(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

By many accounts, the polling data pitches the upcoming presidential lesson as too close to call to declare a definitive front-runner. The country is so narrowly divided that there is no discernible way to know who the likely victor will be. In the African American community, President Barack Obama continues to enjoy a sizeable if not, mammoth lead over his republican rival, Gov. Mitt Romney.

No doubt many of those in our largely African-American audience will be consumed with coverage about what it will take for President Obama to win the White House. But I wonder, if the polls are reflective of a truly tight race, what lessons can be learned if the election goes to Obama’s opponent. What is the lesson? What can be learned?

If Obama loses, I guess the first lesson is that it is lonely at the top and the tide can quickly turn. Just four years ago, the president was considered to be the media darling, the “rock star of the Senate.” Fast forward to 2012 and the president now faces an electorate that is noticeably more critical and vocally skeptical.

Another lesson is that “changing Washington” may be easier to say than it is to do. The Obama campaign’s “change” mantra piqued the idealistic leanings of the youth vote and the hopeful aspirations of Obama’s under-served supporters. But one thing the Obama administration soon found out when it came to White House is that the Washington machine is just that, a machine. This machine serves a purpose and while it can be upgraded or serviced, dismantling it, without an alternative, is simply not an option. If the engine doesn’t work, the car won’t move.

A third lesson to be learned in the event of an Obama loss, is tied to communicating with the American people. It’s not enough to believe that the people will intrinsically know a president’s intent. You have to tell them. Policy talk makes people tune out. But a political narrative that relates to voters’ lives, makes their ears perk up. Even the president admitted to learning this lesson recently during a CBS News interview. He said, “The mistake of my first term — couple of years — was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right. And that’s important. But the nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people that gives them a sense of unity and purpose and optimism, especially during tough times.”

So until there is a clear and decisive front-runner, it is not a bad idea to think about what’s next; to consider each moment, whether victory or defeat, as a moment to take note, grow and hopefully make life better in the process.

(Photo by John Gress/Getty Images)

By Andre Showell

Think about this question and try to come with an honest answer: Do you believe that, as a race, African-Americans vote at the same rate as their white counterparts? I asked that question in the barbershop recently and just let people explain the reasons behind their answers. Overwhelmingly, the pool of African-Americans from different age and socioeconomic groups had the same answer: As a whole, they believed that we vote at significantly lower rates than our white counterparts.

Interestingly enough, they were wrong. Amid the tide of grim, and often downright discouraging, statistics we hear about the state of Black America, the one area we tend to do pretty well in is in voting and political engagement. According to the Pew Center for Research, in 2008 65.3% of eligible blacks voted, nearly equal to the 66.1% of eligible whites who voted. And in some sub-groups, African-Americans actually out-voted whites.

And the historic surge in the number of young people who came to the polls in 2008 is largely attributed to the increase in young black voters who turned out for President Barack Obama. In fact, while African-Americans make up nearly 13 percent of the population, they comprised nearly 18 percent of young voters.

I completely understand why this fact is not widely known, because as a community, African-Americans don’t fall into many of the categories that would make one more likely to vote. For example, people with higher incomes and education levels who don’t live in the Southern part of the country tend to be more likely to vote.  However, in the Black community, we make less, have less education and tend to live in the South in large numbers. Also add to this the large number of Black felons who may not be able to vote or who are less likely to exercise their right to politically engage.

The fact of the matter is that, despite all of these barriers and obstacles that would stand in their way, Black people are voting. And, while there is still room for improvement, it’s time for us to be proud that we are performing our civic duty. Now, with so much at stake in the upcoming presidential election, is no time to rest on our laurels. We need to maintain the groundwork that has already been laid and turn up at the polls!