September 27, 2007

Who's Afraid Of Tavis Smiley?

Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson are, apparently.

The leading Republican presidential candidates cited "scheduling conflicts" as their reason for skipping tonight's All-American Presidential Forum on PBS.

"I'm puzzled by their decision. I can't speak for them. I think it's a mistake," said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich earlier this week.

President Bush also weighed in on the matter last week: "My advice to whoever will be our nominee is to reach out to the African-American community as well as other communities, because I believe we've got a very strong record when it comes to" issues affecting them.

The absence of the top contenders tonight will no doubt reinforce the impression that the Republican Party is uninterested in issues affecting minorities. We'll see what Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul, Tom Tancredo and Alan Keyes do to reverse that.

The Democrats had their turn at the forum back in June, and all of them showed up. Read about it here. Check back with us tomorrow morning for our take on the candidates' performances.

Posted at 5:14 PM
Posted to: Alan Keyes, Bush Administration, Campaigns, Democrats, Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, President Bush, Race, Republicans, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Sam Brownback, Tom Tancredo, WH 2008
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