Stephane Dion and Micheal Ignatieff

Liberal leader Stephane Dion (L) receives a standing ovation from deputy leader Michael Ignatieff and other members of his caucus while standing to speak in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa January 28, 2008.

Black enought for African-American voters ?

Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, Friday called questions early in the campaign about whether her biracial husband was "black enough" to appeal to African-American voters "silly." Michelle Obama says she is not hurt by those who question whether her husband is "black enough." "It's silliness and it's about part of the silliness of our culture," she said. A Harvard-educated attorney and vice president at the University of Chicago, Michelle Obama, 44, said the question -- raised most famously in a New York Times article -- wasn't hurtful to her. "That has nothing to do with me or Barack -- that has to do with the challenges we are facing in this country and we shouldn't be surprised by them because we still haven't worked through this stuff," she said. "I don't think there is a person of color in this country that doesn't struggle with what it means to be a part of your race versus what the majority thinks is right." The question about Obama, who was born in Hawaii to a Kenyan father and a mother from Kansas, was raised early in the presidential race, when rival Sen. Hillary Clinton was polling well among black voters and landing endorsements from high-profile black political leaders. Watch Michelle Obama talk about her reluctance to see her husband run » Since then, Obama's support has vastly increased with black voters. He took 78 percent of the black vote in a South Carolina primary he won handily and 73 percent of the African-American vote in Florida, although delegates from that contest, which Clinton won, won't count because of a scheduling squabble between state and national Democratic officials. Don't Miss CNN's Soledad O'Brien interviews Michelle Obama Clinton, Obama engage in less finger pointing Candidates gear up for Super Tuesday ElectionCenter 2008: Barack Obama Obama, a senator from Illinois, and Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady, are the two remaining challengers for the Democratic nomination and remain locked in a tight race. Obama won the season-opening Iowa caucuses and the South Carolina primary, while Clinton won New Hampshire, Nevada and no-delegate contests in Florida and Michigan, which also got in trouble for pushing ahead in the primary schedule. While she said she initially tried to talk her husband out of running for president, Michelle Obama said she doesn't share the concerns voiced by Alma Powell, wife of former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is black, that her husband's safety might be threatened over a quest for the White House. Powell had been mentioned as a possible candidate, but did not run. "There are inherent risks for all people, but particularly for people of color, so, you know, I can't live my life worrying about what might go wrong," she said. "What we are going through, Barack and our family, is nothing compared to our leaders who pushed through on the civil rights movement. "When I think of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King and true fears that they had and true sacrifices that they made, I think I don't have any right to hesitate for doing something that I think is important out of fear." E-mail to a friend

Carter lavished praise on Barack Obama

January 30, 2008 Carter praises Obama Carter lavished praise on Barack Obama. One former president has long assumed a very outspoken role in the presidential race. Now another is speaking up. Jimmy Carter says he's not formally endorsing any candidate, but in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the former president lavished praise on Barack Obama, calling his campaign "extraordinary" "Obama's campaign has been extraordinary and titillating for me and my family," Carter told the newspaper in an interview published in its Wednesday edition. According to the paper, Carter was particularly praiseworthy of the Illinois senator's rhetorical skills, comparing them to those of Martin Luther King, Jr. Carter also said Obama "will be almost automatically a healing factor in the animosity now that exists, that relates to our country and its government." Carter, a onetime governor of Georgia and one of only two Democrats to win the White House in the last forty years, also said he thinks Obama's candidacy could put several southern states in play in a general election match up. Carter also commented on the recent criticism surrounding Bill Clinton, following that former president's comments on the campaign trail that some have viewed as racially divisive. Carter said Clinton personally called him to explain the remarks. "He doesn't call me often, but the fact that he called me this morning and spent a long time explaining his position indicates that it's troublesome to them, the adverse reaction," he said. "I told him I hoped it would die down. — the charged atmosphere concerning the race issue," Carter continued. "And I think it will."

Obama seeking Hisnanic vote

Obama looking to Hispanics WASHINGTON - As Super Tuesday approaches, Barack Obama is ratcheting up his appeals to Hispanic voters, who will make up a significant portion of the electorate in key states like California, New York and Arizona. The Illinois senator trails his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, by 30 percentage points among Hispanics in national polls. Clinton's appeal in the community has helped her maintain a lead in delegate-rich California, where Hispanics could make up a fifth of primary voters. But Obama is not giving up. He is wooing voters in East Los Angeles above chants of "Si, se puede," or "Yes, we can." He dispatched Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat beloved by Hispanics, to court voters in New Mexico and is running Spanish-language ads in California and Arizona. "It's truly a matter of making sure Latino voters understand his record," said his spokesman, Tommy Vietor. "The more they know what his values are and what he's accomplished, the more likely he is to earn their support." So far, Hispanic voters are not as enthusiastic about Obama as his campaign would like. Some pundits say racial tension between Blacks and Hispanics may partly explain why Obama is trailing Clinton. Hispanics are now the largest minority group in the nation. In many inner-city neighborhoods, they live side by side with Blacks, competing for jobs and turf. Sergio Bendixen, a Hispanic pollster for Clinton, set off a firestorm of criticism when he told a writer for the New Yorker magazine that race could be playing a role. "The Hispanic voter - and I want to say this very carefully - has not shown a lot of willingness or affinity to support Black candidates," he said. Manuel Montoya, who was born in Mexico and raised in California, says race could be a factor for some Hispanics. But he thinks Clinton enjoys more support among Hispanics simply because she has been stronger on health care and other issues that affect them. "She's the right candidate for us," said Montoya, who lives in Palm Springs. "The Latino demographic will put her over the top." At a rally Thursday in Los Angeles, Obama dismissed as "cynical" talk of racial tension among Blacks and Hispanics. "We've heard talk about the so-called Black-Brown divide," he said. "And whenever I hear this, I take it seriously because I'm reminded of the Latino brothers and sisters that I worked alongside on the streets of Chicago two decades ago." Obama's attempt to erode Clinton's lead among Hispanics could be crucial for his White House bid. For the first time in decades, Hispanic voters are playing a major role in selecting the Democratic presidential nominee. Of the 24 states and one territory holding Democratic contests Tuesday, seven - Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico and New York - have Hispanic populations ranging from 15 percent to 44 percent of state residents. In all, the states are home to more than half of the nation's 44.3 million Hispanics. "There's a history there," said Joe Garcia, a Democratic strategist who says Clinton simply has better name recognition than Obama among Hispanics.