LAS VEGAS – Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama made separate appearances at The National Association of Black Journalists’ annual convention last week, and each portrayed themselves as the leader who would best serve the social and economic needs of the African-American community.
In what some described as an historic event featuring the first viable female and black 2008 contenders for the White House, Senators Clinton (D-NY) and Obama (D-IL) both talked about race, criminal justice and the disparity among blacks in housing and education.
The candidates spoke before a packed ballroom at Bally’s Hotel and Casino during the NABJ’s 32nd annual convention and both alluded to Chauncey Bailey, the 57-year-old black journalist who was shot to death two weeks ago in Oakland, California.
Obama said the challenge for America’s black journalists "is to make sure that we are lifting up stories that are focused on the specificity of struggles that are happening in African-American communities."
Later, Obama talked seriously about often being asked if he’s black enough and why some blacks are skeptical of his candidacy.
"Am I black enough? This is a puzzling question," Obama told an audience inside a packed ballroom. "We should ask why that is? ... It's not about my track record."
"We’re locked into the notion that somehow if you appeal to white folks, something is wrong," he said. "Is he keeping it real because he went to Harvard?"
He said another factor is fear that somehow he will let black folks down by losing the presidential election.
"I say let’s try," he said.
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A day earlier, Clinton told the assembled journalists that she will reform the criminal justice and prison systems if elected president. She said an estimated 1.4 million young black men are out of school, out of work and disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system.
"We've been wringing our hands and listening to this exact same conversation with these exact same statistics for years," Clinton said. "Well, I reject the conversation that paints with a broad brush 1.4 million young men as a threat, as a headache or as a lost cause."
Both Clinton and Obama have been crisscrossing the country, appealing to all voters, particularly black voters in southern states like South Carolina, where there is a large African-American voting bloc.
Two weeks ago, Clinton hosted an afternoon meeting with 200 African-American men to discuss social and economic issues that impact black communities across the country. She received endorsements from music icon Quincy Jones and BET founder Robert Johnson.
Last week in Las Vegas, five of Obama's African-American senior advisors met with a dozen black journalists, including a writer with BlackAmericaWeb.com, in part to quell the notion that Obama does not have any blacks in his inner circle.
According to USA Today, "New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has significantly widened her lead over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination in the wake of a dispute over handling foreign policy, a USA Today/Gallup Poll finds."
The survey, according to USA Today, taken last Friday through Sunday, puts Clinton at 48 percent -- up 8 percentage points from three weeks prior -- and Obama at 26 percent, down 2 points. Among Democrats and independents who "lean" Democratic, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards is at 12 percent.
Peter C. Groff, a Colorado state senator, publisher of Blackpolicy.org and executive director of the Center for African American Policy at the University of Denver, said the numbers may reveal that despite what Democrats say, the party isn't ready for an African-American nominee or president -- and that "reticence level" is growing.
"But the other view, and I think the right view for this point in the race, is that national polls don't mean a thing in presidential primaries," Groff told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "Just ask Presidents Tsongas and Dean."
"The polls that matter most right now are Iowa (where a recent poll shows Obama ahead), New Hampshire (where a recent poll shows Obama and Clinton tied) and South Carolina (where a recent poll shows Obama leading)," said Groff. "The nation picks the president, not the nominees."
George Curry, an award-winning journalist and author who watched both candidates last week in Las Vegas, said Democrats need a solid strategic plan for victory, adding that he is not caught up in the rousing speeches and euphoria.
"Democrats need to figure out how to win," Curry told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "Who can win the South? Who can take the southern states? It’s not about the speeches and history and feeling good. It’s about finding a way to win."
Meanwhile, Obama told the group of more than 1,000 reporters and editors the Bush administration has repeatedly shown bad judgment.
"Being experienced is not enough. The question is, what lessons do you learn from your experience?" he said. "Nobody had a better track record in experience than Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, but they had bad judgment ... The people who have been criticizing me over the past two weeks are the people who engineered what is the biggest foreign policy fiasco in a generation."
Obama said if he is elected president, the racial dynamics in America will surely change, and he painted an image for journalists.
"You’d have Michelle as First Lady," he said, adding his kids "will be running around the South Lawn."
Some wondered how that comment would play in middle America. "I’m not sure how that image will go over with some whites," one longtime journalist told BlackAmericaWeb.com.
Michel Martin, a host with National Public Radio, said Obama presented himself as the candidate of choice.
"He framed his candidacy on all levels," McQueen told BlackAmericaWeb.com after Obama's appearance. "He spoke specifically about why him, and why now at this historic moment."
Throughout last week, more than 3,000 black journalists networked, and attended workshops on a range of topics including the Don Imus fallout, writing books, health disparities among blacks, the digital media age and covering sports.
But many black journalists said the highlight of the four-day convention was hearing directly from presidential candidates Clinton and Obama.
Responding to a question about the black press, Obama said when he was an Illinois state legislator, the black press in Chicago covered stories that mainstream media did not cover.
"I’m going to stand by the black press because you all covered me when nobody was covering me," he said, "and I want to give you all access when everybody is covering me."
