After remaining out of the national spotlight for nearly a generation, Geraldine Ferraro , female VP running mate to also-ran candidate Walter Mondale made headlines in March 2008 slamming presidential candidate Barack Obama. The Nation deconstructs the drama in an article which begins with Ferraro’s quote, ” “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position,” she said. “And if he was a woman of any color, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.” Continue reading The Nation .Watch Barack Obama’s historic speech on race, titled ‘A More Perfect Union.’

posted by Philip Bahr

A student newspaper in Syracuse, New York had a recent article that discussed where faculty donations went - to what political party and candidate. This is an interesting article for students of UAP to read and possibly conduct a poll here.

The 4-11-08 issue of the Daily Orange - Student Newspaper - Syracuse University - Syracuse, New York

Their Donations revealed - of faculty members who donate to presidential campains most of their dollars go to Democrats following the national trends by Melissa Daniels.

The faculty of Syracuse University is making its contribution to democracy this election cycle - a sum of at least $28,000.

And 39 of the 45 contributions made by employees of Syracuse since Jan. 2007 have gone toward Democratic candidates, according to the U.S. Federal Election Commission records. David Murray, an associate dean of advancement at SU, gave $500 to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in January. He was convinced Obama was the candidate to back after listening to a speech the candidate gave about race. “His speech on race was the first in my lifetime that anyone had talked about race to the American public as if we were adults,” Murray said. “That was the day I gave him that money.” Going by the numbers, it’s the education industry - not just SU - that leans left. Massie Ritsch, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics, said donations from the educators are usually largely Democratic. “The education industry is as Democratic as the oil industry is Republican,” Ritsch said. The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit research group that tracks political donations and analyzes its effects on elections and public policy, according to its Web site. So far in the 2008 presidential campaign, 75 percent of donations from educators have gone to Democratic candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics Web site. The field is ranked 10th out of 80 tracked industries, contributing almost $18 million so far. “Democrats can count on money from college professors and other educators,” Ritsch said.

Here’s the breakdown of contributions since Jan. 2007 from Syracuse University employees to the 2008 presidential candidates:

*$8,850 went to Sen. Hillary Clinton (D.-N.Y.) from 17 individual donations

*$7,500 went to Obama from 13 individual donations

*$500 went to Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.) from two individual donations

*$250 went to Republican Mitt Romney from one donation

*$250 went to Gov. Bill Richardson from one donation

*$200 went to Sen. John Edwards from one donation

An additional $1,800 was donated to the Democratic National Committee from three separate donations.
To read the rest of this article go here.

*Posting by Jane Verostek.

Cornell University has a great online exhibition called, Get Out The Vote! dedicated to political ephemera, specifically campaign memorabilia. Curators at the Division of Rare and Manuscripts Collection (RMC) created this exhibit during the 2004 election cycle to highlight their vast collection.

posted by Philip Bahr