Prometheus 6

Hey, Bennie.

"We're still working to get the other people to reconsider," Thompson said. "Their decision to make Fox News the issue is not a good idea. Whether you agree or disagree with [Fox], they have a viewership."

Let's assume Fox News has a viewship that cannot be reach by anyone but Fox News. Do you think they will ever vote for a Democrat?

"There will be a direct effort to put in the minds of [viewers] that every candidate had more than enough time to put this on their schedule," he said.

We've already done that, relax.

Meanwhile, The Politico does, on occasion, repay close reading.

Fox has been seeking to improve its relations with African-American groups, especially after an embarrassing incident last month when it mistook Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) for indicted Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), another black lawmaker. Pulling out of the black caucus debate would likely jeopardize the network's outreach efforts.

Not African Americans. African American groups.
target="_blank">Leading Blacks. 

Fox and CBC struggle to save Dem debate
By: Josephine Hearn
July 7, 2007 12:36 PM EST

The Democratic debate hosted by Fox News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute threatens to be 90 minutes of bad TV, a planned presidential forum without the big-name candidates, a political event with few politicians.

Only three candidates, mostly lesser-knowns at that, have agreed to show up. The Big Three -- Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) and former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) -- said several months ago that they would not debate on the network that many Democrats believe tilts far to the right.

But organizers, including prominent members of the black caucus, are not ready to admit defeat. They still hope to entice (or shame) the front-runners into attending and, failing that, to devise an alternate format to add zest to the show beyond the lengthy discourses of Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) and former Sen. Mike Gravel (Alaska).

"We're moving forward no matter what. We're definitely having a debate in Detroit in September," said CBC Chairwoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, who serves on the institute's board and represents Detroit in Congress. "We may change the format. We might have more than just the presidential candidates," she said.

Debates between minor candidates are not rare. Biden, Kucinich and Gravel discussed the Iraq war at a June 6 debate at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. But it is unusual for such events to enjoy the backing of a national cable news channel.

Under such circumstances, one might expect Fox News to be making for the studio exit. But a representative said the network is "moving forward with the debate as scheduled on Sept. 23."

Fox has been seeking to improve its relations with African-American groups, especially after an embarrassing incident last month when it mistook Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) for indicted Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), another black lawmaker. Pulling out of the black caucus debate would likely jeopardize the network's outreach efforts.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), head of the CBC Institute, said he still held out hope that he could convince the front-runners to attend. He preferred not to dwell on the idea of a lonely stage with Biden, Kucinich and Gravel lobbing bombs at their absentee rivals.