Eyes on the Prize

Bruce, Andy: let's not lose our heads. Cardin's decision to not come to the NAACP debate yesterday was, no doubt, a gaffe -- but was it a dealbreaker for African-Americans? I can't say for certain, but I do think we play into Steele and the Republicans' hands when we shift the debate from the predominant issues of the day, like Iraq, to matters of identity politics, as important as those are. And let's not forget that Ben Cardin, and not Michael Steele, will vote for Harry Reid as Senate majority leader (if Dems get a majority), which is all the difference in the world when it comes to putting a check on George Bush's use of power.

That said, Democrats really do need to stop taking African-Americans for granted, or else we're going to have more Michael Steeles taunting us down the line. Personally, I think the Maryland Democratic leadership needs to cut a deal with the African-American community: support Cardin in '06, and in 2010, when Barbara Mikulski will (most likely) retire, we'll get behind an African-American candidate, whether it be Anthony Brown, Ike Leggett, Glenn Ivey, Elijah Cummings, or whomever. I usually don't support party leadership picking winners, as they seemed to do with Cardin this year, but this is an issue the Maryland Democratic Party needs to address, soon.

UPDATE: On the other hand, if Steele keeps committing gaffes like these, Cardin's no-show might not be so harmful for him. MoCo Politics' description of the event as a "fumble" is apt.