the latest presidential campaign development of possible historical significance: the arrival on the scene of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor.

The Chicago pastor's incendiary remarks about America, which have played endlessly in video loops, and then with his mocking, flippant, and frankly jaw-dropping performance at the National Press Club this week, have earned him a permanent place in presidential campaign folklore.

"Here stands Jeremiah Wright," reads the entry, "the preacher who single-handedly altered the course of Sen. Barack Obama's run for the White House."

AAPP: As colbert King points out, "That takes some doing." Read more of his post HERE

You can also read more of on how the Rev. Jeremiah Wright issue is playing out below:

National Press Club Articles

on the Web H/T The Washington Post - for the Link.

Rev. Wright Launches Own 24-Hr. Channel; All Wright, All the Time, Preacher Promises(Yahoo! News) 5/3/2008

The Wright stuff (Seattle Times) 5/3/2008

National Press Club to Host 'NEWSMAKER' Media Briefing on Iraq's Economic Surge (Examiner) 5/2/2008

Readers' Wright arrogant, combative (Deseret News) 5/2/2008

National Press Club to Host 'NEWSMAKER' Media Briefing on Iraq's Economic Surge(Yahoo! News) 5/2/2008

Guinness Draft Creates Washington Buzz: (StreetInsider) 5/2/2008

National Press Club to Host 'NEWSMAKER' Media Briefing on Media Freedom in Afghanistan With Saad Mohseni, Chairman, Moby Media Group (StreetInsider)

Daybook (Washington Times) 5/1/2008

National Press Club Statement on Errol Louis Story in NY Daily News (FindLaw)4/30/2008

Rev. Wright Revs Up Press Club Crowd (Roll Call) 4/29/2008

National Press Club Blogs

on the Web

Perspective, Please (MoJo Blog) 5/2/2008

Federalist Society Conference on Consumer Credit Regulation: (The Volokh Conspiracy)5/2/2008

New American Arsenal (Outside the Beltway) 5/1/2008

Wright from the Left (NRO: The Corner) 5/1/2008

"Vicious Truths" (The Daily Dish) 5/1/2008

National Press Club Video

on the Web

Roiled Obama Rips Rev. Wright (CBS News Video) 5/2/2008

Reverend Wright: White People Got No Rhythm (EVTV1 Video- News) 4/30/2008

Obama Reacts To Wright's Comments (NBC 10 Video - Local News) 4/29/2008

Washington Sketch: How to Sabotage a Presidential Campaign (Washingtonpost.com Video) 4/29/2008

Rev. Wright 'Lowered Himself' (CNN Video) 4/29/2008

National Press Club Audio

on the Web

Louisiana leader looks to the future (Minnesota Public Radio) 5/2/2008

Analysis: Rev. Wright's Comments on 'Black Church' (NPR Politics & Society) 4/29/2008 8:49:25 AM

Wright Decries 'Out of Context' Criticisms of Sermon (NPR US News) 4/28/2008

Rev. Jeremiah Wright speaks out at the National Press Club (Minnesota Public Radio)4/28/2008

Is Rev. Wright Helping or Hurting Obama? (NPR Politics & Society)

Election 2008, Breaking News: Hillary Campaign attempted to mold black political blogger support

AAPP: Black Political and Internet Activist Francis L. Holland breaks his silence with a blogging post titled Billary & Me: Time to Break the Silence. This is a must read post that exposes how critical Hillary and her team thought the black vote would be (early in the campaign) and wanted black bloggers like Francis Holland to blog in support of her campaign. Francis was a die-hard supporter of Hillary for some time. I respect Francis L. Holland for breaking the silence.

This is the seal I designed
to show my blog's support
for Hillary's candidacy.

Back when I was infamous in the anti-Clinton whitosphere for my tireless and infuriating diaries in support of Hillary Clinton, and before she announced her candidacy for the presidency, I got an e-mail and then a telephone call here in Brazil from Peter Daou, Hillary Clinton's Internet coordinator. Peter asked me to blog for Hillary Clinton's presidential candidacy, and I agreed to help in any way that I could. He asked me not to divulge Hillary's decision to run for the presidency before it was officially announced and I kept my promise not to do so.

I took a look at Hillary's new beta site for blogging, but I quickly decided that expressing my firebrand opinions there would do her more harm than good. Moreover, I decided that my loyalty lay with the Black People and the development of our AfroSpear, not with any particular presidential campaign.

Peter Daou never offered me employment with recompense and I never request or accepted any.

When Barack Obama joined the race, I immediately perceived that this could cause problems for Hillary. Within days of Hillary's announcement of her candidacy, I sent the following e-mail to Peter Daou, warning him (and Hillary's campaign) that if she took the color-aroused scorched earth approach to Barack Obama that she is presently taking, then she would lose all hope of winning the Black vote. Well, apparently they ignored me, and it's about time I told the public about it.

Here's the e-mail I sent to Peter Daou on Wednesday, January 17, 2007, because I foresaw and wanted to help Clinton avoid the very troubles with the Black electorate that have prevented her from winning the nomination: More HERE

Election 2008, Hillary Clinton would lose the general election due to lack of black support

"Compared with previous Democratic nominees, Clinton seems poised to do historically well among women and less well among blacks."

Lydia Saad at the Gallup organization provides interesting data on American attitudes and opinions regarding Hillary and Barack. She writes: While the broad outlines of voter support for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are highly similar -- both candidates attract traditional Democratic constituencies -- there are some differences that could be important in assessing which of the two has the better chance of beating McCain. Clinton’s vs. Obama’s Strengths in the General Election

A Mostly Traditional Democratic Coalition for Clinton

According to an aggregate of Gallup Poll Daily tracking from April 21-27, including interviews with more than 6,000 registered voters, a Clinton-McCain race looks highly typical of recent elections, with the Democrat widely favored by women, blacks, adults under 30 years of age, Easterners, low socioeconomic Americans (those with low incomes and low education), Catholics, Hispanics, secular Americans, unmarried adults, and Democrats.

Two important differences from recent general elections are Clinton's especially strong performance among women, and her relatively weak performance among black Americans. Her 12-point advantage among women over McCain (52% vs. 40%) contrasts with single-digit advantages among women for John Kerry, Al Gore, and Bill Clinton in the previous three presidential elections. And her 78% level of support from blacks contrasts with more than 90% support among blacks for those candidates. The latter clearly highlights the risk the Democratic Party faces with blacks (the overwhelming majority of whom are Democrats and who support Obama for the Democratic nomination) should Clinton win the nomination on the basis of the superdelegates or some other means that Obama's supporters perceive as unfair or undemocratic.

Also, only 82% of Democrats currently say they would vote for Clinton in the fall, whereas recent Democratic presidential candidates have received no less than 89% of the vote from their party.

Obama Charting a Different Course

An Obama-McCain race differs from a Clinton-McCain race mainly in terms of degrees of support for the Democrat. Obama beats McCain among nearly all of the aforementioned core Democratic constituencies. But his margin of support is lower among women, Easterners, low-income Americans, Catholics, Hispanics, and self-identified Democrats. (Obama also does less well than Clinton in the South, although both lose to McCain in that region.)

Obama largely offsets these losses by doing better than Clinton among blacks and high-income Americans. He also does slightly better among the one-third or so of voters who consider themselves political independents. Obama's near-universal support among blacks is the more typical pattern for a Democratic presidential candidate than is the lower support Clinton receives.

The accompanying table summarizes the differences in support for Clinton and Obama among these groups, highlighting that Clinton performs especially well relative to Obama among Americans of lower and lower-middle incomes, lower education (no college experience), and among Democrats, seniors, and Hispanics. Obama's distinguishing strengths are his stronger performance among blacks and higher-income Americans, although he also performs slightly better among independents.

The most recent weekly aggregate of Gallup Poll Daily tracking finds Clinton doing just as well as Obama among voters aged 18 to 29. However, this is a sharp reversal for Clinton, who had been trailing Obama among young voters for most of March and April, so it is not clear whether the current data are an anomaly or a dramatic shift in younger voters' preferences.

Obama Falls Short Among Conservative Democrats

Given the apparent willingness of many blacks to forsake Clinton in November if she is the Democratic Party's nominee -- either by voting for McCain or not voting at all -- it may seem surprising that Clinton still outperforms Obama among Democrats (82% vs. 74%). The reason for this is Obama's relatively poor performance among conservative Democrats.

Only 62% of Democrats who describe their political views as "conservative" choose Obama in a race between Obama and McCain. By contrast, 74% of conservative Democrats would vote for Clinton in a Clinton vs. McCain race. Obama does just as well as Clinton among liberal Democrats, and nearly as well among moderate Democrats. His great weakness is, and has been since early March, among conservative Democrats.

Bottom Line

These observations are made as the protracted battle for the Democratic nomination gets increasingly contentious, and before the eventual nominee has had the opportunity to heal party wounds. Much could change. At present, it seems both Clinton and Obama would win the support of traditional Democratic constituencies in the fall election if they are nominated for president. However, compared with previous Democratic nominees, Clinton seems poised to do historically well among women and less well among blacks. Obama could have trouble holding blue-collar and conservative Democrats, but could make that up if he maintains his strong appeal to blacks and upper-income Americans, and continues to go toe-to-toe with McCain among political independents. More HERE

"Theft - By -Taking" - Don't Let the Clintons or The DNC Superdelegates Steal this Election

Dear African American Political Pundit readers:

Some leaders in the Democratic Party are playing with fire. They think
that they can betray the will of millions of voters--and choose Hillary
Clinton as the nominee, regardless of whether or not she is the choice
of the voters. We can't let this happen. It would be the largest
disenfranchisement in modern history, and it would mean the Democratic
Party giving their stamp of approval to a clear and consistent pattern
of race-baiting by the Clinton campaign.

If we make our voices heard, we can stop it. Please join us in signing
an open letter to leaders in the Democratic Party -- DNC Chair Howard
Dean, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid, and all superdelegates -- demanding that they reject an outcome
that involves trampling voting rights and legitimizing the politics of
division and fear:

http://www.colorofchange.org/dems/?id=2054-503311

By the time the last vote is cast on June 3rd under the rules of the
Democratic Party, it's unlikely Hillary Clinton will beat Barack Obama
among voters. But there's a chance that superdelegates will hand
Clinton the nomination anyway.

This would be a shocking attack on democracy, and it would destroy the
Democratic Party's credibility on protecting the right to vote. Black
people have a long history of fighting against voter suppression, and
now the Democratic Party will be the enemy in that fight. As bad as
that would be, there's another reason that a coup by party insiders
would threaten racial progress.

Senator Clinton's plan to have superdelegates hand her the nomination
doesn't make sense without a parallel strategy -- she has to stoke
enough division and race-based fear among Democratic voters to
convince superdelegates that white voters will not vote for Senator
Obama in the general election. One of Clinton's key arguments to
superdelegates is that America won't elect a Black man, and therefore
she's the better choice for Democrats to beat John McCain. While
she makes that argument in private to superdelegates, in public
Clinton's campaign and her surrogates are doing everything they can to
damage Barack Obama by ginning up fear and division and playing to the
worst instincts of our society. It's an insult to Black people and
all Americans, Obama and Clinton supporters alike.

The pattern has been clear and consistent to some party leaders. Last
week, according to the Washington Post, James Clyburn -- who as House
Majority Whip remains neutral and is the highest ranking Black member
of Congress -- accused the Clintons of marginalizing Black voters.
Referring to this strategy in another interview, Clyburn said that
"Nothing in this campaign has been by accident."

Congressman Clyburn warned that "black people are incensed" over the
divisiveness of the Clinton strategy and that it threatens an
irreparable breach between Black people and the Democratic Party.
He's right. And if superdelegates hand Clinton a victory despite her
defeat among voters, they will be condoning and rewarding that
strategy.

Some party leaders have expressed strong concern about superdelegates
overruling voters. But as a whole, superdelegates have not made it
clear that they will respect the will of voters. Today, we want to
send a clear, unequivocal message to superdelegates and other party
leaders: Reject the idea that the nomination can be won with a
strategy that preys on racism, sows division, and disenfranchises
millions of voters.

Please join me by supporting the proactive actions of The Color of Change.

http://www.colorofchange.org/dems/?id=2054-503311

Thanks.

African American Political Pundit

60 percent of voters think Clinton is dishonest. - What Obama wishes he could say about the Clinton's

The folks at Politico have a great article on the Clinton's and What Obama wishes he could say. I'm with the writers, John F. Harris & Jim Vandehei who write, " All manner of Clinton controversies, Obama partisans argue, have not been fully ventilated. This includes old issues, like Hillary Clinton’s legal career, which includes lots of cases that never got much public attention even during the Whitewater era. It also includes new ones, like recent stories raising questions about the web of personal and financial associations around Bill Clinton. Since leaving the presidency, he has traveled the globe to exotic places and with sometimes exotic characters, raising money for projects such as his foundation and presidential library and making himself a very wealthy man.

Which gets us back to gall. In the fantasies of some of his high-level supporters, Obama would peel off the tape to say something like this: You want to talk hypocrisy? How about piously criticizing me for Jeremiah Wright when you have a trail of associations that includes golden oldies like Webb Hubbell? (‘90s flashback: He was one of Hillary Clinton’s legal partners and closest friends, whom she installed in a top Justice Department job before prosecutors sent him to prison.) It also includes modern hits like Frank Giustra. (In case you missed it: There was a January New York Times story, which did not get the attention the reporting deserved, highlighting how this Canadian tycoon and major Bill Clinton benefactor was using his ties to the ex-president to win business with a ruthless dictatorship in Khazakstan.)

Obama has never pressed Clinton to talk about Marc Rich, even though the former fugitive financier who won a controversial pardon from Bill Clinton gave money to her first Senate campaign.

He has never mentioned her brothers, even though Hugh and Tony Rodham once defied Bill Clinton’s own top foreign policy advisers by entering into a strange investment in hazelnuts in the former Soviet republic of Georgia (they later dropped the deal) and Hugh Rodham took large cash payments for trying to broker presidential pardons.

Obama is likewise galled to be lectured by Clinton for not being sufficiently committed to universal health coverage. Why is it, his team asks, that Democrats have done so little to advance a long-time progressive goal for the past 15 years? The answer has everything to do with Hillary Clinton’s misjudgments when she was leading the reform effort in 1993 and 1994.

Most irritating of all to Obama partisans is what they see as her latest pose: that she is selflessly staying in the race despite the long odds against her because of devotion to the Democratic Party and the belief that she is a more appealing general election candidate.

It is an article of faith among most people around Obama that the Clintons were a disaster for the party throughout the 1990s. When Bill Clinton came to town in 1993, Democrats were a congressional majority, with 258 seats in the House. When he left in 2001, they were a minority with 46 fewer seats. There were 30 Democratic governors when he arrived, 21 10 years later.

As for electability, the Obama side believes — for all his trouble winning lower-income whites in recent primaries — that it is ludicrous to believe she is the stronger candidate in the fall.

A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found nearly 60 percent of voters think Clinton is dishonest. Think about that: Only four in 10 voters do not think she lies when she needs to. A majority hold an unfavorable view of her.

Will those numbers improve if she wins the nomination and Republicans resurrect the scandals, the Bill Clinton sexual affairs and her Bosnia fib with the same intensity they brought to the Wright uproar? Unthinkable.

Now that the Democratic superdelegates are facing their moment of decision in this close race, you might think it would be time for politesse to give way to an unvarnished discussion about both candidates' real strengths and liabilities.

The Obama side is frustrated with the news media for not carrying more of its argument. His operatives thought a Newsday story looking exhaustively at her legal career — including the revelation that as a young lawyer she attacked the credibility of a 12-year-old rape victim — would provoke a herd of other coverage. It did not happen.

If he really wanted, Obama could generate all the coverage he wanted about Clinton’s past by leveling accusations in his own words. But that is not going to happen. More HERE


AAPP: These two Politico.com writers are right, Politically Barack Obama will be called out as a hypocrite if he practiced the conventional art of attack politics after preaching against it. But black bloggers can expose these folks for who they really are. Maybe, just maybe its time to take the sheets off of Hillary and Bill Clinton once and for all, and expose them for who they really are. What do you think?

Is Barack Obama Getting Bad Advise From A Majority White Staff

NPR's Bloggers' Roundtable is addressing this and other issues regarding: How Diverse Is Obama's Staff? Check out the members of the Afrospear as they "keep it real" on NPR's News & Notes.

Yes some of the the afrosphere best political minds are wondering if Barack Obama's campaign staff has enough color. Plus, actor Wesley Snipes gets ready for his prison stripes. NPR has got that and more on their bloggers roundtable. Joining in are Carmen Dixon of All About Race; Wayne Bennett of The Field Negro; and Danielle Belton of Black Snob and The Secret Council of American Negroes.

Professor William Julius Wilson, Your Wrong About Clinton Regaining The Affection of Black Voters

Harard sociologist, Professor William Julius Wilson, has predicted that Mr. Obama will win the nomination, and that both Clintons will campaign hard for a Democrat to win the White House, with Mr. Clinton “regaining the affection of black voters.”

AAPP: I Don't agree with Mr. William Julius Wilson. The “regaining the affection of black voters.” is not going to come easy for the Clinton's. For this AAPP 'it will be a warm day in hell' before I consider voting for Hillary. Maybe, just maybe, black folks should register in mass as independents after the general election. it's time for black to stand up and be counted in another way. The election will be about change in many ways. maybe its time for blacks to move away from the democratic party, as we did from the republican party in the 1950's.

I agree more with Michael Dawson, who as reported by Kate Phillips of the NY Times is a political science professor at the University of Chicago, posited last week at TheRoot.com that if Mr. Obama is not the nominee: “The Democratic Party will face the Herculean task of trying to mobilize its most loyal constituency — black voters — in the face of deep and widespread black bitterness and active campaigns in the black community encouraging black voters to defect or abstain. You can already hear the angry comparisons. Just like in 2000, the protests will go, an election will have been ‘stolen.’ ” More HERE

Was Rev. Wright a Spectacle? Barack Obama Seems To Think So...

The News is Barack Obama has taken another hit from Rev. Wright. The coverage across American media outlets talk about how Obama Condemns Wright's Defense. Obama has called his ex-pastor's appearances on Monday a 'spectacle.' While he (Obama) continues to narrow the superdelegate gap.

MSNBC - Democrat Barack Obama says he was outraged by the comments of his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and saddened by the spectacle of his appearance on Monday. Wright said Monday that criticism surrounding his fiery sermons is an attack on the black church. Obama told reporters Tuesday that Wright's comments do not accurately portray the perspective of the black church.

US News.com is following this story with links to the major to major news outlets discussing this story. They are reporting that Wright's Remarks Leave Obama Wounded. They report, The public reemergence of Rev. Jeremiah Wright dominated last night's cable news broadcasts and was covered in-depth by each of the three networks, which gave very little attention to any other aspect of the Democratic primary campaign. This morning's major newspapers, likewise, are reporting on the controversial pastor at length. The New York Times notes that in remarks at the National Press Club in Washington, Wright "suggested that the attacks of Sept. 11 were at least in part a response by terrorists to terrorism practiced by the United States abroad. 'You cannot do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you,' he said." He "stood by his suggestion that the United States might have invented HIV, the virus that causes AIDS," and "suggested that Mr. Obama's speech in which he distanced himself from some of Mr. Wright's more controversial remarks was politically motivated." The Washington Times adds that Wright also "refused to apologize for his infamous 'God damn America' sermon, saying the US government owed blacks an apology for slavery" and "stood firm in his praise of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan." The Washington Post's Dana Milbank writes, "From the moment he entered the room, Wright seemed to be looking to stir controversy."

The AP says Wright "seemed to relish the chance to speak out after weeks of being derided in the press. He reveled in his retorts, high-fiving an audience member, pointing and winking at his supporters and mocking descriptions of him as Obama's spiritual mentor. According to The Politico, Wright also "said...he will try to change national policy by 'coming after'...Obama if he is elected president."

In a shift, much of the coverage characterized Wright as a serious threat to Obama's campaign whereas in previous weeks his controversial statements were portrayed as more of a distraction Obama had dealt with effectively. The CBS Evening News reported that Wright's "reemergence now just as the Illinois senator seeks to regain some momentum, is a gift to the political opposition which has stressed Obama's difference from the mainstream. ... Wright's inflammatory rhetoric and the endless recycling of his statements on the internet and television had already knocked Obama's presidential campaign off stride." ABC World News called Wright "the controversy" that Obama "just can't seem to shake." NBC Nightly News showed Obama saying of Wright, "He does not speak for me. He does not speak for the campaign. And so, you know, he may make statements in the future that don't reflect my values or concerns."

CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 said Wright's "toxic preaching derailed" Obama's candidacy and added, "We do know the Obama camp is having a bad month and this week isn't looking any better. ... The reemergence of the reverend is exponentially harmful to Obama's mission."
Wright Seen As Harming Obama With Working Class Whites Long Island Newsday reports that Wright's "animated, provocative and sometimes comic 90-minute appearance at the press club is likely to raise more questions than it answered. 'I don't know why he's doing this to his friend...he's seriously hurting Obama,' said Stu Rothenberg, an independent political analyst based in Washington. 'I can only assume that Jeremiah Wright's top agenda is helping Jeremiah Wright,' he added. 'It's already done the damage. It's something for those older white working-class downscale people to latch onto in voting against Obama.'" The New York Post adds that Wright's "latest comments, on the heels of a whirlwind media tour, come at an exceptionally bad time for Obama, who is courting white working-class voters in Indiana to turn back a re-energized Clinton." Similarly, the Christian Science Monitor reports that Wright's appearances "inject issues of race back into the nomination contest at an awkward time for Obama," who "was already fending off new questions about his ability to win enough blue-collar white voters to close the protracted nomination fight with" Clinton. And the New York Daily News says, "For Obama, Wright's leap onto the national stage could hardly come at a worse time, a week before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries. Obama's weakness with white working-class voters helped cost him last week's Pennsylvania primary -- and a chance to put Hillary Clinton away."

Clinton, McCain Stay Out Of Fray In a story headlined "Barack Obama's Foes Avoid Fueling Jeremiah Wright Controversy," the New York Daily News reports that Clinton and McCain "unwrapped the gift of Barack Obama's former pastor in private Monday, letting the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's words do the work for them. Asked about the latest remarks from Wright, neither" Clinton nor McCain "had much to say."
------

AAPP: OK, now Barack Obama is expert on the black church?

What do you think? Should Barack be condeming Pastor Wright? Is the pastor speaking truth to power? Is his comments untimely? When is the right tme for Rev. Wright to speak Up? Does Rev. Wright speak for black folks?

Alan Keyes Leaves Republican Party to Join Constitution Party

Andrew Malcolm, a blogger with the LA Times reports that Alan Keyes officially leaves GOP and hardly anyone notices.




Alan Keyes Leaves Republican Party joins Constitution Party to Run For President.

AAPP: Keyes announced last week that he was officially leaving the Republican Party. What if you announced that you were leaving the Republican Party and no one cared ? Well that is what is happening with Keyes. No one really cares.

Malcolm writes, Keyes is best known recently as the former Illinois Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate singlehandedly responsible for halting the rise of a Democratic state senator there named Barack Obama. In their fabled statewide 2004 contest, Keyes came within 43 percentage points of tying Obama.

In what Keyes' website billed as a "major announcement," the outspoken abortion opponent said he was considering joining the Constitution Party.

"They're considering me, I'm considering them," Keyes told a conference call of several people Tuesday night. "We have so much in common that I find it hard to believe we won't be able to work out a common basis for working together."

The website of the Constitution Party, which has national headquarters in the well-known political hub of Lancaster, Pa., proclaims its political goal is "to restore our government to its Constitutional limits and our law to its Biblical foundations." The party holds its presidential nominating convention later this month in Kansas City, Mo., which is famous for great barbecue.
Read More HERE

Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., Speaks Out. While Obama says: “He does not speak for me.”

Barack Obama: “He does not speak for me.”

As reported in the NY Times, Obama is adding distance from pastor Wright. As reported by Jeff Zeleny, But for the third time in four days, Mr. Wright made a high-profile public appearance to discuss and repeat some of his more controversial statements, this time at the National Press Club in Washington. Mr. Wright suggested that the attacks of Sept. 11 were at least in part a response by terrorists to terrorism practiced by the United States abroad. “You cannot do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you,” he said.

He stood by his suggestion that the United States might have invented H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. He defended the Rev. Louis Farrakhan — whom he referred to at times just by his first name — noting his large appeal among African-Americans.

“He is one of the most important voices in the 20th and 21st century: That’s what I think about him,” Mr. Wright said, adding, “When Louis Farrakhan speaks, it’s like E. F. Hutton speaks, all black America listens. Whether they agree with him or not, they listen.” More Here.

AAPP: Obama: “He does not speak for me.”

And he suggested that Mr. Obama’s speech in which he distanced himself from some of Mr. Wright’s more controversial remarks was politically motivated. “He had to distance himself,” the pastor said, “because he’s a politician, from what the media was saying I had said, which was anti-American.”More Here.

AAPP: Obama: “He does not speak for me.”

Supreme Court : Poor, blacks and other minorities need to get " ID Card"

The Supreme Court has Upheld The Voter Identification Law in Indiana

As reported by David Stout of he NY Times, In a 6-to-3 ruling, justices rejected arguments that a requirement that voters produce photo identification imposes unjustified burdens on the poor and minorities. Check out the Text of the Opinion. Many are now saying the decision will Spur Voter ID Laws in More States

4 More U.S. Soldiers Killed in Baghdad Attack - Does anyone care?

Yes, 4 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Baghdad Attack and it appears that no one cares anymore. We know the administration does not care. As reported by The Washington Post:

Bombardments by suspected militants killed four U.S. soldiers Monday as troops tried to push Shiite fighters farther from the U.S.-protected Green Zone and out of range of their rockets and mortars.

At least 44 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq in April, making it the deadliest month for U.S. forces since September.

The U.S. military said three soldiers were killed in eastern Baghdad by indirect fire, a reference to mortars or rockets. The statement did not give an exact location for the attack, but the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City has been the scene of intense fighting recently with Shiite militiamen.

A fourth U.S. soldier was killed by a shell in western Baghdad, the military said.

A showdown between the Iraqi government and the Mahdi Army _ led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr _ has increasingly drawn U.S. forces into the battles. American commanders are particularly focused on trying to curb a rise in mortar and rocket attacks on the Green Zone.

At least three more salvos hit the Green Zone in central Baghdad, but there were no reports of injuries. In Sadr City _ the stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia _ U.S. soldiers battled deeper into the district a day after fierce clashes that killed at least 38 suspected militants, the military said.

U.S. soldiers killed seven more extremists Monday after coming under small-arms fire in Sadr City, the military said. Four of the suspects were killed in an airstrike and three others by an Abrams tank crew, according to a statement. more HERE

Questionable Characters? Jeremiah Wright Jr and Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick - Great Picture?

AAPP: Is this the type of picture Obama needs? Great work NAACP! Did you ever think about dis-inviting The Mayor? For that matter why is Rev Wright so important now?
Could The Washington Post be right? Could Wright Spell Doom for Obama?



Why did the NAACP need to give him an opportunity Strike Back at this critical time in American political history? (update: I stand corrected. I guess I understand why, after watching the video below). But I still have a number of concerns about the picture above and how it will be used in the media. The media is already twisting it, saying, Wright Stirs Race Controversy

It's too bad the NAACP does not pay as much attention to the people that really need attention the victims of Dunbar Village. My question now is whether Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. trying to set up Obama? Should Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. be chilling out until after after the general election? Rev Wright and indicted Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, on the same stage. Great picture for the Republicans. Great picture for the other real Republican - Hillary Clinton.



Special note: After watching the video below and after reading a post by Shawn Williams at dallas South Blog. I could be wrong. In many ways I agree with Shawn when he wrote, "What’s news to some is another day at church for others. I wish it would all go away, but I know that it won’t. I’m glad that Dr. Wright has the courage to stand up for what he believes in, and fight against this unfair, undeserved portrayal of his ministry. There are a lot of people who are learning more about others through what has been a painful process." What man meant for evil, God meant it for good. Read More HERE.

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., right, the former pastor of Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., with Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

Check out this story in The Washington Post by Jeff Karoub with The Associated Press:

DETROIT -- The outspoken former pastor of Barack Obama told an audience of 10,000 at an NAACP dinner on Sunday that despite what his critics say, he is descriptive, not divisive, when he speaks about racial injustices.

"I describe the conditions in this country," the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. said during the 53rd annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner held by the Detroit chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

"I'm not here for political reasons," Wright said. "I'm not a politician. I know that fact will surprise many of you because many in the corporate-owned media made it seem like I am running for the Oval Office. I am not running for the Oval Office. I've been running for Jesus a long, long time, and I'm not tired yet."

By speaking at the event, Wright was following in the footsteps of Obama and the senator's rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well as former President Bill Clinton. It's a $150-a-plate fundraiser billed as America's largest sit-down dinner. Read More HERE.

Update: Politico's Michael Calderone is reporting on how Rev. Wright has found his way back to spotlight. Calderone reports that on Sunday, Wright gave two morning sermons to 4,000 attendees at a Dallas mega-church before speaking at the NAACP’s Freedom Fund dinner that night in Detroit. Already, clips of Wright’s first lengthy interview with PBS’s Bill Moyers — which aired Friday — have been making the rounds on all the cable networks.

Indeed, Axelrod doesn’t have much control. Especially since Wright’s church didn’t speak in advance to public affairs firm Jasculca/Terman and Associates, Inc., which Axelrod reportedly helped coordinate when controversial clips of truncated Wright sermons started making the rounds in March, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

These days, although Wright is operating independently and is not a campaign surrogate, the media are covering him with full force — much to the chagrin of top Obama staffers.

“There’s not a thing we can do about it,” Axelrod said earlier on MSNBC. “This is, it’s a free country and he’s exercising his right to speak. And frankly, you’re exercising your right to give him a huge platform. So, there’s nothing we can do about that either.”

AAPP: When is the character assassination going to stop? When is the major media outlets going to stop the attacks on Obama and Wright? I'm not sure, but one thing is for sure, this is not the type of picture Obama needs?

What do you think?

Obama Has Nothing to Gain by Debating Hillary

Why should Barack Obama debate Hillary? Hillary is the one who needs the debates not Obama. He is the leader of this campaign and stay focused. Watch out for Hillary and Bill they will try to paint you as a angry black man. Watch Out! The Media has Jump Ship From Obama To Clinton so expect the media to beat you up for not debating her.

This is election is becoming a Democratic comedy.




I agree with John Weisman at The Washington Post who thinks Senator Obama may need to use negative campaign tactics to beat Senator Clinton. Weisman notes Obama’s quandary: “Stay negative and he risks undermining the premise of his candidacy. Stay aloof and he underscores Clinton's argument that he will not be able to beat a ‘Republican attack machine’ sure to greet him this summer.” More at The Washington Post.

I also agree with Steve, It's time for....