Does race matter in politics? Today, Black lawmakers will gather for their annual legislative weekend and face some of the gravest situations the body has experienced since forming in 1976.  The 42 members who represent more than 40 percent of the African Americans in the United States will use this week to examine the impact the slowed economy, home foreclosures and job loss have on the communities they represent. Get more at Pamela on Politics.

BET will hold on-air voter registration day. As the deadlines for voter registration in each state draw near, BET Networks is making an unprecedented, nationwide effort to encourage its audience to “STAND UP, SIGN UP, BE HEARD.” On Saturday, Sept. 27, BET Networks will host an on-air voter registration day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (ET/PT) aimed at getting people registered to vote. The special will re-air from 5-8 p.m. (ET/PT) Saturday. During this historic, three-hour “Stand Up, Sigh Up, Be Heard: The BET Voter Registration Day” special, the BET studio in New York City will serve as the headquarters for the event, featuring host Queen Latifah (The Secret Life of Bees), appearances by Jim Jones and Mary Mary, and an in-studio audience of 100 unregistered voters. In addition, BET will present live remote coverage from voter registration rallies taking place in cities in four key battleground states: Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit; Norfolk, Va.; and Philadelphia. Get more at BET.com/News.

Palin’s a “cocky wacko,” according to an unlikely source. When you think of former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee, the first things that likely come to mind are mellow, under-the-radar, diplomatic. That’s why his recent insights regarding Sen. John McCain’s presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, raised an eyebrow or two. She’s a “cocky wacko,” the Republican-turned-Independent told the Washington, D.C.-based New America Foundation Tuesday. “People were coming into my office, phone calls were flooding in, e-mails were coming in, ‘I just sent money to Obama, I couldn’t sleep last night’ - from the left. To see this cocky wacko up there,” said Chafee, who was the only Republican senator to stand against President Bush’s invasion of Iraq. He also told the policy thinktank that Sen. John McCain’s campaign is “lackluster” and that Palin, the Republican governor of Alaska, has merely energized Sen. Barack Obama’s supporters. Chafee endorsed Obama earlier this year.

Voter Registration: The decision of who leads the United States for the next four years could very well come down to you. Find out how at BET.com/News.

All this talk about lipstick on a pig is just hogwash. It looks like the media has taken the bait and will ignore issues such as folks without jobs, health care and access to quality education to focus on pigs in lipstick. Pamela On Politics has more.

He said he didn’t realize his comments about Barack’s “big lips” were offensive.
College Republican chief is forced to resign. The head of the Pennsylvania Federation of College Republicans gave up his seat this week after getting slammed for a racist comment he posted online about Sen. Barack Obama. In late July, Adam LaDuca, 21, a senior at Kutztown University, wrote on his Facebook page that Obama has “a pair of lips so large he could float half of Cuba to the shores of Miami (and probably would.)” But it’s not the first time LaDuca has fired off barbs at prominent Black leaders. Among his other gems, he called Martin Luther King Jr. a “pariah” and a “fraud” and that “Man, if sayin’ someone has large lips is a racial slur, then we’re ALL in trouble.” But his slurs were even too much for his fellow College Republicans, who asked him to step down. The remarks blew up after they were publicized in the Pennsylvania Progressive, a blog written by a Democratic committeeman from Berks County. “The comments were completely uncalled for and very offensive,” said Anthony Pugliese, 22, a senior at West Chester University and chairman of the College Republicans, which has more than 50 chapters statewide. “The P-A College Republicans do not accept or tolerate racism in any way.” DaLuca said he wishes he hadn’t published the big-lips comment. “In hindsight, when you read it a second time, it’s like, ‘oops,’” he said. “It was just a dumb move on my part to make a statement like that public.”

Was Obama right about Iraq?

It looks like President Bush will do just what Sen. Barack Obama has been suggesting all along; return troops home from Iraq and send more to Afghanistan. Could Bush and Obama be on the same page? Find out more at Pamela on Politics.

Condoleezza Rice: State Department needs more Blacks.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she doesn’t see enough people who look like her in the State Department.  “I have lamented that I can go into a meeting at the Department of State – and as a matter of fact, I can go into a whole day of meetings at the Department of State – and actually rarely see somebody who looks like me. And that is just not acceptable,” she said in an address Monday before the annual conference of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She also praised Black colleges for the number of scholarships and grants students received from the State Department for things such as study abroad programs. “It’s good for the students, but it is good for America too. …[W]hen I go around the world, I want to see Black Americans involved in the promotion and development of our foreign policy. I want to see a Foreign Service that looks as if Black Americans are part of this great country,” she said.

The Republican nominee focuses on his experience and his vision.
Sen. John McCain casts himself as the agent of change. The Republicans wrapped up their convention with Sen. John McCain stealing a play from the Barack Obama playbook - presenting himself and his party as the true agents of change. Did you buy what McCain was selling? Read more at Pamela On Politics.

McCain’s sister-in-law is an Obama supporter. Cindy McCain’s half sister just might be cut out of the family will considering where her loyalties lie. “I have a different political standpoint,” Kathleen Hensley Portalski said in an interview with Us Weekly, published online Thursday. “I’m voting for Obama.” She said that the Democratic presidential nominee’s proposals for America “more positive and I’m not a big war believer.” Portalski has the same father (James Hensley) as her mega-rich sister, Cindy. He founded Hensley & Company, the Phoenix area Anheuser-Busch distributor. Cindy McCain is heiress to her father’s stake in the company.        

(DENVER) Aug. 28, 2008 -  With more than 75 thousand flag-waving supporters filling the NFL football stadium in Denver,  Sen. Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination and took a few tough shots at his republican rival, Arizona Sen. John  McCain.
Get the latest on the campaign from Pamela On Politics.

Live from Denver.

BET News is at the Democratic National Convention in Denver to bring you the latest in this historic presidential race. Find out when to tune in, catch live coverage and analyses and see election specials here.

You(th) Vote. Rapper Daddy Yankee’s endorsement of Sen. John McCain raises a few questions for many of you. Check out video and comments - then let us know what you think here.

History in the making at the Democratic National Convention

There is no way one can ignore the historic event today, as the Democratic National Convention prepares to nominate its first Black party nominee.  Do you think Obama will become the first Black president? More at Pamela On Politics.

A new kind of politics might not win in November.

McCain gains on Obama. Two recent polls show Sen.. John McCain is closing in on Sen. Barack Obama’s lead, which tells us negative campaigning works.  Now it will be up to Obama to determine if he’ll begin hitting below the belt too. Get the latest at Pamela On Politics.