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"There is such excitement in this town, with millions coming in," gushed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was accepting an arts award Monday from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. "All these people coming in to see me get this award, it makes me ecstatic," the governor joked to the mayors at the Capitol Hilton, with inaugural crowds filling the streets outside. Schwarzenegger was given the award for public leadership in the arts because of his support for art and music programs in the schools — programs that face cuts because of the state's budget crisis. The governor talked about the painting,...

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich doesn't have many friends these days, particularly among the lawmakers who will decide whether to throw him out of office.

The distribution of a song titled "Barack the Magic Negro" by a candidate for chairman of the national Republican Party has created an unnecessary distraction as the party rebuilds, Virginia GOP chairman Jeff Frederick said yesterday. "There's a lot of things we need to be fighting about, and this isn't one of them," Frederick said in an interview. On another matter, Frederick complained that critics of the Republican Party use a double standard when judging political outreach to minorities. Tennessee political operative Chip Saltsman, one of six candidates for the GOP's national chairmanship, mailed a CD last month to members...

Here's a debate that strikes a familiar chord. When do song lyrics that are meant to be entertaining hit a sour note and become offensive? Many conservatives think rap music crosses the line. In 1992, the rapper Ice-T released an album featuring the song "Cop Killer," which President George H.W. Bush called a threat to police officers. After law enforcement associations boycotted his record label, Time Warner, Ice-T pulled the song from the album. During those skirmishes in the culture wars, you would hear liberals defend the creative process, praise the First Amendment, and dismissively tell anyone who was offended...

The Republican Party paid a steep price for race-baiting in the presidential campaign. Remember the ferocious backlash against the California Republican group that produced a racist newsletter depicting Barack Obama on a food stamp, surrounded by images of fried chicken and watermelon? Then there were those two congressmen who were rightly excoriated for condemning Mr. Obama’s candidacy in the language of the Jim Crow South — one describing him as a “boy” and the other as “uppity.” We thought after all that — and, oh yes, losing the election — everyone in the Republican Party leadership would have figured out...

I’m afraid I must disagree with the great conservative writer Larry Elder, whose January 1 column (“Barack the Magic Negro-gate”) on the controversy surrounding would-be Republican National Committee chairman Chip Saltsman misses the point about why Saltsman’s actions were so misguided. Elder correctly notes that it was a black liberal writer, David Ehrenstein, who originally started the “Magic Negro” controversy with a March 2007 Los Angeles Times piece attacking Obama as a candidate whose hopes for victory depended upon exploiting white guilt. “The article produced virtually no outcry,” Elder writes. “Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh then aired a [Paul...

This is how the whole thing started. David Ehrenstein, a writer who happens to be black and liberal, wrote an opinion piece in March 2007 in the Los Angeles Times called "Obama the 'Magic Negro.'" He argued that whites, according to sociologists, stereotype blacks as "dangerous." But whites consider Obama accessible, likeable and "benign." This, according to Ehrenstein, explains Obama's "crossover" appeal. The article insults a) Obama, by virtually ignoring his effectiveness as a candidate, b) whites, by accusing them of voting for Obama merely to assuage their own guilt, and c) Sidney Poitier, the brilliant, groundbreaking actor, for ascribing...

Here's a debate that strikes a familiar chord. When do song lyrics that are meant to be entertaining hit a sour note and become offensive? Many conservatives think rap music crosses the line. In 1990, Republican officials in Broward County, Fla., declared obscene an album by the group 2 Live Crew and sheriff's deputies arrested members of the group after a performance. In 1992, the rapper Ice-T released an album featuring the song “Cop Killer,” which President George H.W. Bush called a threat to police officers. After law enforcement associations boycotted his record label, Time Warner, Ice-T pulled the song...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Democratic House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh is calling on Tennessee Republican leaders to renounce former state GOP leader Chip Saltsman in the wake of a music parody of President-elect Barack Obama. . . . He sent committee members a CD this Christmas featuring a 2007 song called "Barack the Magic Negro." The parody is sung to the music of "Puff, the Magic Dragon."

The media created controversy surrounding a comedy CD distributed by Republican National Committee chair candidate Chip Saltsman has not torpedoed his bid and might have inadvertently helped it. Four days after news broke that the former Tennessee GOP chairman had sent a CD that included a song titled “Barack the Magic Negro” to the RNC members he is courting, some of those officials are rallying around the embattled Saltsman, with a few questioning whether the national media and his opponents are piling on. “When I heard about the story I had to figure out what was going on for myself,”...

AS EVERY CARBON-BASED life form on this planet surely knows, Barack Obama, the junior Democratic senator from Illinois, is running for president. Since making his announcement, there has been no end of commentary about him in all quarters — musing over his charisma and the prospect he offers of being the first African American to be elected to the White House.

The GOP has once again shown why it is the stupid party. Chip Salsman wants to run the GOP, so he plied potential voters with a Paul Shanklin CD that included the song "Barack the Magic Negro." It is a political parody based upon an LA Times opinion piece of the same name. The leadership was caught flat-footed and red-handed, and is now scrambling, crab-like, to defend itself. Here's part of the hollow, vacuous statement from flaccid, ineffectual party chairman Mike Duncan: "I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate as it clearly does not move...

Parody author defends 'Barack the Magic Negro' December 29, 2008 12:35 EST MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- The Memphis author of the musical parody "Barack the Magic Negro" says he isn't surprised the song has gotten some people upset. Author Paul Shanklin describes the song as political satire and says it's supposed to be provocative. The song, which is sung to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon, has drawn attention and criticism since Chip Saltsman -- the former head of the Republican Party in Tennessee -- sent out a CD with the song on it as Christmas presents. Saltsman managed...

The chairman of the Republican National Committee said he was "appalled" by a song called "Barack the Magic Negro" on a CD distributed by one of his political rivals. "The 2008 election was a wake-up call for Republicans to reach out and bring more people into our party," RNC Chairman Mike Duncan said in a statement reported Saturday afternoon by Politico. "I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate, as it clearly does not move us in the right direction." Chip Saltsman sent RNC members the parody CD "We Hate the USA" for Christmas, which includes...

The chairman of the Republican National Committee said he was "appalled" by a song called "Barack the Magic Negro" on a CD distributed by one of his political rivals. "The 2008 election was a wake-up call for Republicans to reach out and bring more people into our party," RNC Chairman Mike Duncan said in a statement reported Saturday afternoon by Politico. "I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate, as it clearly does not move us in the right direction." Chip Saltsman sent RNC members the parody CD "We Hate the USA" for Christmas, which includes...

Being right on the merits doesn't make Saltsman any less of an idiot Two days ago, we suggested that a potential GOP leader is severely tone-deaf, hitting Chip Saltsman for his foolish decision to include the "magic negro" song on the CD his people sent out.We were not saying Saltsman was a racist, or commneting on the merits of the song. We were saying he should have seen this firestorm coming.Frances Rice, chairman of the National Black Republican Association, just sent out an email defending Saltsman on the merits. Included therein is the following: If it were not so hypocritical,...

An offensive, racially tinged song entitled Barack the Magic Negro has become an issue in the battle for the leadership of the Republican party. The song was included in a CD distributed by Chip Saltman, who is seeking to be elected the next party chairman. Saltman, former campaign manager for Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who fought unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination this year, sent out the CD as a Christmas present to party members. It is a compilation of songs critical of liberals entitled We Hate the US. He defended his move, saying that anyone listening to...

The Chip Saltsman/RNC Chair mini-scandal may prove to be more important than I initially thought. As is often the case in these matters, the specific incident is less important than the responses. Recently, it has appeared that (partly as a result of Katon Dawson and Chip Saltsman coming under fire over racial issues) former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackell (disclosure: I am supporting Blackwell), had emerged from the pack to become a front-runner for RNC Chair. ... Still, though, the smart money was on current RNC Chair Mike Duncan to retain his position. But in the wake of the...

DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO – The National Council of La Raza spends most of its time protecting and advancing the rights of Latinos through advocacy and community work. But as it wraps up its convention downtown, it has found itself defending its name. That's because activists who oppose illegal immigration are saying in e-mails, during street protests and through the media that “La Raza” means “The Race,” and have been calling the organization a hate group. The accusations have prompted soul-searching among NCLR supporters as to what the name actually means and stands for. Most say the situation is the result...

ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: Traveling though Montana on Monday, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., made his first stop as a presidential candidate to an Indian reservation - and got a little more than expected. Obama was adopted as an honorary member into the family within the Crow tribe that inhabited the reservation - who gave the presidential candidate a new name and new parents. "Awe Kooda bilaxpak Kuuxshish" was the honorary name given to Obama meaning, "one who helps people throughout the land." Obama was escorted out to the stage in Crow Agency, Montana arm-in-arm between his adopted parents: Sunny...