Cara Live!

It all started with the South Carolina debate between Clinton, Edwards and Obama. Clinton interjects Tony Rezko in the conversation by stating that “I was fighting against those ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributors Rezko in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago.” There began the guilt by association spin. It wasn’t long before Fox News anchor, Sean Hannity, included his efforts by looping a 3 minute segment of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Although, McCain insisted that he would not include Jeremiah Wright as a part of his smear campaign, Bill Ayers was of focus because his participation in with the Weathermen in the late 1960s. During the entire campaign, Obama was defending himself or having to denounce someone because of their statements or actions including Rapper Ludacris, Minister Louis Farrakhan and Congressman John Lewis. Ludacris released a rap about the election. Although he is a supporter of Obama, he was not in any way affiliated w...

On I-95 in the northbound lane, but south of Richmond, VA, there is a billboard stating “Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican.” It is an advertisement by the National Black Republican Association which may be a subliminal message that maybe MLK would probably vote for McCain or that his support would be for the Republican Party. Back on October 19, 1960, just one month shy of the Presidential election of John F. Kennedy (D) v. Richard Nixon (R), Martin Luther King was arrested at an Atlanta sit-in and would be imprisoned on various charges for five days. Democratic nominee, John F. Kennedy intervened by first calling King’s wife to offer support, then applying pressure until King was released. King had deliberately avoided making political endorsements and didn’t officially back Kennedy, but his father did – switching his allegiance from Nixon in a strong statement of support. It can be assumed that gesture also switched King’s own support to the Democratic Party. Based on Kin...

A caller on Cara Live who identified himself as the ‘Black Conservative’ wanted to know sources regarding Sarah Palin’s vetting process. As noted, most Presidential candidates have a committee that review potential VP candidates. In addition, the candidate usually decides on someone that they are familiar and comfortable with as their political partner. It has been of question whether Governor Palin was actually vetted, especially since it is a known fact that Senator John McCain only met Governor Sarah Palin once in January at a Governor’s Conference in Washington. Reports during the RNC gave an indication that they were still scrambling in an attempt to vet her. Although, Palin energized the base of the Republican Party at the convention, she lacked luster in coming weeks because of mainstream interviews which caused concern of her knowledge for the position. She was unable to answer questions such as publications that she reads, Supreme Court decisions that she’s in disagreement...

Last night on my show , I was asked the question if Senator Barack Obama has Executive experience? This has been one of the talking points of conservatives since the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin. Let’s outline the characteristics of an Executive. Webster defines an Executive as “having administrative or managerial responsibility.” Keeping this definition in mind, in order to manage a successful political campaign, it must be well-organized, have the right ideals, efficient and effective delivery of message, money, volunteers, and time to manage the campaign’s goals. The campaign solely begins with the candidate. He/she must outline the objectives and select the team. Actually, this is probably the most critical judgment call and will set the tone for the entire campaign. Now, let’s take a look at the Obama campaign strategy. Obama began with 5 key advisors. The first objective was fundraising. While other candidates were maintaining status quo through the traditional routes...

John McCain has said on numerous occasions that he would run a respectful campaign. With the economic crisis looming and his poll numbers declining daily, McCain has decided on a new static. From all indications, his campaign is in desperate mode. There is only 28 days until the election and they have no strategy or how to attack the bread and butter issues. The only way they feel that they can succeed is by attacking Barack Obama’s character. By questioning his association with Bill Ayers with paralleling him as a domestic terrorist, factoring his middle name in play “Hussein,” and resurging his former minister, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, in an attempt to make him militant and angry. The above attacks have now put Obama on the defensive. The Obama campaign has put together a website ( http://www.keatingeconomics.com/ ) to counter McCain’s attacks. During this time of economic decline due to mishandling of financial institutions, this is extremely damaging given the fact that the Ke...

On September 25, 1962, James Meredith was blocked from entering Ole Miss by segregationist, Governor Ross Barnett, despite a Court order. He was later admitted on October 1, 1962 as the first black student at the university. His entrance caused riots which left two people dead, 48 soldiers injured and 30 US Marshals with gun wounds. The Governor was fined $10,000 and sentenced to jail for contempt but never paid the fine or served time. This was a pivotal moment in the history of civil rights in the United States. Forty-six (46) years later, September 26, 2008, Ole Miss is the site for the first presidential debate. With the crude history of the school, it is astonishing to note that the school is hosting the first debate which includes a Black Democratic nominee, Barack Obama. Days earlier it was questionable to whether the debate was going to take place. It was about a year ago, that the Republican nominee, John McCain, admitted that he did not know much about the economy. Af...

While in Denver, I'd heard a rumor the day before the anticipated speech that a line would begin forming at Invesco Field at approximately 10am. Pursuant the tickets, gates would open at 1pm with the event starting at 3pm. The Democratic Presidential Nominee, Barack Obama, would take the stage at 8pm. I knew instantly, that there was no way I could sit out there that long. I arrived at Invesco Field minutes before Stevie Wonder took the stage which was about 5:30pm. I had taken my time roaming the 16th Street Mall, eating and picking up souvenirs. Fortunately, when I arrived there were no tremendous lines. The stadium was packed. As I approaching my section, I was given a flag and sat down. Later, signs with ‘CHANGE’ also included the Obama campaign website were distributed. The crowd was incredible. There was an indescribable love in the air which I felt on the streets of Denver earlier in the day. People had a general respect for one another. During those hours in the...

On Thursday, the day of Obama’s acceptance speech, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Regardless, of the fact that James Dobson group was praying for rain. His follower, Stuart Shepard, made a request that Christians pray for “abundant rain, torrential rain … flood-advisory rain.” He adds, “I’m talking about umbrella-ain’t-gonna-help-you rain … swamp-the-intersections rain” at Invesco Field during the exact time of his speech. Shepard’s prayers were answered. He received the type of rain that he described in his prayer. Hurricane Gustav's arrival in the Gulf was the cause of delay with the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sometimes, you must be careful with your prayer requests. God always answers prayers. As the Negro spiritual says, “he may not come when you want him, but he’s always right on time.”

On Wednesday, during the Democratic National Convention, I was live on location covering the event on my radio show . During the last three minutes of the show, I received a call from a man who identified himself as “Max.” He asked “what is the point of voting?” Out of curiosity, I immediately looked down at the switchboard on my screen and noticed that the call was from Florida. Initially, I paused because I wanted to see if he had an additional comment to include as to why he posed the question. Then, I realized that he is serious. At that moment, I didn’t know what to say. He was asking this question to someone who could not wait for the opportunity to register to vote. I actually registered two months prior to my 18th birthday, so that I would be ready to vote on my birthday. Voting was a right of passage, like getting my driver's license. My maternal grandparents left an indelible mark on my psyche regarding the voting process. For as long as I can remember, my grand...

While attending the Congressional Black Caucus in September 2005, I stopped at an unknown candidate’s table in the exhibition hall. I listened intensely and even watched the quick video displayed about the candidate. The candidate and his staff were abreast of the issues of their state of Massachusetts and vigorously fundraising right there on the spot. I took his contact information and made a mental note to watch his campaign. As the year went by, I watched the polling for him. By December 2005, the current popular Republican office holder decided not to run for re-election. This guy now began to gain traction. I admired his tenacity, but I never thought he could win – at least not in the state of Massachusetts. Well, a year later he wins the election and becomes Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts -- the second African American in history to be elected to this office. The first was Governor Douglas Wilder of Virginia, although P.B.S Pinchback of Louisiana served for 35 ...

During my flight to Denver today, I had a lot of time to think about the enormous magnitude of this week’s event. As I’ve mentioned in past blogs, I grew up in a neighborhood with older citizens --most of whom were grandchildren of slaves. As the Old Negro proverb says, “it takes a village to raise a child,” well the entire neighborhood influenced my upbringing. As I think about my pilgrimage to Denver, I can’t help but think of all of them. I sat on their porches frequently and listen to stories of the past. Most of whom had big dreams that they were never able to see come to fruition. I would always ask why? As I think back, no one ever mentioned the lack of opportunities because of race, though. In contrast, my life has been very different than they could have dreamed for me. As I watched Ted Kennedy speak last night, I began to marvel at the past and began to look at the possibilities. I met Senator Kennedy about 2 years ago. At the moment my hand met his, the tears began to swell ...

Two weeks ago, Obama was in Europe capturing the media's full attention. McCain did all he could to get some publicity. Obama returned to the states on Sunday, July 27, 2008. The next day, the McCain camp released a fallible ad. The ad which shows Obama shooting a basketball narrates "and now he made time to go to the gym, but cancelled a visit with wounded troops. It seems the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras." The first thing wrong with this ad is that clip was taken when he was at a gym during his visit with troops in the Middle East -- NOT GERMANY. As a matter of fact, blurred in the background of the clip, the troops are watching him. Secondly, his visit with troops in Germany was cancelled because Pentagon & White House informed his campaign just a day prior that he would not be able to visit without the House Delegation (Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. & Jack Reed, D-R.I.). Otherwise, it would have been in violation of campaign rules as it relates to fu...

On Friday, July 18, 2008, Obama left for his much anticipated international trip. With him, an entourage of media and the anchors from all 3 major networks -- CBS, NBC & ABC, respectively. Because of all the attention, the pundits and McCain campaign are taunting media bias. Remember, McCain toured Iraq in March 2008 with Joe Leiberman (I - CT) & Lindsey Graham (R - SC) without massive media. If it wasn't for Leiberman, McCain was oblivious between the difference between the Al-Qaeda and the Iran extremists. The media did not capitalize on his gaffe because of the hype with the Democratic primary at the time. Interestingly enough, if Obama had made this verbal blunder, the media would still be playing it and the Right would say that he knows nothing about international policy or how to handle the war. McCain did an interview on Monday with Good Morning America mentioning the "Iraq - Pakistan border." Again, he gets away with it. If he doesn't know the geograp...

In the past weeks, I’ve been plagued by the question of ‘Is America Ready For A Black President? With racism raising it’s ugly head since Barack Obama entered the race, the most appropriate question ‘Is A Black President Ready For America?’ Initially, Obama’s campaign was viewed as insignificant until he won Iowa. Once it was understood that Obama is a player in the game of presidential politics, as said in street vernacular “it was on.” Obama was running a campaign that transcended race. During the South Carolina primary, Hillary & Bill Clinton decided to play the race card. All of a sudden, Obama became the Black candidate, instead of, the candidate who happens to be Black. When the race card wasn’t working as effective as anticipated, then the religion card was put on the table ……”is he Muslim? Oh better yet, we got these Rev. Jeremiah Wright tapes, let’s make him Christian and play the 3 second loop over & over & over. Yeah, that’s the ticket.” You can’t help but notic...

Last night AMERICAN history was made. As I watched Obama's speech, I couldn't help but think that my grandparents would be proud and that MLK never could have dreamed this back in August 1963. At that very moment, I couldn't control the emotions and tears of joy that ran down my cheek. This nomination means so much to this country and the world. As the political commentators kept noting the division of the voters......young vs. old, I thought that maybe, just maybe, the prejudices and discord of the older generation (65+) is losing ground. For the first time in a very long time, I'm hopeful for the future of America. GOD Bless Senator Barack Obama and GOD Bless America.