Politics

Abigail Thernstrom, the conservative commentator on race in the U.S., once called me a member of the “doom and gloom” contingent among black political scholars. So, that probably makes me overqualified to make this assertion, but here goes. An Obama presidency could seriously backfire on African Americans. It is true that should Barack Obama become…

Somewhere between Texas and Ohio on Tuesday night the Democratic political groundhog saw his/her shadow and decreed at least another six weeks of campaigning. After crucial wins on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton said she was staying in and Barack Obama, somewhat comforted by his lead in delegates, will have to wait a while before claiming his…

This is a dirty campaign and since Senator Barack Obama won’t say it, I will. The media has not been unfair to Senator Clinton, they have been extremely soft. There are elephants in the room that need to be addressed. Can anyone say Whitewater? How about impeachment? Let’s not forget Osama bin Laden. You can…

Even though I live in Ohio, I don’t have a clue which Democrat will win the state’s presidential primary today. At this point, I almost don’t care. I just want it to be over.The newspaper where I work reported over the weekend that it’s “neck and neck.” It said Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York…

In a competitive primary season, the question of endorsements is always a hot topic. But this year, the jockeying for support has reached its zenith with the tightly contested race for the Democratic nominee threatening to go all the way to the Democratic National Convention and being potentially decided by “superdelegates,” a pool of elected…

I am tired of trying to explain this to my husband, so I’ll explain it to you instead. I have been an advocate for the civil rights of African Americans since back when we were called Negroes. Growing up during the 50s and 60s in Chicago, I was well aware of the fault lines of…

The man does not merely have supporters. He has disciples. Sen. Barack Obama’s rhetorical themes clearly tap into the religious subconscious and spiritual sensibilities of Americans. Obama has cleverly become the first contemporary American politician to successfully collapse the distinction between religion and politics—all without ever using explicitly religious language. The fervor of the excited…

In late 2006, I made the choice to support Hillary Rodham Clinton for president, long before Sen. Barack Obama or even Hillary herself had declared their candidacies. My decision to support her was not one that was self-serving. My support was, and still is, based on her consistent support of issues that are important to…

Legend has it that early in his political career, aspiring Texas politico Lyndon Baines Johnson ran a campaign in which his camp started a rumor that his opponent was having sex with his farm animals. There was never any hint of truth to the charge. Still, his opponent spent all his time trying to put-off…

I’m disgusted with Bill and Hillary Clinton. Not merely because they played the race card on Barack Obama, but because they’ve done it before. It worked to perfection for them in 1992. I saw it up close when I was a part of the Los Angeles Times’ political team covering Bill Clinton’s successful bid for…