Edwards Ends Campaign

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards suspended his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. He conducted a populist campaign, focusing on poverty, health, and the disparity between the powerless and corporate interests. And to his credit, he conducted an admirable campaign that focussed on the issues and avoided petty the tactics of personal attacks and demonization of the opposition. The immediate speculation is who - Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama - benefits from his departure? The conventional wisdom says those Edwards supporters who saw him as a change agent will naturally gravitate to Obama.

Nader Considers a Presidential Run, Again

The reports that Ralph Nader is considering yet another run at the presidency is unwelcome news. For Nader made eight years of George W. Bush's ruinous presidency possible by running in 2000 and, as such, siphoned off votes from then Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic nominee. Although Nader's candidacy did not have much of an impact nationally, its impact in the critical state of Florida proved disastrous. Aside from ego gratification and self-righteousness, a Nader candidacy has no significance beyond playing the role of spoiler.

Rudy

If the polls are correct, tonight's results in the Florida Republican primary should signal the demise or, at the very least, irrelevance of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani's campaign for the GOP presidential nomination. Giuliani's strategy consisted of avoiding the early caucuses and primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, and South Carolina and staking everything on Florida's closed primary, with the idea of establishing momentum, leading into Super Tuesday. Unfortunately, the emergence of Sen. John McCain and former governor Mitt Romney in the early primaries and caucuses has made this a two man race and pushed Giuliani to the level of second tier candidate. That left him running even with former governor Mike Huckabee and barely ahead of Rep. Ron Paul. The truth is that Giuliani had little to offer beyond 9-11 and, with his somewhat dubious private life, never quite endeared himself to the Republican Party's base, social conservatives and evangelical Christians.

Wesley Snipes Rests

Wesley Snipes' defense team unexpectedly rested its case without calling a single witness to the stand. The defense has steadfastly maintained that Snipes is the unwitting victim of tax advisers who apparently told him not to file tax returns for the years in question. I hope for Snipes' sake that the prosecution failed to meet its burden as the defense claims because otherwise Wesley is looking at a lot of time behind bars.

Kennedy Endorsements of Obama

Senator Edward Kennedy's endorsement of Obama, following Caroline Kennedy's New York Times oped praising the Illinois senator, is as much a declaration of support as it a sterling rebuff of the Clintons, particularly the vicious attacks orchestrated by chief surrogate Bill Clinton. Whether Senator Kennedy's support will help Obama shore up support among establishment Democrats, labor, and Hispanics in vital states like California on Super Tuesday remains to be seen.

Toni Morrison Endorses Obama

Novelist Toni Morrison, who famously dubbed Bill Clinton the "first black president," has announced her support for Senator Barack Obama. A letter, which Morrison sent to Obama, reads:

Dear Senator Obama,
This letter represents a first for me--a public endorsement of a Presidential candidate. I feel driven to let you know why I am writing it. One reason is it may help gather other supporters; another is that this is one of those singular moments that nations ignore at their peril. I will not rehearse the multiple crises facing us, but of one thing I am certain: this opportunity for a national evolution (even revolution) will not come again soon, and I am convinced you are the person to capture it.
May I describe to you my thoughts?
I have admired Senator Clinton for years. Her knowledge always seemed to me exhaustive; her negotiation of politics expert.
However I am more compelled by the quality of mind (as far as I can measure it) of a candidate. I cared little for her gender as a source of my admiration, and the little I did care was based on the fact that no liberal woman has ever ruled in America. Only conservative or "new-centrist" ones are allowed into that realm. Nor do I care very much for your race[s]. I would not support you if that was all you had to offer or because it might make me "proud."
In thinking carefully about the strengths of the candidates, I stunned myself when I came to the following conclusion: that in addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates. That something is a creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals wisdom. It is too bad if we associate it only with gray hair and old age. Or if we call searing vision naivete. Or if we believe cunning is insight. Or if we settle for finessing cures tailored for each ravaged tree in the forest while ignoring the poisonous landscape that feeds and surrounds it. Wisdom is a gift; you can't train for it, inherit it, learn it in a class, or earn it in the workplace--that access can foster the acquisition of knowledge, but not wisdom.
When, I wondered, was the last time this country was guided by such a leader? Someone whose moral center was un-embargoed? Someone with courage instead of mere ambition? Someone who truly thinks of his country's citizens as "we," not "they"? Someone who understands what it will take to help America realize the virtues it fancies about itself, what it desperately needs to become in the world?
Our future is ripe, outrageously rich in its possibilities. Yet unleashing the glory of that future will require a difficult labor, and some may be so frightened of its birth they will refuse to abandon their nostalgia for the womb.
There have been a few prescient leaders in our past, but you are the man for this time.
Good luck to you and to us.
--Toni Morrison

Morrison's endorsement is far more significant in terms of its symbolism than in the deliverance of actual votes. But I hope it serves to demystify the allure of Bill Clinton among African Americans, a phenomenon I frankly have never understood.

Billary Stays on Message

The notion that the Clintons would abandon their political calculation of marginalizing Sen. Barack Obama as "the black candidate" was dashed by Bill Clinton's assessment of Obama's victory in the South Carolina Democratic primary. The former president said: "Jesse Jackson won South Carolina twice, in '84 and '88. And he ran a good campaign. Senator Obama has run a good campaign here, he has run a good campaign everywhere."

Dull Blade

Wesley Snipes, the Blade star, is standing trial in federal court for fraud, conspiracy, and wilful failure to file tax returns from 1999 - 2004, a period when he allegedly earned $38 million. He faces a maximum of 16 years in prison. According to the prosecution, Snipes, in a 600 word letter to the Internal Revenue Service, declared himself "a nonresident alien" not subject to the laws of the United States and stated that the IRS sought to "terrorize, enslave, rape, and pillage" taxpayers. He warned that his continued prosecution would result in "significant personal liability" to IRS agents. And in a statement breathtakingly stupid, he added:

Warning - pursuit of such a high profile target will open the door to your increased collateral risk. I certainly don't believe this is in your best interests.

Snipes' predicament reminds me of an observation I heard growing up about the futility of ill-advised behavior: "I admire his spunk but damn his judgment."

Sangria

According to the Washington Post, the serving of sangria in Virginia is a violation of a state law enacted in 1934. That law expressly prohibits the mixing of wine or beer with spirits and the pre-mixing of drinks with spirits. The article also states that the restaurant Jaleo in its Crystal City location changed its recipe to conform to Virginia's antiquated law. This story has disturbed the delicate balance of domestic tranquility in the Taylor household. My wife and I several years ago fell in love with Jaleo's at its Washington D.C. location and, after we learned that it had opened up a restaurant in Virginia, eagerly decided to patronize that location. Recently she observed that something was different about the sangria. Now my wife has an inherent propensity to be difficult to please and extremely discriminating in her taste, particularly in a restaurant setting. So when she proclaimed that something was wrong or not quite right with the sangria, I reflexively dismissed her utterances. But after learning that Jaleo's Crystal City restaurant has been serving us an ersatz version of sangria to avoid running afoul of the law, I am placed in the unenviable position of apologizing to her for being too judgmental and dismissive. And, as painful as it is to admit, of having a non-discriminating palate.

Trademarks and Stereotypes

Michel Martin, host of National Public Radio's Tell Me More, had an interesting segment that explores the conflicted origin and evolution of three famous trademarks steeped in racial and ethnic stereotypes: Aunt Jemima, Chiquita Banana, and Uncle Ben. The illustration on the left depicts the original incarnation of Aunt Jemima; the other, the modernized version sans head rag.

Mendacity

The Center for Public Integrity and the Fund for Independence in Journalism, two non-profit journalism organizations, jointly conducted a study of how the Bush Administration orchestrated its campaign for the invasion of Iraq based on claims of Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction, links to Al Quaeda, or both. The study finds that the administration - primarily through public statements by President Bush, Vice President Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld - essentially lied to the American people on at least 935 separate occasions. The study concludes that "the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003."

Fred Thompson Quits

Former Sen. Fred Thompson terminated his unremarkable quest for the Republican presidential nomination with the issuance of the following statement:

"Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."

Thompson's ill-fated candidacy was spurred on by party conservatives unimpressed with the other candidates and desperate for the second coming of Ronald Wilson Reagan. But Thompson never quite measured up to the beloved Gipper. In truth, Thompson is a former senator whose record is undistinguished and inconsequential. Aside from the fact that he plays the authoritative and commanding District Attorney Arthur Branch in the television series Law and Order , he was anything but that on the campaign trail. His performance seemed to confirm notions about him being intellectually challenged and lazy.

Obama Admonishes Bill Clinton

Appearing today on ABC's Good Morning America, Sen. Barack Obama responded to Sen. Hillary Clinton's main surrogate, former President Bill Clinton, calling his advocacy of his wife's candidacy "troubling" and many of his statements "factually inaccurate." Obama's measured tone underscores the incongruity of a former president engaging in gutter politics and behaving in a manner not commensurate with that office. And Obama is not alone in criticizing Clinton. Newsweek magazine reports that Sen. Edward Kennedy and Rep. Rahm Emanuel have asked Clinton to tone down his attacks on Obama.

Johnson Apologizes

Perhaps the clarification was insufficient because now Robert Johnson, founder of BET and owner of the aptly named Charlotte Bobcats of the NBA, personally apologizes to Sen. Barack Obama for apparently getting caught up in the moment for his zealous support of Sen. Hillary Clinton. Just once would I like to see somebody say, irrespective of the reaction to idiotic remarks: Yes, I said it and I meant every damn word.

Krauthammer on Hillary, MLK, and LBJ

It isn't often that I find myself in agreement with neo-conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer about almost anything but I think he gets it exactly right on the meaning of Sen. Hillary Clinton's comments that President Lyndon Baines Johnson made possible the realization of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream.

Arrogance or Ignorance

District Judge Jackie Glass doubled O.J. Simpson's bail to $250,000 for violating terms of the original bail by attempting to contact a co-defendant. But before assessing the bail, Judge Glass sternly admonished Simpson and pondered the metaphysical question that has bedazzled others who have followed his career since he left the University of Southern California and resonates well beyond his immediate legal difficulties:

I don't know Mr. Simpson what the heck you were thinking - or maybe that's the problem - you weren't. I don't know if it's just arrogance. I don't know if it's ignorance. But you've been locked up at the Clark County Detention Center since Friday because of arrogance or ignorance - or both.

I say it's both.

Richard Cohen's Obama Test

In what can only be described as torturous logic, Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen calls on Sen. Barack Obama to disavow Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Obama's offense, as Cohen sees it, is that Obama is a member of Chicago's Trinity United Church whose minister and Obama's spiritual adviser, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. bestowed on Farrakhan, through the church magazine Trumpet Newsmagazine, the Trumpeter Award for "truly epitomized greatness." Never mind that there is nothing in Obama's record and background that suggests he shares Farrakhan's views, including the anti-Semitism Cohen so predictably harps on. Never mind that there is no evidence that Obama had prior knowledge or approved of Rev. Wright's actions. The question is, when did it become fashionable to evaluate political candidates based on the actions of their ministers or spiritual advisers?

"How 'bout those Cowboys"

In light of the Dallas Cowboys loss to the New York Giants, ten truths about America's Team:

10. Posting a 13-3 record during the regular season and securing home field advantage throughout the playoffs is
meaningless unless you close the deal.

9. Defeating a team, especially a divisional opponent, three times in a season is extremely difficult.


8. The Cowboys have not won a playoff game in 12 seasons. Their last postseason victory was December 28, 1996.

7. Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips is 0-4 in the playoffs. Quarterback Tony Romo is 0-2.

6. Despite all the hype and two years of impressive play, Romo is a work-in-progress, a gifted but inexperienced
quarterback who should not be mentioned in the same sentence with Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Brett Favre.


5. The Cowboys' defeat is a consequence of their arrogance in believing they could turn it on and off pretty much when they
felt like it. In the month of December, their play was lackluster and inconsistent, not exactly a position to be in for a
playoff bound team.

4. The Cowboys, like the Redskins, suddenly find themselves home after one game, watching other teams vie for the chance
to advance to the Super Bowl.

3. Vacations should not be taken until the work is completed.

2. The sobriquet America's Team is silly.

1. The anguish on owner Jerry Jones' surgically reconstructed face in the waning moments of the game and Terrell Owens'
teary-eyed post mortem and protestations about his teammates and his quarterback: Priceless.

Johnson Backpedals

It did not take Robert Johnson long to backpedal away from his scathing remarks about Sen. Barack Obama's drug use. Johnson issued the following statement through the Clinton campaign:

My comments today were referring to Barack Obama's time spent as a community organizer, and nothing else. Any other suggestion is simply irresponsible and incorrect.

When Hillary Clinton was in her twenties she worked to provide protections for abused and battered children and helped ensure that children with disabilities could attend public school.

That results oriented leadership - even as a young person - is the reason I am supporting Hillary Clinton

.

Frankly, I find Johnson's explanation disingenuous. Looking at the videotape, it is clear that he was referring to an activity somewhat more nefarious than community organizing.

Robert Johnson, Attack Dog

Apparently former BET founder Robert Johnson relishes the role of attack dog for Sen. Hillary Clinton in beating back the challenge of Sen. Barack Obama. Mr. Johnson zealously defended Clinton's recent remarks about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Last week Sen. Clinton told Fox News: "Dr. King's dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It took a president to get it done." That remark was viewed by some as an attempt to diminish the achievements of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement. Mr. Johnson argued that while Dr. King led a moral crusade, it took President Johnson to have it written into law. "That is the way the legislative process works in this nation and that takes political leadership. That's all Hillary was saying." But Johnson did not stop there, he went on to inject Obama's drug use into the campagn:

“And to me, as an African-American, I am frankly insulted that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues since Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood – and I won’t say what he was doing, but he said it in the book – when they have been involved.”

It is fair to say that as the Clinton campaign grows increasingly desperate, the personal attacks on Obama will intensify. Robert Johnson's entry into the fray suggests that there are others to share the heavy lifting with Bill Clinton.

O.J.'s Idiocy

The idiocy of O. J. Simpson is boundless. Out on bail awaiting his April 7th Las Vegas trial for carrying out "a sting operation" to retrieve his sports memorabilia, Simpson was taken into custody by Florida authorities for violating a justice of the peace's order to avoid contact with anyone involved in the case, including co-defendants. According to reports, Simpson attempted to use his bails bondsman to get in touch with co-defendant Charles Ehrlich because he was dissatisfied with the latter's testimony at the hearing where Simpson and others were ordered to stand trial for armed robbery.

Bill Clinton's Fairy Tales

With his wife's inevitable march toward the Democratic presidential nomination unexpectedly stalled by Sen. Barack Obama's win in the Iowa caucuses, former President Bill Clinton has taken it upon himself the role of lead attack dog in beating back the charismatic, upstart challenger. Speaking at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, a few days before the primary, Clinton lashed out at Obama, claiming that he had misrepresented his position on the Iraq war and that the media had assisted Obama by failing to press him on the point.

It was wrong that Senator Obama got to go through 15 debates trumpeting his superior judgment and how he was against the war. There's no difference in your voting record, and Hillary's ever since. Give me break. The whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen.

After segments of the black community took issue with his tone and language in reference to Obama, Clinton went on Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show to explain that his remarks were not meant to be personally disrespectful or a criticism of Obama's pursuit of the Democratic nomination. Clinton, the famous parser of the English language (I did not have sexual relations with that woman. It depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is.), said: "There's nothing fairy tale about his campaign. It's real, strong and he might win." To paraphrase Mr. Clinton, perhaps it boils down to what "the whole thing" means.

New Hampshire and the Media

In the aftermath of the media predicting Barack Obama's smashing victory in New Hampshire primary, Mark Feldman, a George Washington University journalism professor, rightly observes that political reporters, particularly the inside-the-Beltway variety, are "superficial sportswriters. Covering the campaign is almost like joining a cult, with a cocoonlike bubble as you travel from event to event. There's a lemminglike quality." Such coverage of presidential campaigns, with its overuse of tired sports metaphors and preoccupation with personalities, does not provide voters with the necessary information about the great issues of the day.

The Bradley Effect

Sen. Hillary Clinton's victory over Sen. Barack Obama in the New Hampshire primary surprised pundits because pollsters had predicted a double-digit win for Obama following his impressive showing in the Iowa caucuses. Those same pundits are now scrambling to explain the result, mentioning everything from Bill Clinton's feverish and decidedly unpresidential attack on Obama to Hillary being choked up, and as such displaying uncharacteristic emotion, in responding to a question about the pressures of campaigning. There has been little, if any, mention of the Bradley Effect, a phenomenon that produces inaccurate voter opinion polls in campaigns between white candidates and African American candidates. In particular, where statistically significant numbers of white voters tell pollsters that they are either undecided or inclined to vote for the African American candidate, once they find themselves in the privacy of the voting booth, vote for the white candidate. In the 1982 California Gubernatorial race, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley enjoyed a substantial lead in the polls over white Republican George Deukmejian. Bradley lost by 50,000 votes.

Obama

By any measure, Barack Obama's victory in the Iowa caucuses over rivals Hillary Clinton and John Edwards is quite an achievement. As an African American, he managed to garner 38% of the vote in a state that is overwhelmingly white. He attracted more voters than his opponents from almost every demographic group. As a relatively inexperienced junior senator from Illinois, he beat the Democratic Party establishment candidate in Clinton, the self-described voice of experience, and the party's former vice presidential nominee in Edwards, who also talked about the need for change but less convincingly so. In his victory speech, Obama sounded the themes that give even those most cynical about the political process a reason for hope.