The Living Consequences

There are polls this week suggesting that McCain may be gaining a bit of ground nationally, and even that the presidential race may be fairly close. This is true, but also misleading, at least in part.

Click here to read the rest of this entry

I said it yesterday, in a slightly different context, and I’ll say it again today.

This election is historic, in that a black candidate is making a serious run for the presidency (and is favored to win, no less) and that should mean something to all of us. This is true, regardless of which presidential candidate you believe can best lead the nation.

Click here to read the rest of this entry

I don’t think it matters which presidential candidate you believe would best lead the country. This story should move us all, and illustrates why this election is truly historic, regardless of who wins (or should win).

Amanda Jones lives in Bastrop County, Texas, and is 109 years old.

She’s also the daughter of a slave, and has just cast an early vote for Barack Obama for president.

“I feel good about voting for him,” Mrs. Jones said.

Her father herded sheep as a slave, and she has now lived long enough to vote for a black candidate for president.

Recent news reports have publicized the fact that John McCain’s family owned slaves in the pre-Civil War South. As Douglas Blackmon related on the pages of the Wall Street Journal last Friday, Senator McCain’s great-great-grandfather owned a 2,000-acre plantation in Teoc, Mississippi where about 120 slaves labored in bondage.

Today at the Huffington Post, Abby Ferber explores the parallels between McCain’s story and that of the slave-trading DeWolf family, as chronicled in Traces of the Trade and Inheriting the Trade.

Click here to read the rest of this entry

Colin Powell, in his endorsement of Barack Obama moments ago on NBC’s Meet the Press, offered a bit of welcome honesty on the subject of our nation’s attitude towards those of other races and religions.

Click here to read the rest of this entry

As we’re all aware, the momentum of the presidential campaign has shifted significantly towards Obama in recent weeks. As of today, for example, Obama leads McCain in the national polls by as much as fourteen percentage points (53% to 39%), compared with gaps of four or five points as recently as a week earlier.

This is, of course, exactly what political scientists have been predicting, based on such large, external factors as the economic situation and the party currently in power.

The big questions now are whether Obama’s current lead in the polls will hold up over the next three weeks, and whether or not this lead is likely to translate into victory on Election Day.

This post won’t address the first question, which boils down to whether, and how, voter sentiment might change dramatically between now and November 4. Instead, I want to address the second question: how has Obama’s recent surge in the polls affected the map of the Electoral College?

Click here to read the rest of this entry

Senator Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination for president of the United States, based on a conservative Associated Press tally of delegates.

Click here to read the rest of this entry