All-American Presidential Forum

Friday, June 29, 2007
By: Associated Press and BlackAmericaWeb.com

WASHINGTON (AP) A historically diverse field of Democratic presidential candidates -- a woman, a black, an Hispanic and five whites -- denounced an hours-old Supreme Court affirmative action ruling Thursday night and said the nation's slow march to racial unity is far from over.

"We have made enormous progress, but the progress we have made is not good enough," said Sen. Barack Obama, the son of a man from Kenya and a woman from Kansas.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the first female candidate with a serious shot at the presidency, drew the night's largest cheer when she suggested there was a hint of racism in the way AIDS is addressed in this country.

"Let me just put this in perspective: If HIV-AIDS were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34 there would be an outraged, outcry in this country," said the New York senator.

In their third primary debate, the two leading candidates and their fellow Democrats played to the emotions of a predominantly black audience, fighting for a voting bloc that is crucial in the party's nomination process.

One issue not raised by questioners, the war in Iraq, dominated the past two debates. Queries about AIDS, criminal justice, education, taxes, outsourcing jobs, poverty and the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina all led to the same point: The racial divide still exists.

"There is so much left to be done," Clinton said, "and for anyone to assert that race is not a problem in America is to deny the reality in front of our very eyes."

While the first two debates focused on their narrow differences on Iraq, moderator Tavis Smiley promised to steer the candidates to other issues that matter to black America. In turn, the candidates said those issues mattered to them.

"This issue of poverty in America is the cause of my life," said John Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee.

Said Obama: "It starts from birth."

Obama criticized President Bush's No Child Left Behind program. "You can't leave money behind ... and unfortunately that's what's been done," he said.

Clinton spoke of her efforts in Arkansas to raise school standards, "most especially for minority children."

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden urged people to be tested for the AIDS virus, noting that he and Obama had done so. Cracked the Illinois senator: "I just want to make clear I got tested with Michelle," his wife, Obama said drawing laughter from the predominantly black audience.

The debate was held at Howard University, a historically black college in the nation's capital.

Black voters are a large and critical part of the Democratic primary electorate, making the debate a must-attend for candidates seeking the party's presidential nomination.

A half century of desegregation law -- and racial tension -- was laid bare for the Democrats hours before they met. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court clamped historic new limits on school desegregation plans.

Clinton said the decision "turned the clock back" on history, and her competitors agreed.

The conservative majority cited the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case to bolster its precedent-shattering decision, an act termed a "cruel irony" by Justice John Paul Stevens in his dissent. The 1954 ruling led to the end of state-sponsored school segregation in the United States.

Obama, the only black candidate in the eight-person field, spoke of civil rights leaders who fought for Brown v. Board of Education and other precedents curbed by the high court. "If it were not for them," he said, "I would not be standing here."

Biden noted that he voted against confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion. He said he was tough on Roberts. "The problem is the rest of us were not tough enough," he said, seeming to take a jab at fellow Democrats. "They have turned the court upside down."

All the Democratic candidates in the Senate opposed the confirmation of conservative Justice Samuel Alito, another of President Bush's nominees. Clinton, Biden and Obama voted against Roberts; Sen. Chris Dodd voted for his nomination.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the first major Hispanic candidate, said race is about more than passing new laws and appointing new justices. "The next president is going to have to lead," he said, vowing to do so.

Dodd said "the shame of resegregation in our country has been occurring for years."

The nomination fight begins in Iowa and New Hampshire, two states with relatively few minorities. But blacks and other minority voters become critical in Nevada, South Carolina and Florida before the campaign turns to a multi-state primary on Feb. 5.

About one in 10 voters in the 2004 election were black, according to exit polls, and they voted 9-to-1 for Democrat John Kerry. In some states, blacks make up a bigger share of the voters. In South Carolina, for example, blacks made up about 30 percent of the electorate in 2004, but were more than half of the voters in the state's Democratic primary.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, the country's only black governor, introduced the candidates with a warning that a dispirited GOP "is not enough to elect a Democratic president nor should it be. We need to offer a more positive and hopeful vision ... to run on what we are for and not just what we are against."

Among those in attendance were entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte, congresspeople Sheila Jackson Lee, Maxine Waters, Elijah Cummings and John Lewis; National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Children’s Defense Fund founder and president Marian Wright Edelman and noted scholar Cornel West.

“This is really historic," syndicated columnist DeWayne Wickham, who has covered every presidential campaign since 1984, told BlackAmericaWeb.com in an interview before the debate. "In the tradition of the black press, we seek to tell our own stories."

“This debate was relevant. It connected with African American people,” Rep. Jackson Lee (D-Texas) told BlackAmericaWeb.com. She went on to say it was provocative. “It was a real debate, real issues for real people in a black environment.”

Two women in the audience who declined to give their first names said they enjoyed the debate, but wished the candidates could have gone more in-depth.

“Overall, I thought the debate was good, but some of the candidates played it too safe,” said Y. Thompson from California. “Tavis echoed what many in the audience thought. Hilary was an excellent venue for this kind of forum.”

R. Smith from Washington, D.C. said she would have liked to have heard more of what she called the “urban agenda,” but she liked that the candidates dealt with “racial disparity, health issues, Hurricane Katrina and issues pertaining to New Orleans.”

“Clinton was strong on three issues: Health care, Darfur and AIDS,” said Dr. Silas Lee, who joined the Clinton campaign as a pollster from New Orleans, focusing on black issues related to Hurricane Katrina. He said he thought, though, based on conversations with several audience members, that a number of people wished they had heard more about the living wage, affordable housing and health care.

Colorado State Sen. Peter C. Groff, executive director of the Center for African American Policy at the University of Denver and publisher of Blackpolicy.org, said this debate was the toughest to date for the Democratic candidates.

"One can make the argument that this was the most challenging debate for the candidates since it wasn't all about Iraq. For the first-time to date, candidates were required to consider other critical issues other than the war in Iraq,” Groff told BlackAmericaWeb.com in a statement. “The issue of war remained a sub-text throughout, but this debate seemed to satisfy a general hunger for discussion on other major bread-&-butter issues. The forum was a great opportunity for presidential candidates to answer questions about the unique issues facing African-Americans and Africa. It is the first time in the history of the republic that all major candidates for president were gathered -- on an HBCU campus no less -- to discuss these issues."

The Republicans candidates will engage in an All-American Presidential Forum at Morgan State University in September.

"Regardless of what you think about Sen. Barack Obama, Obama was in a unique position," Groff said. "He had to ‘prove’ his authenticity -- a role not required of any other candidate -- while not pandering or acting ‘too black’ for the remaining 80 percent of the electorate. He had to strike a balance between authenticity and preventing general election campaign fodder for his potential GOP rival who could use footage against him as a racial wedge issue.”

“The debate was a lot of conversation of agreement and little clarity of the distinctions between the candidates,” said Dr. David Anderson, radio talk show host and pastor of Bridgeway Community Church in Columbia, Md.

“Clinton was the clearest communicator about the disparity of AIDS, race, health care and had a strong response to the tax burden issue between the wealthy and middle class. Richardson gave a succinct and cogent response to the tax problem by recommending a policy to give tax breaks and holidays for corporations that invest in our inner cities. That was one of the most practical statements of the night, in my opinion," Anderson told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "Obama was clear on trade with Africa, which was right on."

"I do think Sen. Obama missed an opportunity, however, when the candidates were asked about Darfur and how America did nothing in Rwanda,” Groff said. “This should have been an opportunity to 'remind' Biden, Edwards, Dodd, Richardson and Clinton of their inaction on Rwanda despite previous influence, and that many remain in those same positions today while faced with genocide in Sudan."

“The night's most disingenuous moment is when Sen. Dodd roundly criticized today's Supreme Court ruling on race in public schools despite his voting ‘yea’ for the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts,” said Groff. “This should have presented an opportunity for both Tavis Smiley and panelists."