Anderson@Large

The Man from Hope

This evening, President Clinton will receive the National Black Caucus of State Legislators’ Nation Builder’s Award. The award is given to individuals "who have made significant contributions to, and laid the foundation for the political, economic and social progress of African Americans."

According to a New York Times/CBS New poll, Clinton is still the man:

The poll confirmed that former President Bill Clinton was an effective campaign weapon for his wife. Forty-four percent of Democratic voters say Mr. Clinton's involvement will make them more likely to support her. In fact, about as many of Mrs. Clinton's backers say they are supporting her because of her husband as say they are supporting her because of her own experience.

The poll found that just 1 percent said they might be swayed by the involvement of Oprah Winfrey, who has been campaigning for Mr. Obama in Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire the last three days, drawing huge crowds and allowing his campaign to identify new supporters.

While Barack Obama has Oprah Winfrey, President Clinton has more pull with black voters. Melvyn Mahon, a former assistant to the President at the William J. Clinton Foundation, told me why:

He comes from an impoverished background. Unlike most presidents, he knows what true poverty is. Someone from his background would not have become president in another era.

His aura and accessibility make it feel as if you are sitting down with your favorite uncle who likes to tell stories. He's extremely attentive. His knowledge of history as a whole, including black history, is what makes him so loved among African Americans and minorities.

From meeting President Kennedy at an early age, it’s exceptional that he literally willed himself to become president. Like black folks, he achieved against the odds.

So while the race is tightening, with the man from hope by her side, there's hope for Hillary Clinton.

I Like Ike

Perhaps it was the walk along Arkansas River. When I heard that Ike Turner died, I flashed back to an Ike & Tina Turner concert at the Beacon Theater in New York City.

Sure, Ike was not a good husband. But he was a helluva musician whose music brought me countless hours of joy, happiness and comfort. May he rest in peace.

What'd I Say

I am in Arkansas, which is where Ray Charles threatened to send his woman if she didn't straighten up her act.

Back in 1959 when Ray Charles wrote "What'd I Say" that was not an idle threat. No black man or woman wanted to be sent to a state, where two years earlier, President Dwight Eisenhower federalized the National Guard to keep an angry mob away from nine black students who integrated Little Rock Central High School.

I have not had a chance to visit any of Little Rock's historic sites such as Dunbar and Horace Mann high schools, Daisy Bates House, Philander Smith College and West Ninth Street. But one landmark has already made an indelible impression: the Clinton Presidential Center.

On my way in from the airport, I noticed a building that looked like a glowing double-wide trailer. You can imagine my surprise when the driver told me that was the monument that President Bill Clinton had erected to himself.

So rather than think about some of the accomplishments of the Clinton presidency -- 22 million new jobs, lowest unemployment in 30 years, welfare reform, 100,000 additional police officers on the nation's streets -- I thought about Paula Jones. And James Carville who famously said:

Drag a $100 bill through a trailer park, you never know what you'll find.

It just goes to show you can take the man out of Hope but you can't take Hope -- trailers park and all -- out of the man.

NAACP Civil Rights School

I was in Cambridge last weekend and had a crash course in history at the NAACP Civil Rights School hosted by Harvard Law School.

Vic Bulluck, executive director of the NAACP Hollywood Bureau, told me the civil rights school is an oral history project that will launch the NAACP's centennial celebration in 2009. The Harvard session was the third of four convenings. The previous sessions were held at UCLA and Howard University. The fourth will be held at New York University in April.

Each session focuses on a specific 25-year period in the NAACP's history:

  1909–1934  The Founding Years to James Weldon Johnson
  1935–1959  The Walter White Years
  1960–1984  The Roy Wilkins Years
  1985–2009  The Benjamin Hooks Years to Current

The two-day program brings together scholars, historians, political scientists and NAACP stalwarts to discuss the nation's oldest civil rights organization. The notables included Herb Boyd, Scot Brown, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Lorenzo Morris, Charles J. Ogletree Jr., Mildred Roxborough, Hilary Shelton and Patricia Sullivan. Individual interviews of the participants will be included in a documentary directed by Emmy® award-winning producer/director Sam Pollard.

Ms. Roxborough is living history. She has an amazing power of recall, as well as a face and voice that belie her six decades as an eyewitness to black Americans' struggle for political and economic integration into American society. I listened with rapt attention as she recounted stories of W.E.B. DuBois, Walter White, Roy Wilkins and A. Philip Randolph.

It was kismet that the Harvard session focused on the Benjamin Hooks era. My interest in communications policy was fueled in part by Dr. Hooks, who was the first African American to serve as a member of the Federal Communications Commission.

I had to leave so I missed an advanced screening of "The Great Debaters," starring Denzel Washington, which opens on Christmas Day. But there is no debating that this December 7 is a date that I will never forget.

A House Is Not a Home

For millions of homeowners, their house is not a home. Their American dream of homeownership will end in tears as the low introductory rates on their mortgage reset to higher adjustable rates in the next two years.

African American borrowers disproportionately rely on subprime loans. So the subprime mortgage crisis will result in a net loss in African American homeownership. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that black homeownership fell to 46.7 percent in the third quarter 2007, compared with 48.6 percent a year ago.

Today at Noon there will be a "Save our Homes!" march on Wall Street sponsored by the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, NAACP, National Urban League, Service Employees International Union, SEIU Health Care, Transport Workers Local 100 and National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

The groups are going to Wall Street for the same reason Willie Sutton robbed banks: it’s where the money is. It’s also the scene of the crime. Indeed, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. wrote:

This economic squeeze has been driven by a white collar crime wave in which BILLIONS of dollars were made and lost in real estate speculation in "subprime" loans by the biggest banks, hedge funds and mortgage companies in our country. Millions of Americans were suckered into taking loans they couldn't afford and now face foreclosure. So far, no one has been prosecuted. Obscenely, the people responsible want the Federal Reserve to bail them out!

It's time to tell the truth and fight back. These companies, which have now written off BILLIONS of dollars, have set no funds aside for their victims—homeowners—nor have they offered to restructure loans so people can stay in their homes.

For homeowners facing foreclosure, free help is available here or at 1-888-995-HOPE.

National Presidential Caucus

The National Presidential Caucus will be held today. Never heard of it? You’re not alone.

I had high hopes this people-powered exercise in democracy would provide a platform for voters turned off by the presidential horserace narrative. But it doesn’t look like many people will be participating this election cycle. With better outreach, this citizen-generated initiative could have brought more voters, particularly young people, into the political process.

The caucuses, such as there are, will convene for two hours from 3 pm to 8 pm local time. To find out whether there’s a caucus near you, click here.

Democrats’ Heart to Heart with Illegals

I don’t get it. How will Democrats appeal to independent voters who are concerned about the influx of illegal immigrants by participating in a presidential forum that is dominated by questions from illegal immigrants or about illegal immigration?

At last week's Iowa forum, both the “real people” who told their stories and the community leaders who asked questions conflated legal and illegal immigrants.

Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep. Dennis Kucinich gave part of their response in Spanish. Hello, this is America. We speak English. I’m sure laid-off autoworkers, homeowners facing foreclosure, and families struggling with college tuition, healthcare costs and mounting credit card debt were duly impressed with their language facility.

I have been accused of writing about illegal immigration “incessantly,” but I was amazed by the amount of time devoted to an issue that "has emerged as the third rail of American politics," according to Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

I listened as an illegal alien, Mayte Rodriguez of Somos un Pueblo Unido, thanked her “wonderful mother” for making the decision to bring her to this country. Rodriguez “wants to teach young leaders whose talents are being wasted, who want to give back to their community.”

Someone should teach Rodriguez that her mother’s decision to break U.S. immigration laws has consequences. One of those consequences is her daughter is not be able to “fully integrate into our communities.”

Likewise, Larry Ginter of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement should brush up on immigration law. He said “we have to quit treating immigrants like common criminals.” Well, the very act of sneaking across the border or overstaying one’s visa is a criminal act that's become unacceptably common.

Sen. Hillary Clinton will not win over many undecided voters. She invoked the mantra “comprehensive immigration reform” and repeated her support for an "earned path to legalization.”

Clinton was asked whether she would “demonstrate the courage of leadership by making a priority in your first 100 days to give undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship.” Her response:

And as president, comprehensive immigration reform will be my top priority for me. Until Congress passes it, the president can only do as much as possible without a bill.”

Clinton's commitment to legalize lawbreakers did not satisfy the amnesty crowd. She was booed.

If Democrats want to win in November, they should have a heart-to-heart talk with illegals and say: Look, you are in this country illegally. Your sob stories about being “born elsewhere but now totally woven to the fabric of America” ain’t cutting it with American citizens.

So, cut it with the amnesty nonsense. It won’t happen in the first 100 days of a Democratic administration. And if we listen to the voices of the American people, it won’t happen in another 100 years.