E-mail a friendJuly 29, 2004
Tavis talks to the Democratic Party's rising star, Illinois U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama, Rev. Al Sharpton, and analysts Donna Brazile and Arianna Huffington.
Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington
Named one of Washington's most influential commentators by Newsweek and People, syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington started her political life as the darling of the right. She now describes herself as a progressive populist. She does political commentary on TV and has written 12 books, including the new release, Right is Wrong. She's also co-founder and editor in chief of the news and commentary Website, The Huffington Post, and co-host of Left, Right & Center, a public radio political roundtable program.
Rev. Al Sharpton
Rev. Al Sharpton
Video of Rev. Al Sharpton.
Al Sharpton is both constant and controversial. Growing up, his world was churches, nightclubs and protest marches. He was ordained at age 10 and preached on tour with Mahalia Jackson. He briefly managed James Brown, was a youth organizer with Don King, worked on projects with Jesse Jackson and, in '91, founded the National Action Network. Sharpton was the first Black to run for the U.S. Senate from NY and won 32% of the vote in his '97 run for mayor. He also ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in '04.
Sen. Barack Obama
Sen. Barack Obama
After months of speculation on whether he would run in '08, Illinois' junior senator Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the White House in February ‘07. He's proven to be a stellar fund-raiser and a popular candidate. The only African American in the U.S. Senate, Obama is a Harvard Law School grad—and the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review—a former civil rights lawyer and former state senator. His committee assignments include Foreign Relations, Veterans' Affairs and Homeland Security.
Donna Brazile
Donna Brazile
The first African American woman to head a major presidential campaign (Gore-Lieberman 2000), Brazile is a veteran campaign strategist and grassroots political consultant. Prior to joining the Gore campaign, she was DC Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's Chief of Staff and Press Secretary, where she helped guide the District's budget and local legislation on Capitol Hill. Brazile was host/producer of A View From the Hill, a weekly radio show in the metropolitan DC and Baltimore area.