Not to get totally ahead of myself, but Bobby Jindal is being thrown around as the potential GOP candidate in 2012. The irony is, he could never be taken seriously as a candidate without the path that Obama has paved...

Quoted: If anything, I think the way the McCain campaign has finished up — and the way the media has covered it — works to Jindal’s advantage in 2012: Conservatives are going to be extremely eager to prove that they only hate Obama because he’s a radical, not because they’re racist, and what better way to demonstrate that than to nominate a dark-skinned conservative with a funny-sounding name?

I think Obama was right not to fully repudiate John Lewis' statement. I agree with his assessment that McCain isn't like George Wallace - the circumstances of that were different and more extreme. But you can't deny the politics of hate that Palin has brought to the table, and I'm glad someone called her (and McCain) out on it.

Quoted: Sarah Palin's rhetorical star turn—the exuberant snideness, the gut-level rapport with the audience, the frank pleasure at being a yokel on the big stage—reprised the great gifts of the politician who dominated my youth: George Corley Wallace, perpetual governor of Alabama and frequent candidate for president of the less-than-United States.

Duh.

Quoted: If the elections were held today, Barack Obama would have a significant lead on John McCain, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll found.

Eek, I don't even want to consider this possibility.

Quoted: What with the Bush legacy of reckless war and economic mismanagement, 2008 is a year that favors the generic Democratic candidate over the generic Republican one. Yet Barack Obama, with every natural and structural advantage in the presidential race, is running only neck-and-neck against John McCain, a sub-par Republican nominee with a list of liabilities longer than a Joe Biden monologue.

Great Explainer from Slate - I had never really thought about the term "caucasian" to this extent...

Quoted: Wait, do white people really come from the Caucasus? It's highly unlikely. There are scholarly disagreements about how and when some of our dark-skinned ancestors developed lighter skin, but research suggests humans moved across the Asian and European continents about 50,000 years ago.

Interesting Huffington Post piece on Bobby Jindal. I'm working on a piece about him...

Quoted: Bobby Jindal, however, is much less well known -- though that's an impression the 36-year-old second-generation Indian American has been doing his best to address in the first five months of his new job as Louisiana governor.

I agree - Jackson's been doing more harm than good, although it also seems like he didn't intend his comments to be broadcasted. He's been in the public eye long enough to know better. But while his words were really crass, I also think he reserves the right to be critical of Obama...

Quoted: Sure, Jesse is an old fool who doesn't know how to act. But his latest gaffe shows how none of us is really ready for this moment.

The all-black issue of Vogue in Italy really was amazing. This is a great interview with Bethann Hardison, who's basically responsible for signing some of the most famous black models in the U.S.

Quoted: An interview with legendary modeling agent Bethann Hardison who signed models like Iman and Naomi Campbell.

Interesting story from The Root, considering this is a publication that covers race pretty extensively. It generated a lot of discussion on MSN yesterday. Raises some good points.

Quoted: Some of us are too pre-occupied with taking offense. We should be careful about limiting free speech, since we may be the next victims.