If He'd Picked Hillary

Fred Barnes writes about the consequences of not picking Hillary. I know it's a moot point now, but this election would've been a WRAP if Barack Obama had selected Hillary. Sometimes pride and arrogance can be a terrible thing.

We Need You Bill

Former President Bill Clinton and hopefully our next President, Sen. Barack Obama met yesterday in New York. Clinton has vowed to support Obama in any way possible, and predicted an easy win for the Illinois Senator.

The Sarah Palin dynamic has thrown the Obama campaign into a chaotic mode. Bill and Hillary's support will be needed more than ever if Obama is to win this election.

Beatty Still Trying to Negotiate Plea Deal

Christine Beatty was given until Monday to negotiate a plea deal in the Detroit text messaging scandal. Beatty is balking at jail time, and wants to pay minimal restitution. During this whole ordeal, Beatty has been relatively quiet, and also unemployed since January. I hope once she serves her time in jail, if that's ultimately her penalty, that she's able to rebuild her life and take care of her children. You can bet that Kwame Kilpatrick is plotting his re entrance into society once his jail time has been served.

The Detroit Free Press provides additional details on the proceedings.

Come On Joe!!

According to ABC News, Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Joe Biden made the following comments yesterday:

"Make no mistake about this," Biden responded. "Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. Let’s get that straight. She’s a truly close personal friend, she is qualified to be president of the United States of America, she’s easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America, and quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me. But she’s first rate, I mean that sincerely, she’s first rate, so let’s get that straight."

While I may agree with Biden about Obama's selection, now is not the time to publicly state your opinion.

Beatty Apparently Ready To Go To Trial

The Detroit Free Press is now reporting that Christine Beatty has until 1 p.m. today to accept a plea deal, and that she may be willing to take her chances at trial.

If Beatty does indeed decide to go to trial, the thinking has to be that she's already lost everything, and going to trial vs. having two felonies on your record is just a better option.

Christine Beatty Deciding On Plea Deal

My Detroit updates are a little slow, and this may be old news, but Christine Beatty, Kwame Kilpatrick's former Chief of Staff was mulling a plea deal that would include jail time as of yesterday according to the Detroit Free Press.

Although Kwame Kilpatrick resigned last week, and Beatty did play a major role in the text messaging scandal, it really seems like she's been harmed far more than Kilpatrick in this mess.

Number Of Black Teachers Declining In Philly

This is a phenomenon that has caught me off guard, the declining number of black teachers in Philadelphia and other major cities. The Philadelphia Daily News profiles the decline of black teachers in the city, and links a correlation between the decline and student achievement.

This is a very interesting read, and the article states specifically that black women are opting for higher paying career options such as medicine, dentistry and law. It appears that the only way to change this trend is to pay teachers more, which is something Barack Obama has been proposing, and why all black people who are registered have to vote in November.

R.I.P. Imam W. Deen Mohammed

Iman W. Deen Mohammed, son of Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad has died. He was 74. The Chicago Tribune profiles the life of Mohammed, who eventually broke from his father's teachings and embraced more mainstream Islam.

Obama Scaling Back Campaign In Georgia

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution Sen. Barack Obama is reducing personnel in the state of Georgia, shifting them to more competitive states like North Carolina. This appears to be a smart strategic move, if the polling indicates that Georgia is not a winnable state for the candidate.

Rollins Says Obama Should Have Picked Hillary

Republican Strategist, Ed Rollins, states in this CNN article that Sen. Barack Obama should have picked Sen. Hillary Clinton as his Veep choice in order to solidify the Democratic base. Obama, instead chose Sen. Joe Biden, who Rollins states is the least inspiring running mate since Dan Quayle.

Despite not picking Hillary, from an electoral map standpoint, Obama still has the advantage. Whether he can hold the advantage will decide the fall election.

Palin Calculating According To Former Beauty Contest Foe

Gradually the articles about Republican Veep Nominee Sarah Palin will be showing up all over the place. The New York Daily News caught up with Maryline Blackburn, Ms. Alaska, 1984, who describes Palin as congenial and calculating.

I have to give it to Sen. John McCain, right now the Palin pick has re energized his campaign, and made the race for president a dead heat.

Rev. Wright Accused Of Destroying Marriage Of Church Worker

According to the New York Post, Barack Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is back in the news, accused of having a relationship with Elizabeth Payne. Payne is a former worker in a local Dallas Church. Click the link to read more.

Conflicted About Kwame

Now that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has resigned, I have to admit I'm very conflicted about kicking him when he's down, because I pray that he resurfaces a better person for going through this ordeal, which was all of his own doing.

National best selling author Mitch Albom, who also writes for the Detroit Free Press states in this article what I just don't have the heart to say about Mr. Kilpatick. It's just very tough watching a talented black man kick away a potentially brilliant career because of arrogance.

I want in so many ways, to draw a comparison between Kwame Kilpatrick and Bill Clinton, but Kilpatrick costs the City of Detroit over $10 million in a time when the city placed all of it's trust in him. We knew what we were getting with Bill Clinton, and he was just true to his nature.

Memphis City Schools Hiring Tutors For Elementary Students

Sen. John McCain's answer to failing schools is to give the parents choices to have the kids bused to better performing schools. This is fine if this is the parent's choice. However, what happens to the students who are left behind.

Memphis City School Superintendent, Kriner Cash thinks that he may have an answer. According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the school system is presently recruiting 2,000 to 3,000 college students at a potential cost of $1.5 million to tutor 3rd and 5th grade students who have fallen behind their peers academically. Kriner is at least taking some initiative, and not accepting that these students don't have the capacity to learn. I hope that the tutoring concept is successful for the school system.

Will Race Be The Deciding Factor?

Now that Sen. John McCain has received the proverbial "bounce" he's leading in many of the new polls for President of the United States over Sen. Barack Obama.

Most African American are well aware that race will be the deciding factor in this race, but the national media will typically skirt around the issue. Dick Polman writes about the issue in the Philadelphia Inquirer. He writes correctly that Obama has a major dilemma in not appearing too angry when criticized, and that he still has the issue of dispelling "white suspicions" about him.

The bottom line though is the only reason that this race is close is because Barack Obama is African American. It's an unfortunate truth that we have to accept.

Good For Serena

Serena Williams is back atop the world of women's tennis after she won her ninth grand slam title last night defeating Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 at the U.S. Open.

It was great watching her equally formidable little sister Venus cheering her on, as well as her other family members who have been instrumental in both of the sister's success. There was a point when Serena's career appeared to on the downswing, but she admittedly has rededicated herself to her craft and the results have been awesome. Congrats gain, Serena Williams.