On the eve of the election, it seems that journalists are as interested in the reel world as there are in real life. How else would you explain that they’re turning to fictionalized characters to explain Senator Barack Obama’s potential impact as a President. Read the full story

If only the citizens of the world could cast their votes in this upcoming Presidential election. According to a recent poll conducted by the BBC, of the 22 nations queried, all of them would prefer the Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama over Senator John McCain. Read the full story

I can’t say I am surprised that The New Yorker chose to depict Barack Obama as a flag-burning Muslim. Even if the editor David Remnick thinks its satire the message goes over folk’s head. I was watching a CNN report on the elections on Friday where a reporter went around to various cities to take the pulse of its citizens about the candidates. His last stop left Campbell Brown, the reporter and the audience stunned into silence. Here’s what happened: The reporter asked the older white woman why has a life-long Democrat she’s decided to vote for McCain. Her reply was “Because I think he’s a Muslim.” The jaw-dropping statement came from her male friend who said that he doesn’t think a black man could make change. That is, unless he has a cup in his hand.
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One thing became clear to me during this brouhaha involving Senator Barack Obama and the Reverend Jeremiah Wright—there’s some throwback thinking afoot. Remember when the thoughts, appearance and actions of a black man or woman stood as THE example for the entire black race? Well at least it seemed that way. Because in our parents and grandparents generations everyone thought it was a good thing to be “a credit to his or her race” or a “good race man or woman.” Of course we also called ourselves Negro or colored too. We may no longer use those words but their history and meaning are buried in our bones. And the remnants of those attitudes pop up at the most interesting times, like during this election campaign. Now however, this retro thinking is creating some polarizing and pitiful results. Read the full story

With Hillary and Barack locked in this tenacious and sometimes petty race, the two new buzzwords on every journalist’s mind seem to be racism and sexism. No matter who wins the Democratic nomination this discussion will continue through November. With McCain in the race, ageism might be the next ‘ism’ to be thrown in the mix. It seems like every day there is a different take on the subject. I was struck in particular by an op-ed piece in today’s New York Times by Nicholas D. Kristof where he mentions some online test he took where he discovered that he did have an unknown bias, particularly against black men. Part of the test was that you were supposed to shoot at people you perceived to be a threat. Kristof was more likely to pull his gun out on the fictional brother. But I digress. Read the full story

We’ve all had our doubts about Condi Rice over the years. She may look like a black woman but is she really one of us? A lot of her behavior hasn’t done much to sway us either way, it seemed that she was actually trying to transcend the discussion by appearing race neutral. We understood that she was in a powerful position in a Republican administration but was she a sister underneath it all? None of us expected an animated neck rolling, finger snapping, Secretary of State but some sign of black life would have been greatly appreciated. Read the full story