In light of the current economic climate - while chewing on recent Republican, populist-tinged victories in New Jersey, Virginia and, most recently, Massachusetts - the question regarding African American support for President Obama is bound to come up. It's the anniversary of his first full year in office, we prognosticators...

Some quick thoughts on last night's race: Strategists on both sides appear detached and out-of-touch in the post-mortem. Some take issue with last night's Republican win being framed almost exclusively as some sort of referendum on health care reform. It's not that easy ...

True that Democrats will have to...

Big question of the day is whether or not it's appropriate - at the moment - to discuss the political and economic context of Haiti's disaster. Many folks, thoughtful observers included, seem to gingerly step around the issue.

It may be uncomfortable, but it is appropriate. In fact, it's...

Dear Congressman:

What's good in the New Decade? Definitely dig the fact that you're giving that New York Senate seat a shot. That's what's up.

Solid statewide bids by young brothers are always a good thing in this age of raw Black political maturity. Cory Booker is right across...

Is the Massachusetts special Senate election really that tight? And can Republicans claim some sort of "moral victory" absent a win for the seat vacated by the tragic death of Ted Kennedy (D)? This is a rather peculiar question for a state as reliably Democratic as Massachusetts. It makes us...

Off, misguided or unappealing "race" remarks that make a chalkboard cringe are often the norm right around ... well ... now as we approach observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday and, right around the corner, Black History Month. You tighten up, gear down and prepare for the worst of...

Examining the presidential response to a recently foiled terror attempt, there is a war between the political and the knee-jerk emotion. Terrorism, still improperly defined in the post-9/11 world, finds its power in raw adulteration. There is a parasitic quality to it, as it manages to eat away at an...

Legendary American writer James Baldwin once wrote a rather simple, yet complex maxim on the issue of life. "Trust life," he said "and it will teach you, in joy and in sorrow, all you need to know."

"Joy" and "sorrow" appear as two essential elements in Baldwin writings. Every...

Political eulogies often times seem corny when delivered by those who don't know. It's one of the main reasons they're somewhat difficult to write. Not that they're inappropriate since the individuals they are delivered in memory of led public lives, earning public scrutiny and, in death, public reflection. But, we...

The easy analysis on the White House's perceived withdrawal from the (in)famous "public option" is to assume the President lost the stomach for it. In Politico, columnist Roger Simon asks: Does President Obama have the Guts?--which is somewhat hollow considering it takes a bit of grit for a black...

The real problem with the recent Valley Club swimming pool incident is that, if you're from Philadelphia, it comes as no surprise. We might wear that Ill Town badge with gritty pride, but we know what the deal is and has always been.

Philly Inquirer Columnist Annette John-Hall's breath...

Rage against the Mullah machine fumes in Iran, economy is wrecked, and health care reform is a rubbery roast of ripped tire on the road to political hell. Recent conversations, instead, managed to touch on the meaning of "urban literature."

As critics, observers and fans of Black literature lament the...

Recent announcements from the Administration concerning an "accelerated" 100-day Roadmap to Recovery may feed into the suspicions of political cynics over its pace. Without doubt, it's certain that the government's maddening, multi-trillion intravenous shot in the economic arm will provide some cushion of relief in some areas. Common sense only...

In a futile bid to hype an upcoming Republican Party special session in Washington this week, GOP Communications Director Trevor Francis characterized the unusual meeting - so soon after picking a Chair only several months ago - as "the beginning of a new direction for the party" and that "the...

This tea party stuff is spooky.

It's not just the tea parties, it's the symbolism behind them and the parallel track with history. The inability of organizers to explain why they've done this now as opposed to the past several years of ballooning deficit spending under the previous administration....

The current state of the Grand Ole' Party brings that beat back to March 30, 1981, when then President Ronald Reagan was shot and critically injured in a hail of bullets from the gun of one mentally troubled John Hinckley, Jr. Waxing nostalgic, not only was it a tragic episode...

First - a few dropped thoughts on the President's first month. Despite the massive challenges faced, fam maintains steely composure and ease over the past month - a quality that makes him rather strong and solid as Commander-in-Chief. The constant communication and focus on transparency (from simple efforts like a...

Most possess enough common sense to assume we've not reached any sort of "post-racial" utopia -- by any stretch of the imagination. Even if we've made strides in accomplishing a decent level of social comfort and affability, we have some ways to go before truly claiming a complete, unconditional truce...

The disconnect between what is inside the Beltway and who is outside that twisted petty politrick of partisan rubble is a rather peculiar human state. To say D.C. is self-insulated from the rest of that which it governs is somewhat of an understatement. It's peculiar because the nation's capitol is...

Last week carried enough political theater to fake an Emmy, and showed that all politics is really all about perception. Party-line stimulus vote in the House, from eagerly left-twitched Democrats to jacked-in-a-regional-box Republicans. The meteoric media rise of Rod Blagojevich and his peculiar fall - if that's what you call...