Live-Blogging the Debate!

It helps to ease my nerves...

8:03pm Hillary lost the toss on who opens first. Does that make it 11 in a row? She looks very severe tonight. Does that mean she’s going with Mark Penn and trying to take Obama down, as opposed to Mandy Grunwald’s advice that she show a softer side? Her opening is nice enough, but of course, when you go first you can’t really attack. “A lifetime of experience and proven results” – new slogan?

8:06 pm Obama starts by thanking UT and by thanking Clinton and announcing how they’ll be friends after this. She struggles to nod. It’s easy to be gracious when you’re winning. Not too gracious, however, to get in a dig at NAFTA in the first paragraph. And the war in Iraq – subtext, how did you vote on that, Hillary? He is using that line again, “Washington is a place where good ideas go to die.” Must have played well the other night. He sees Clinton’s mention of Barbara Jordan, and he raises her by sharing a quote! Perfectly played.

8:12 pm Question about Cuba. Clinton's not meeting with the new Castro until she sees positive changes. Campbell Brown asks if Obama still means what he said about meeting with hostile leaders. Obama's talking about freedom. About a Cuba libre. And, he gets a huge applause when he says the United States should talk to its enemies.

8:16 pm Is it bad that I'm already a little bored? I mean, really, this is the 19th one of these. Isn't it just the same stuff every time? Aren't they just picking at nits? Wake me when something happens.

8:20 pm How would President Obama be different than President [H] Clinton on the economy? Trade viewed not just through Wall Street but through Main Street. Populist. Okay so now we get to the differences. Obama's gonna form a working coalition for change. We have to overcome the special interests in Washington. And this is a place where I think we have a slight difference although I'll let her speak to that. Hillary smiles. She wants a trade prosecutor to make sure trades are fair. That sounds smart.

8:27 pm Hillary has lots of good ideas, it's true. So many, in fact, that Campbell Brown cuts her off and she just keeps going! This is still boring.

8:29 pm I feel horrible for saying this, but when Senator Clinton talks, I see and think of Tracey Flick. Just a little too eager, you know? Obama, on the other hand, seems more measured. Calmer.

8:36 pm I surrender. I can't do this. There's just nothing new to say.

Obsessed with the presidential race

Yes, after months and months of feeling "eh" about the Democratic candidates for president, and the whole madness of the perpetual campaign, I've let myself become interested, inspired, and, dare I say it, hopeful that we could achieve an Obama presidency in November. But it's hardly a done deal. Super Tuesday's results proved that Democrats across the country are divided--almost exactly evenly--between Obama and Hillary Clinton.



Here's what I'm reading today:



Detroit Free Press: Déjà vote? Dems could do it again in Michigan

Howard Dean, and others, have suggested that perhaps Michigan could hold a caucus, with both candidates on the ballot, to allow its 156 delegates to be seated at the DNC. There are pros and cons, but as a Michigan voter who didn't vote in the primary because my candidate was not on the ballot, I support this. I don't see any other fair option for seating the delegates -- how can you say Clinton won the state fairly, when she broke a pledge that all the candidates made, saying that they would not campaign there?



Time Magazine: The Delegate Count

As a part of my obsession with the race itself, I'm absolutely obsessed with the delegate counting process. Though you'd never know it from my D in Statistics (sorry, mom), I've been unable to stop trying to analyze these ridiculously close numbers that will determine who becomes our Democratic nominee. This Time Magazine chart has Obama ahead by a hair, but other media sources (and campaigns) have other counts.



Huffington Post: Why Latinos and Asian Americans Went for Hillary

A lot of talk about the election returns, specifically in California, has focused on the strong support for Hillary Clinton within the Latino and Asian-American communities. Jeff Chang's blog post explores the reasons for this significant support, and how it might change as young Asian-Americans and Latinos drift towards Obama's relatively more insurgent candidacy.

Back to Headlines: Wednesday 1-8-08

Too much going on in the world. And, considering that it seems like people are reading the articles I link to in my g-chat status, I might as well be posting everything I find of interest.

First, on an extremely personal note, I was shocked to read that after 12 years, Rent will be closing on Broadway June 1st of this year. I gasped audibly when I saw the headline. I saw Rent in the summer of 1996 when I was 13 years old, and I think it did more to broaden my world view at that early age than just about anything else. Will definitely try to see it once more before it closes.

Moving on to the presidential election, which, I guess, is no less personal, there are a bunch of articles today that continue to examine the racial and religious implications of the Obama campaign. First, in response to emails that have been circulating in regard to Obama's "alleged" Muslim faith that are tinged with anti-semitic undertones, leaders from most of the major Jewish organizations issued an open letter maligning such attacks. And (case in point?) Michael Chabon has an excellent Huffington Post piece criticizing the Washington Post's Richard Cohen for accusing Obama of anti-semitism for allegedly not condemning his pastor's magazine for giving an award to Louis Farrakhan. Incidentally, if you read the first article, you'll see that Obama did condemn said pastor for said award, and further goes on to reiterate his disapproval of Louis Farrakhan. This is getting a little out of hand, yes?

And continuing on the race vs. gender debacle of this week (some way to commemorate MLK, yes, by engaging in a debate over the hierarchy of oppressions?), read this and this.

That's all I've got for now.

Really? People think racism isn't a problem anymore?

The racism that was publicized by the American Civil Rights movement in the 1960s is alive and well, perhaps even more virulent since it's been simmering under the surface. And although the Jena 6 catastrophe has been going on for months now, the American public has been slow to get there. Finally, the folks in Jena, LA are getting some attention.

Americans who watch CNN are now seeing the plight of the Jena 6. And at the same time, they've been introduced to an outbreak of nooses hanging from cars and trees across the country. What amazes me is that people are surprised. This disgusting racism and white supremacy that has finally made its way to the mainstream media has NEVER ACTUALLY GONE AWAY!

Read this article about what white supremacists are saying about the Jena 6. And note how active they were in the aftermath of Katrina! You can find a thousand examples a day of just how alive and well racism in America remains.

GARY PETERS IS RUNNING FOR CONGRESS

My friend Gary Peters has officially entered the race for Congress in Michigan's 9th district. You can visit his highly informative website here, to donate money, volunteer, and sign up for the email list!

Billups to stay forever; Garnett to BOSTON!?!

I love Chauncey Billups because he and his wife Piper are settling down in Detroit and planning to stay forever. We need more young people like him (I know, I'm not one to talk). He also thinks the Pistons will still be contenders. I'm with you, Mr. Big Shot, so let's make it happen.

In other news, Kevin Garnett will imminently make the first move of his long NBA career, and he's going...to BOSTON. To one of the worst teams in the NBA.

This is all I have to say: we beat Garnett when he was on a mediocre team in Minnesota, and we'll beat him on an even more mediocre team in Boston. Now, after a crappy season or two in Beantown, if he's still in good shape, I'm sure Mr. Dumars will answer his calls.

Congress Moms

The Washington Post has a lengthy article today, detailing the lives of the ten women in Congress with children under age 13. Some, like Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), are able to maintain residences with their young families only blocks from the Capitol. Others, like Reps Deborah Pryce (R-OH) and Melissa Bean (D-IL), can only fly home to see their children on the weekends. This is a really poignant story, and it also points at the persistent double standards that women face--men who run for office are beloved for having young children. Women, on the other hand, are often held accountable for not fulfilling their "motherly duties." And, as pollster Celinda Lake says in the article, it's generally women who are the toughest critics of each other.

Guess I'm Going to Politics & Prose Every Night this week...almost!

I'm skipping the icky brown one (obvi), but am very excited for Zirin, Dysen, and Gore!

Directly from the P&P Website:

Tuesday, July 17, 7 p.m.
DAVE ZIRIN
WELCOME TO THE TERRORDOME (Haymarket, $16)
Zirin, well known for What’s My Name Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States and his weekly column edgeofsports.com, saw an interesting intersection of sports and politics as Katrina victims fled their flooded homes to the New Orleans Superdome. Reporting on the world of sports in its social and cultural context, his unique view makes tired subjects like steroids in baseball interesting again.

Wednesday, July 18, 7 p.m.
ROBERT D. NOVAK
THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS (Crown Forum, $29.95)
Journalist and pundit Robert Novak, the man who outed Valerie Plame, retraces his 50-year career in this no-holds-barred memoir. Novak is feisty and revealing as he recounts his political journey to the right, his spiritual conversion from secular Jew to Catholic, his battles with liquor, and his encounters with Washington’s movers and shakers.

Thursday, July 19, 7 p.m.
MICHAEL ERIC DYSON
KNOW WHAT I MEAN? (Basic Civitas, $19.95)
Dyson, author, radio-show host, and public intellectual, returns to muse upon one of the most important cultural art forms of the last twenty years—hip-hop. Dyson examines hip-hop’s explosion from an inner-city movement into a global phenomenon, its commercialization, and its position as a lightning rod in discussions of economics, politics, race, gender, and sexual orientation.

Friday, July 20, 7 p.m.
KRISTIN GORE
SAMMY’S HOUSE (Hyperion, $24.95)
Sammy, the courageous and klutzy heroine from Gore’s first novel, has now arrived as a health-care advisor to the newly elected administration. She is feeling good about her life—and then, of course, all hell breaks loose.