More than 33 million tuned in to watch Obama’s infomercial. Barack Obama’s campaign “infomercial” was the most-watched telecast in U.S. prime time on Wednesday, drawing an “American Idol”-size audience that even eclipsed the dramatic climax to the World Series. More than 33.5 million viewers tuned in to watch the Democratic presidential nominee’s paid, professionally produced 30-minute broadcast, which aired on three major networks and four smaller channels, Nielsen Media Research reported on Thursday. The three big networks alone, CBS, NBC and Fox, accounted for 25.5 million viewers combined - 1.2 million more than they drew in the same half hour a week ago, Nielsen said. The infomercial did not air on ABC because the network initially did not want to disrupt it’s regularly scheduled broadcast. As for the baseball audience, 19.8 million viewers watched the conclusion to the World Series championship as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays. The game ranked as the night’s No. 2 broadcast and was carried by Fox following Obama’s multi-network commercial. After the broadcast, which concluded with an appeal to a live audience, Obama campaigned for the first time with former President Bill Clinton, who called Obama the best person for the job, given the choice between Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain. Clinton said Obama makes the better decisions. Get more at Pamela on Politics.

Presidential propaganda meets pizzeria. A Warren, Mich. pizzeria is doing its part to support Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign by offering slices in exchange for McCain-Palin signs. Salvatore’s, of metro Detroit, has reportedly given away hundreds of personal-sized pizzas in just over a week since it began promoting the trade-off. Some neighbors have complained that teens are stealing McCain-Palin yard signs as a result of the promotion. But Salvatore’s ownership denies any responsibility, saying it only wants Sen. John McCain’s supporters to give up their own materials. McCain recently pulled major campaign resources out of Michigan in light of Obama’s lead in polls. Now, Salvatore’s says residents should “pull out on” McCain.

Bring That Week Back! Are Queen Latifah and her “boo” trying to adopt? Plus pregnancy scandal hits the race for the White House and Oprah gets dissed. Get caught up on the week’s hottest stories with pics here!

Three men were arrested for allegedly trying to kill the presidential nominee

Law enforcement officials said Tuesday that three racist, convicted “meth heads” - who cruised around Colorado with a pickup truck laden with guns, ammo and bullet-proof vests - never really posed a serious threat to Sen. Barack Obama, even though one of the men allegedly talked about killing the Democratic presidential nominee. Read more about why police say Obama was in no danger at BET.com/News.

AFL-CIO acknowledges that Obama’s skin color could be a factor in November.

Traditionally, Democratic presidential nominees can count on the vote of union workers in November. But even union brass admit that their members are less enthusiastic about a Black Democrat. “We feel there is a racial component for some union members,” AFL-CIO Political Director Karen Ackerman told Congressional Quarterly, noting that union leaders are doing all they can to limit the role that racism is plays in this election. “We feel confident we can overcome it.” The AFL-CIO has pumped $53.4 million into its effort to reel in members. This includes a million pieces of direct mail this week alone in the key battleground states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, CQ reports. During the primary elections earlier this year, Sen. Hillary Clinton helped stoke the racial fires, repeating her claims that White, working-class, non-college-educated voters – Democrats and Republicans alike – weren’t prepared to vote for a Black candidate, particularly Obama, whom she painted as elitist and out of touch. “There has never been an African-American candidate for president, and many folks around this country have never voted for an African-American candidate for any office,” she said. But Ackerman said that union leaders are stressing the importance of choosing Obama. “We’ve had a lot of discussions about how to talk to union voters . . . to identify closely what issue is preventing some union voters” casting a ballot for an African American. It’s also important to remember, say AFL-CIO officials, that union Whites are far more likely to vote for Obama than are non-union Whites. “Our goal is not just to elect Barack Obama but to build a progressive movement,” Ackerman said.

Is the GOP concerned that its own candidate can’t stand up to the standard?

Pamela On Politics: Republicans appeared to have disserted the platform of family values for the 2008 presidential race, and no doubt it’s because their nominee’s checkered record might not stand up to the scrutiny of his challenger. Read more at Pamela On Politics.

Lawmaker: Bill Clinton’s faltering image in Black society is his own fault.

Rep. Jim Clyburn, the third-highest-ranking member of Congress and a member of the Black Caucus, said that former President Bill Clinton ought to look in the mirror if he wants to see who’s responsible for his falling out with Black America. Speaking to ABC News last week, Clinton said that the South Carolina Democrat was once a friend of his, but that he “was not Hillary’s supporter. Never. Not ever. Not for a day.” Find out what else he said and how Clyburn responded at BET.com/News.

Screening vice presidential candidates is suddenly an even tougher task.

If nothing else, the revelation of John Edwards’ extramarital affair ought to serve as a serious wakeup call for Sen. Barack Obama. With the Democratic National Convention just weeks away and Obama on the verge of announcing his presidential running mate, the Edwards’ debacle is a reminder of just how important it is to have a slow, thorough vetting process. Just imagine if Obama had chosen Edwards – who we now know was creeping with Rielle Hunter, a former campaign aide – days before this story broke. Are you surprised by the news of his affair? Get the latest details at Pamela On Politics.

In June he said Barack was “talking White.” Now he says the Democrat is not a good Black candidate.
Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader, who a couple months ago chided Sen. Barack Obama for “talking White,” said Wednesday that Obama would not make the kind of Black president he was hoping for. “People who have fought the civil rights battle – politically, economically, legally – as we have since the ’50s would often talk about, ‘Look what would happen if we had an African-American president or chairpersons of major congressional committees,’” said Nader. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to be what we all thought it would be. … I lost respect for him when I saw him over a year ago on C-SPAN vigorously opposed to the impeachment of Bush and Cheney – vigorously opposed. He said it would be ‘divisive’. That is a cop-out word. We have the most multiple impeachable presidency in American history.” Nader was speaking to the media during a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. In June, Nader blamed Obama with assuaging “White guilt” by ignoring issues of race and poverty. Nader, who enjoyed a long reign as nation’s most respected consumer advocate – that was until he lost favor among many Democratic voters by drawing just enough votes in the 2000 election to knock Al Gore out of presidential contention – has been outspoken about Obama’s new stance on drilling for offshore oil.

Michelle Obama covers Ebony.

While the ladies seem to love to accessorize their outfits with diamonds and pearls, Michelle Obama says her best accessory is her husband. She tells Ebony magazine, “The best thing I love having on me is Barack on my arm and vice versa, whether it’s having him standing there smiling at me or watching him mesmerize a crowd or talk to some seniors in a senior center.” Michelle Obama told the magazine, which hits newsstands Aug. 12, that should she become first lady, her primary focus will continue to be “mom-in-chief,” to their two daughters – Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7. Michelle Obama also discussed her marriage, how she balances motherhood and work and her fashion sense. Michelle Obama officially graced her way into the international spotlight as a fashion icon, making it onto Vanity Fair magazine’s International Best-Dressed List the last month. The couple also grace the cover of next month’s Essence magazine.

Black Ohio residents denied water get millions
A federal grand jury awarded residents of a Black neighborhood in Ohio almost $11 million last week because, for nearly five decades, they were forced to dig wells, haul water or collect rain so they could drink, cook and bathe, while Whites enjoyed the benefits of the public water system. The jury found that the 67 residents of the Coal Run community in Muskingum County in east-central Ohio were victims of longstanding discrimination and awarded them between $15,000 and $300,000, depending on how long they had lived there. The award is for “monetary losses and the residents’ pain and suffering between 1956, when water lines were first laid in the area, and 2003, when Coal Run got public water,” The Associated Press reports. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission found in 2003 that the residents had been discriminated against, which prompted the lawsuit. “As a child, I thought it was normal because everyone done it in my neighborhood,” said one of the plaintiffs, Cynthia Hale Hairston, 47. “But I realized as an adult it was wrong.” The city, county and water company, however, deny that any discrimination has occurred. Attorney Mark Landes, who represented the county and water district, described the suit as “a case that was started and filed by out-of-town lawyers who saw an opportunity for a cash settlement.”

Jury selection in the Nichols trial resumes today

Jury selection in the oft-delayed trial of Brian Nichols is back on track following a surprising weekend off. Last week, Judge James Bodiford made a big deal about the need to convene the court during weekends for the trial of Nichols, the man accused of escaping from an Atlanta courtroom in 2005 and killing a judge, court reporter and two other people during his escape and time on the lam. Lawyers, victim’s rights advocates and others have criticized the system for allowing the case to linger unresolved for so long. Bodiford is the second judge after taking the case over from Judge Hilton Fuller several months ago. Fuller, who stepped down amid controversy surrounding his statements that “everybody knows Nichols is guilty,” had placed the trial on hold for several weeks, honoring defense claims that the state had not adequately funded the defense of the death-penalty defendant. As many as 1,000 prospective jurors eventually will be called to the Fulton County Courthouse for questioning. During the first week of interviews last week, all but one from an initial batch of juror candidates had been called in. Bodiford said he could not justify asking the county to pay for opening the courthouse over the weekend for one interview. Legal observers say the Nichols trial, which is expected to last several months, could be the most costly in the state’s history. Already, the defense has spent at least $1.2 million representing their 38-year-old high-profile defendant.

The NAACP to host both presidential candidatates
The NAACP Convention kicked off its 99th national convention Cincinnati Saturday, uniting its 8,000 delegates around the diverse issues affecting people of color, including poverty, health, criminal justice, voting and home ownership. As an example of ideas anti-poverty proposals surfacing from the gathering, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg aims to redefine the standard of poverty to account for society’s rising costs. In other words, food, clothing, shelter and housing costs, and utilities expenses would be factored in, and the poverty line for those living in New York would go from $20,000 for a family of four to $26,000. Although the new formula would not affect federal social service programs, it would be used by city officials to develop initiatives within New York. This conference, whose official theme is “Power, Justice, Freedom, Vote,” is being held at the Duke Energy Center in downtown Cincinnati. The city’s African-American mayor, Mike Mallory, expects to generate an estimated $10 million from hotel room charges, meals, tips and other tourism-related activities by the time the event concludes on Thursday. Both presidential candidates, senators John McCain and Barack Obama, will speak at the event.