Tuesday pictures, part one

Herewith, a compendium of scenes, silliness, and sanctimony from yesterday in and around Denver:

When someone tells you to "meet at the big bear," they really mean it.

I counted fourteen (14) Huggy Bear supporters protesting outside the Convention Center. How quaint.

What if you threw a fear-mongering, riot-gear-clad, free-speech-suppressing party and nobody came?

I think it is categorically impossible to photograph Al Sharpton without his mouth open. (I keed, Al -- love ya! Mean it!)

A couple of the major cable news networks have occupied restaurants adjacent to the Pepsi Center, inside the secured perimeter. Here's CNN's brick shithouse.

The main entrance to the Pepsi Center.

Avoid the Blitzer Burger at all costs. Trust me on this one.

ABC and Al-Jazeera -- a match made in media heaven.

If you think Mo Rocca's jacket is bad, you should have seen his shoes.

Here's the view from the Florida delegation's seats.

Today's Daily Schadenfreude: the late Strom Thurmond

In the first-ever posthumous presentation of the Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude, late Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-19th Century) (right -- literally and figuratively) is in the headlines again. Seems his family tree may have a few interesting branches:

The Rev. Al Sharpton said he wants a DNA test to determine whether he is related to former segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond through his great-grandfather, a slave owned by an ancestor of the late senator.

"I can't find out anything more shocking than I've already learned," Sharpton told the Daily News, which on Sunday reported the link based on genealogists' findings.

[...]

Professional genealogists, who work for Ancestry.com, found that Sharpton's great-grandfather Coleman Sharpton was a slave owned by Julia Thurmond, whose grandfather was Strom Thurmond's great-great-grandfather. Coleman Sharpton was later freed.

"Based on the paper trail, it seems pretty evident that the connection is there," said Mike Ward, a genealogist with Ancestry.com, who called the link "amazing."

Ancestry.com's chief family genealogist, Megan Smolenyak, said Sharpton would need to match his DNA with a present-day descendant to see if they are biologically related.

"I think the odds are slim he would match," Smolenyak told the News. "There is no particular evidence to suggest that there is a direct relationship between the two (black and white) Sharpton families to suggest they share a common ancestry. But, given the legacy of plantation society, you can't rule it out."

Oh, this is rich. I mean, we already know that Sen. Thurmond fathered a biracial child (Essie Mae Washington, right, with Dan Rather). Of course, the mere fact would be irrelevant ... if Thurmond were not a virulent segregationist who ran for president as a Dixiecrat (read: segregation forever) in 1948. It's even more fun for me personally, because I had the opportunity to meet Sen. Thurmond back in 1988 when he was just a kid of 85. Profoundly feeble even then (although, remarkably, he lived another 15 years), he spent half an hour calling me "Jim," even though I wore a large nametag bearing my first name ... which is not "Jim."

I've always found that hypocrisy produces the best schadenfreude, and today is no exception. So, from this life to the next, congratulations go out (or down?) to Strom Thurmond -- today's Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude is for you!

Playing the race card

Some controversial comments out of South Carolina yesterday, as reported by Mary Mitchell of the Chicago Sun-Times:

"It's a slim possibility for [Obama] to get the nomination, but then everybody else is doomed," [state senator Robert] Ford told a reporter with the Associated Press on Tuesday.

"Every Democrat running on that ticket next year would lose because he's black and he's top of the ticket. We'd lose the House and the Senate and the governors and everything," he said. "I'm a gambling man. I love Obama," Ford said. "But I'm not going to kill myself."

But I'm not sure I agree with Mitchell's premise, either, which seems to be that Ford and a colleague, Darrell Jackson, should support Barack Obama simply because of their shared race.

If Jackson calls himself Obama's friend, I'd hate to see what he does to his foes. Why is it these black men, who obviously benefitted from the support of black people in their own political campaigns, like Clinton's chances better than Obama's?

Like any other Democratic presidential candidate, Clinton is dependent upon the black vote to put her over the top, and Jackson and Ford have the resources to churn out that vote.

So why don't they have as much faith in a black man as they do in a white woman?

Well, I'm no Hillary fan, but I don't begrudge people their right to support whomever they want. I just don't believe that African-Americans should support Sen. Obama just because of his race. Should I support Sen. Clinton -- or not support Sen. Obama -- just because of my race? One supposes that Ms. Mitchell would object if I did.

Ms. Mitchell continues:

Forget that Obama's bid for the presidency will force some whites to deal with any preconceived notions they have about black men. It is forcing blacks to check themselves, as well.

The discomfort some blacks have with Obama has nothing to do with his resume nor his ethnicity, but with the simple fact that he is a light-skinned black man who was able to cross over into mainstream America. The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. couldn't do that. And the Rev. Al Sharpton certainly couldn't do it.

Whoa. Hold on. You're saying that Sen. Obama can "cross over" because he's light-skinned, and the Revs. Jackson and Sharpton couldn't because of their darker skin? Couldn't it be because the Revs. are far more controversial, far more activist, and -- dare I say it? -- far more shrill than Sen. Obama? I think the skin color excuse is applied far too easily here.

Maybe as a white man, I'm being foolish for sticking my nose into this issue. But I really think we should be choosing our candidates based on their fitness for the job and their positions on the issues that matter, rather than on the color of their skin. Racism truly does cut both ways.

Everyone in the pool!

It's a free-for-all today as the 2008 campaign season picks up momentum (but, we hope, not "Joe-mentum").

First, proving that wingnuts of a feather flock together, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is endorsing former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for president. This is notable if only because Romney doesn't have a chance in hell the other South Carolina senator, Lindsey Graham (R), is a big Surge McCain supporter. It's a strange situation when Lindsey Graham, one of the leaders of the Clinton impeachment proceedings in the House, is the more moderate senator of any pair.
Next, in an apparent effort to show that anyone with a pulse is better than what we've got now, former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore (R) has filed papers to establish an exploratory committee. Touting himself as a "true conservative," he's all about cutting taxes. No one knows anything else about him -- including his family -- so good luck with that, Jim.

Meanwhile, there's excitement on the Democratic side ... well, okay, perhaps not "excitement," but at least, um, a pulse of activity ... as Al Sharpton may be back in the picture.

"If we're talking about the urban agenda, can you tell me anybody else in the field who's representing that right now?" Sharpton asked. "We clearly have a reason to run, and whether we do it or not we'll see over the next couple of months."

[...]

Despite widespread interest in the likely candidacy of another influential black Democrat, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, Sharpton said he's heard little substantive discussion of issues that might influence his decision about running.

"Right now we're hearing a lot of media razzle dazzle," Sharpton said. "I'm not hearing a lot of meat, or a lot of content. I think when the meat hits the fire, we'll find out if it's just fat or if there's some real meat there."

Well, so much for the vegetarian vote.

And the circus continues ...