Politics
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Why I Would Take a Bullet for Cornel West
In July 2012, Cornel West will make his much anticipated return to Union Theological Seminary — the site of his first academic job and one of the sacred grounds he calls home — from his current position at the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University. In light of this news and in the…
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Cain: I'm Not Supposed to Know About Foreign Policy
Just moments after his prominent gaffe while answering a question about Libya, GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain confidently proclaimed that he does not have to know about foreign policy, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. “I’m not supposed to know anything about foreign policy. Just thought I’d throw that out,” he said to a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel…
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Satire Can't Top the Real Republicans
Candidates in the 26-debate GOP marathon seem already to have hit the wall. With the 12th debate last Saturday and the 13th this coming Saturday, alternate front-runners in the Republican primary such as Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Herman Cain have fallen back, drained and giddy, and now it appears that Newt Gingrich,…
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Grading Obama: Kwame Anthony Appiah
Whether or not President Barack Obama’s first term embodies the idealism of the 2008 campaign is debatable, according to interviews with nine prominent black academics in the run-up to next year’s presidential election. Those participating in these conversations with The Root include Kwame Anthony Appiah at Princeton, Ralph Richard Banks at Stanford Law School, Mark…
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Black Conservatives Could Sink With Cain
Don’t tell anyone, but I’m envious of black conservatives. They can see America through a visor that was clouded for me many years ago. To them, this is a nation of opportunity for anyone who is willing to work hard enough. I believe that, too, but experience has taught me that such a concept must…
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Getting Arrested at Occupy Wall Street
Getting arrested while covering Occupy Wall Street in New York City was the furthest thing from my mind when I packed up my radio gear and loaded my laptop into my knapsack in the early hours of Tuesday morning, but that’s exactly what happened to me. It turns out I was one of several reporters…
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VIDEO: Obama Weighs In on Penn State Scandal
At a news conference after the APEC summit on Sunday, President Obama delivered a message addressing the sexual-abuse scandal at Penn State University. The takeaway: Protecting children is more important than shielding institutions, and people who see something wrong need to step up and address it. Watch the video, courtesy of the Associated Press: Read…
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Thomas, Cain and the Politics of Harassment
For a black man with a slim lead in the race for the Republican nomination for president and embattled by allegations of sexual impropriety, Herman Cain is coasting on easy street. Because of Cain’s high-profile defenders in the Republican Party, at least in part, sexual harassment allegations from four different women are sliding off the…
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Some Democrats Rebuff Supporting Obama
Manu Raju and Marin Cogan are reporting that some Democrats are refusing to support President Barack Obama because they are either “too focused” on their own elections or they want the White House to cater to their agendas before they agree to endorse the president. Raju and Cogan write: Some up for reelection in red…
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Gloria Cain Speaks; Will Anyone Listen?
Nia-Malika Henderson of the Washington Post is wondering if Gloria Cain, wife of GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain, will make a difference in what appears to be the unraveling of Herman Cain’s momentum because of multiple allegations of sexual harassment. Henderson writes: Scheduled to air Monday night at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Greta Van…