Michelle Obama Tests Racial Boundaries

Racist call to State newspaper shines light on primary's racial angle

(NEWSER) - As South Carolina hits the polls today, one word looms large: race. This is, after all, the first primary state with a notable black population, which pollsters say will help boost Barack Obama to a double-digit victory. It’s also home to a newspaper that got an angry phone call for “supporting a black man for President of the United States.” More»

AK gov. steals Dems' after-glow; could attract indy, Hillary voters

(NEWSER) - John McCain turned heads by choosing Sarah Palin today as his running mate, and the Weekly Standard explains why she’s the right woman for the job.

• Democrats just wrapped their glitzy convention, but the Sunday talk shows will be abuzz with Palin chatter.
• The mother of five softens McCain’s “crotchety” image and revives his reputation as “fly-boy and gambler."

Noonan: They could try addressing us as adults

(NEWSER) - Add conservative columnist—and speechwriter of note—Peggy Noonan to the list of pundits impressed by Barack Obama’s address on race. “It was a speech to think to, not clap to,” Noonan writes in the Wall Street Journal . And it holds a lesson for Clinton and McCain: Say "something interesting"—speak in paragraphs instead of soundbites—and you, too, might get more than an 8-second snippet of your speech on the news. More»

They vastly prefer Clinton, but bigotry charge sparks outrage

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama's low support among Asian-Americans is sparking cries of racism, Time reports. "On a gut level my reaction is that at least some Asian-Americans are uncomfortable voting for a black candidate," one analyst said. But some Asians resent the charge: A recent CNN show on the topic was blasted by an Asian PAC, which backs Clinton, and Asian bloggers, who seem to prefer Obama. More»

But she loves Simon Cowell

(NEWSER) - The presidential election is two years away, but Sarah Palin is already taking off the white gloves. She slams First Lady Michelle Obama in her new book for attending controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church for years and "listening to his rants against America and white people." Barack and Michelle Obama disassociated themselves from Wright after the media revealed statements by the clergyman that many considered racist. More»