NAACP

John McCain addressed the 99th annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People late Wednesday morning, hours after the release of a new poll that gives him a favorable rating of just 5 percent among black voters. After airing some of his remarks, the cable news channels took up the subject of McCain’s apparent play for the black vote and the difficulties he faces in pursuing it.

But these discussions miss the point. McCain has no chance of making inroads with black voters; in fact, he’ll almost certainly fare worse among blacks than any presidential candidate in the modern era.  read more »

Michael Bloomberg got stuck on a tarmac in New York City yesterday, and didn’t deliver a speech on poverty at the N.A.A.C.P. convention in Cincinnati, Ohio as he was scheduled to do. But the prepared remarks of the speech he didn't give show how Bloomberg was to spell out the shortcomings of the current formula the federal government uses to calculate poverty rates: “Right now, the federal government’s poverty formula tells us that the poverty threshold for a family of four is $20,000 – whether they live in Manhattan, New York or Manhattan, Kansas. This one-size-fits-all formula tells us about 19 percent of New York City residents are poor.  read more »

Here's the elegantly simple explanation from consultant and former NAACP operative Walter Fields about the apparently massive swing in black support from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama: "The black electorate is coming to the conclusion that he is black."

For the record, even some of Hillary Clinton's top African-American supporters have been saying much the same thing for a while, even when polls supposedly demonstrated their candidate was enjoying a 3-1 advantage among black voters.

Fields also guessed that things would continue to move in the same direction, particularly if there were any repeats of the recent nasty exchange between the two camps. "Because at the end of the day," he said, "there is a cultural connection."

Interestingly, the "is he black enough" storyline still seems to have legs. Go figure.

-- Jason Horowitz

On Saturday at 11 a.m., the NAACP protests the police shooting of Sean Bell, at 168th Street between Jamaica and Archer Avenues.

At 11 a.m., Councilman Bill de Blasio discusses the need for "e-waste" legislation, outside P.S. 321 in Park Slope.

At noon, Manny Innamorato will announce his candidacy for Staten Island City Council seat being vacated by Andrew Lanza. [added]

At 1 p.m., the New York Society for Ethical Culture hosts an impeachment forum, with Cindy Sheehan and Elizabeth Holtzman, at 2 West 64th Street.

Also at 1 p.m., high school students host a mock session of the City Council in the Council chambers.

At 3 p.m. a march against "police terrorism," organized by the New Black Panther Party, starts at 125th Street and 7th Avenue.

At 8 p.m., the CEO of Google discusses politics and the Internet on C-SPAN. At 8:35 p.m., there is a discussion about ethics and journalism on C-SPAN.

On Sunday, South African President Thabo Mbeki meets George Bush in D.C.

Potential 2008 presidential candidate John Edwards gets the Paul Wellstone award from the AFL-CIO at their meeting in D.C.

At 6:30 p.m., Evan Bayh appears on a segment of Road to the White House.

And two Democratic clubs, Broadway Democrats and Ansonia Independent, have separate holiday parties.

On Monday at 8 a.m., the Drum Major Institute hosts a discussion about the cost or prescription drugs at The Harvard Club (27 West 44th Street).

At 9:30, housing advocates rally on the city hall steps before the 10 a.m. hearing on the 421-a housing program.

And at 8 p.m., the Bill Clinton presidency is discussed on C-SPAN 3.

-- Azi Paybarah

A reader who went to the NAACP's attorney general's candidate forum last night (I didn't know about it either) overheard Mark Green talking about that flattering New York Times endorsement.

"I didn't write it. But I couldn't have written it better myself."

-- Azi Paybarah