More links from a member of King Arthur's Knights of the Blogosphere (that was really cheesy).
If you read Kenny K, I mean ever read Kenny K, please read this article on Twitter. It's not spectacular but Twitter is a phenomena that you need to be aware of and try.
Is Obama the End of Black Politics, the NY Times asks (a week after the New Yorker springs the subject) and Kenny K covers it here. Thanks for sending Beth. I'm not really sure about the answer to the question, but I think the analogy to Irish or Italian political machines disappearing into the broader collective is interesting.
Personally, I don't find it surprising that "Black" politicians didn't recognize the disruptive force that Obama would become. I believe (alert, my opinion) that politicians are essentially risk averse, so you can't expect them to recognize an "Innovators Dilemma" situation and capitalize on it. Second, once they did recognize what Obama was, they defaulted to seeing him as a threat to their power position instead of working with him. This is what every giant corporation does when it sees an Innovator Dilemma situation. The Clintons were safe for the old guard because they had the relationships, and with the Clinton's, those politicians dictated what was going to get done. This is the equivalent of milking profit streams in the corporate world, pretending like the new guy won't eat your lunch. Simple as that.
