Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, in an interview with CNN, said that the Black Harvard professor who was arrested by a White policeman at his own home, merely wanted to get to bed after a long trip. But he noted that Henry Louis “Skip” Gates would have had a much easier time had he chilled out a bit during the officer’s July 16 investigation of a burglary of his Cambridge, Mass., home. Gates “might have waited a while, come outside, talked to the officer, and that might have been the end of it,” Powell told Larry King this week. “I think he should have reflected on whether or not this was the time to make that big a deal,” he said. However, Powell said, Gates was just home from China and New York and “all he wanted to do was get to bed.” The encounter between Gates and the officer, Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley, kicked off a firestorm of controversy. A neighbor who witnessed Gates struggling with the lock of his door called 911 to report a possible burglary in progress. When police arrived and saw Gates inside the home, they asked him to step outside, perhaps suggesting he was a suspect. Gates lambasted the policeman, asking whether he was being targeted because of his race. His comments resulted in his arrest on charges of disorderly conduct. Many have characterized the incident as brazen racism, because Gates was home at the time. Others contend that Gates should have been more cooperative with the officer. Even the president weighed in, saying the officer acted “stupidly.” Obama later said he regretted using such language and invited Gates and Crowley to the White House for a beer.

Obama’s administration is flavored with Clinton juice. Later today when President-Elect Barack Obama announces Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) as his choice for secretary of State, it will be just one of many of former President Bill Clinton’s folks to wield influence in the current presidential administration. Read more at Pamela on Politics. Will it matter where Obama finds the right folks for his team?

Clinton accepts Obama’s offer. It appears that there will be a political union between two once bitter rivals.  CBS News confirmed that Hillary Clinton decided earlier in the week to accept a job on President-elect Barack Obama’s team as secretary of state.  “She’s ready,” the New York Times quoted an unnamed Clinton confidant as saying, adding that the former first lady had made her decision after follow-up consultations with Obama on his vision for foreign policy.  Obama aides said that there were no plans for a formal announcement on Clinton’s appointment until after the Thanksgiving holiday late next week. A spokesman for Clinton would not confirm the deal, but wouldn’t deny it.  Meanwhile, there are several other posts Obama will be announcing, CBS News reports. New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner will be nominated treasury secretary and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson will be nominated commerce secretary.

It appears that there will be a political union between two once bitter rivals.  CBS News confirmed that Hillary Clinton decided earlier in the week to accept a job on President-elect Barack Obama’s team as secretary of state.  “She’s ready,” the New York Times quoted an unnamed Clinton confidant as saying, adding that the former first lady had made her decision after follow-up consultations with Obama on his vision for foreign policy.  Obama aides said that there were no plans for a formal announcement on Clinton’s appointment until after the Thanksgiving holiday late next week. A spokesman for Clinton would not confirm the deal, but wouldn’t deny it.  Meanwhile, there are several other posts Obama will be announcing, CBS News reports. New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner will be nominated treasury secretary and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson will be nominated commerce secretary.

Will Hillary Clinton be the next Secretary of State? Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is among the candidates that President-elect Barack Obama is considering for secretary of State, reports The Associated Press. The news comes from two Democratic officials close to the Obama transition team, AP says. Read the rest here.

No records set on Election Day. Turnout in last week’s election increased from four years ago but fell far short of some forecasts, largely because many Republican voters either stayed home or left blank the presidential section of their ballots. In states won by President-elect Barack Obama, turnout was more than 5 percentage points higher than in states won by Republican John McCain, according to a Globe analysis of data compiled by a pair of researchers who study voting patterns in U.S. elections, reports The Boston Globe. 

A foundation funds Black archives. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has awarded a $1 million grant to the Kansas City Public Library to help finish the expansion and renovation of space for the Black Archives of Mid-America, reports the Kansas City Business Journal. The archives will be housed in a former administration building for the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department. To recognize the grant, the archives will designate a public space named after Ewing Kauffman to be used for research, exhibits, training and presentations. The building’s renovation is expected to be completed by the fall of 2009.