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Obama's State of the Union Must-Do List
(The Root) — After President Barack Obama delivered a second inaugural address that included — in less than 20 minutes — five references to faith and God, four to risk taking and free enterprise, four to the Declaration of Independence and only one each to “Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security,” the pundits summarily proclaimed…
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Good Job Stepping Aside, Susan Rice
As Chuck Hagel endures the grueling confirmation process for the defense secretary position, BET.com David Swerdlick writes that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice was actually shrewd in withdrawing from the process completely. Hagel will still likely be confirmed, but his lackluster testimony may have exposed him as having been out of politics…
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Obama's Inauguration Address Was Conservative
If the president’s speech was judged to be the opposite of conservative, then conservatism is in worse shape than we thought, David Swerdlick writes at the Hill. Hardly a liberal call to arms, Obama’s second inaugural was a conservative speech that touched on universal, almost inarguable themes that recast the traditional American dream in a…
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Tim Scott: The No. 2 Black Politician?
(The Root) — Poised to begin his second term as head of state and leader of the free world, there’s really no question that Barack Obama — the nation’s first African-American president — remains the most important and influential politician in America, regardless of ancestry. Now, though, the second-most-important black politician in the land might…
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The Right Call on Rice
(The Root) — In the face of what the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart described Thursday as the “ignoble hounding” by Republican Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte, here is the final irony of United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice’s request to withdraw her name from consideration as a candidate to be the next secretary…
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Obama Needs Kerry, Not Rice, as Secretary of State
The Root’s contributing editor David Swerdlick makes the case at the Hill that the president should consider which nominee — Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry or United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice — would be the more politically expedient pick to replace Hillary Clinton. … By all accounts, Rice is an earnest, loyal and effective Obama lieutenant.…
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Obama Should Make Romney Treasury Secretary
The arrangement could be a win-win, The Root’s contributing editor David Swerdlick writes at the New York Daily News. President Obama needs a new Treasury Secretary. Mitt Romney needs a job. And when current Secretary Tim Geithner steps down — as he’s indicated — before the start of Obama’s second term, the President ought to…
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Romney Could Be a Postracial President
By many accounts, the American electorate has become more polarized during the 2012 presidential contest, with race forming one of the many fault-lines dividing voters. We decided to look at what might happen to race relations in America under a second Obama term, versus a Mitt Romney administration, in a package that is also being…
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Despite What Sununu Says, Election Isn't About Race
Electing a president is not about race, but you wouldn’t know if from the recent Associated Press polls and comments from former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu. The surrogate for Mitt Romney continues to indulge in racist rhetoric and insinuation. Most recently, Sununu attempted to discredit the importance of fellow Republican and former Secretary of…
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What Obama Doesn't Get About Debates
(The Root) — It’s crunch time for President Barack Obama’s campaign — and his presidency. One more bad debate on Tuesday night and he’ll have done serious damage to his 2012 re-election prospects and possibly his presidential legacy. As a result of his listless performance in the first debate against opponent Mitt Romney, the president…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
