Blue Spot

4 top GOP candidates skip minority debate - The New York Times - MSNBC.com

The moderator and the panel of well-known journalists were there. A large live audience was there, too, along with the public television cameras that carried the forum to television sets across the nation. But where the four leading Republican presidential candidates were to have stood and debated, four empty, silent lecterns sat on the stage.

That was because the four all cited scheduling conflicts and did not participate last night in the long-planned debate, where they were to be quizzed by black and Hispanic journalists about issues important to minority voters. And their conspicuous absence prompted a debate among Republicans about whether their party is attentive enough to black and Hispanic voters.

If the top Republican candidates were physically absent from the forum, held at Morgan State University, a historically black university in Baltimore, they were very much on the minds of those who came.

“Let me take a moment right here and now to say hello to those of you viewers from home: Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Senator John McCain, Gov. Mitt Romney and Senator Fred Thompson,” Tom Joyner, the syndicated radio host, said in his opening remarks, to knowing laughter from the audience.

And several candidates who did show up wasted little time in criticizing the no-shows.

“I’m embarrassed for our party, and I’m embarrassed for those who did not come,” said Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas. “Because there’s long been a divide in this country. And it doesn’t get better when we don’t show up.”

If the Democrats are guilty of sounding awkward when discussing religion, it's also true that the Republicans sound just as, or even more awkward when the topic is race or poverty. It's no wonder their top 4 candidates snubbed this forum. This action along with Bill O'Reilly's latest remarks just show the GOP's true colors; a party of exclusivity made up in large part of rich, white folks that still harbor certain stereotypes or are just plain bigoted.

Labels: Election 2008, GOP Hypocrisy, Race