video President Barack Obama came to the defense of Senate Majority leader Harry Reid who has received much criticism today over remarks he made about candidate Obama in the 2008 presidential campaign. In Game Change a book out today, Reid is said to have described Obama as “light-skinned appearance and speaking patterns with no negro dialect." Obama said to CNN's Roland Martin "This is a good man who has always been on the right side of history," in an interview taped Monday for TV One. (more...)

video Tea Party Express organizer Mark Williams joined Anderson Cooper and Roland Martin on CNN last night to discuss the races today, and mainly what's happening in New York's 23rd congressional district. And while there was a debate for the majority of the segment, Williams essentially described his organization and others are already looking toward "Judgment Day" - next year. (more...)

VIDEO Even though we live in an era in which some people think it's OK to interrupt the President of the United States on the House floor, we still have a strong political tradition of listening whenever former presidents have something to say. Which is why Former President Jimmy Carter made a big splash yesterday when he said that that criticism of Barack Obama shows that there is an “inherent feeling” in America that a black man should not be President. Whatever you think of Carter, he's not just another pundit; there's a big difference between Jimmy Carter saying that Obama's critics are "racist" and Maureen Dowd saying the same thing. How did cablers respond? (more...)

CNN consistently bills themselves as the "news" network, with Fox News on the right and MSNBC on the left. But could they be looking to shore up their stable of opinion-makers? (more...)

exclusive Mediaite has learned that Carlos Watson, anchor of MSNBC's 11 a.m. weekday show, "Live with Carlos Watson," will no longer be anchoring that hour on the network. An MSNBC spokesperson confirmed the rumor, which we learned via Mediaite columnist Danielle Belton on her website, The Black Snob. MSNBC spokesperson Alana Russo said that yes, Watson's hour had been canceled, but that he will remain a contributor with MSNBC. (more...)

People will listen to a black person sing (Beyonce), watch a black person dunk a ball (LeBron), a black person act (Will Smith) and a black person be president (the O-Man), but when it comes to your average, shouty, loud, political gabfest, TV Land is often as white as pure Colombian Cocaine. Not surprising considering things only recently got all "gendered" up with additions like MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, CNN's Campbell Brown and FOX News' Greta Van Sustern (the original!). Heaven's to Besty, it would be too much to ask for post-racial America to give some minority a shot at screaming at people for an hour. (more...)