Race and the Race for President

Making News

Stocks Rebound on Fed's Coordinated Plan with Central Banks ()

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates and the stock market went down. Today, the Fed announced a deal with four other central banks, and the markets went up—at least at the opening. Greg Ip is economics reporter for the Wall Street Journal.

Guests:

• Greg Ip: Economics Reporter, Wall Street Journal, @greg_ip

Main Topic

Obama, Race and the Presidential Campaign ()

Barack Obama's mother was white and his father was African. In the United States, that makes him black. He doesn't talk about it the way Hillary Clinton talks about being the first woman president, but Obama could be the first black to win the White House. The latest poll by CNN shows that Barack Obama has caught up to Hillary Clinton among Democrats in New Hampshire, the first state scheduled to hold a presidential primary next year. What's made the difference is a switch among women. New Hampshire Democrats still think Clinton has the best chance to win in November, but Obama is more likable, more believable and more likely to unite the country. Why do so many white voters support him? Why are so many black voters supporting her? We talk about transcending the racist past while confronting racial differences as a present reality.

Guests:

• Jonathan Kaufman: Senior Editor, Wall Street Journal
• Shelby Steele: Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
• Melissa Harris Lacewell: Professor of Politics and African American Studies, Princeton University
• Leon Wynter: Blogger, The American Race

Links:

• Wynter's 'American Skin: Big Business, Pop Culture and the End of White America'
• Lacewell's 'Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought'
• Steele's 'A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited about Obama and Why He Can't Win'
• Kaufman's 'Broken Alliance: Turbulent Times Between Blacks and Jews in America'

Reporter's Notebook

Summer Arctic Ice to Be Gone by 2013 ()

The Arctic ice cap shrank so much this summer that several nations began staking claim to the Northwest Passage. Now comes a dramatic new forecast.  By the year 2013, new supercomputer studies show, ice will be gone from the Arctic Ocean all summer long. Wieslaw Maslowski, a research professor of oceanography at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, who headed the team that produced the new data, joins is from the American Geophysical Union's annual fall meeting in San Francisco.

Guests:

• Wieslaw Maslowski: Research Associate Professor of Oceanography, Naval Postgraduate School