Photo by John Harber

January 2012 marked the strongest job growth in over 9 months, as the private sector added more than 257,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dipped to 8.3%, according to the Labor dept’s monthly jobs report.

Even more: according to Labor secretary Hilda Solis, the unemployment rate among African-Americans fell by 2.2 percent in January down to 13.6 percent — “the largest one-month drop in recorded history.”

Perhaps I live in an alternate universe where this information is considered good news. But alas, this is the real world, and John Lott over at Fox News has your real world answers!

“The newly released 8.3 percent unemployment rate is still a half a percentage point higher than when [President Barack Obama] took office. But that still might be looking at the bright side. If we include those who have given up looking for work, the unemployment rate stands at almost an entire percentage point higher than when Obama entered office.”

There’s even a picture!

SNL could do an entire show of Debbie Downer skits, starring the GOP. You can surf the ‘net and find statements from John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and a host of other Republican legislators and operatives who have similar statements about the latest employment report. In fact, ALL of their statements – month after month – have the same references and tone.

The issue that I have with these negative talking points: It affects our mood. Right now, the country overwhelmingly feels negatively about the direction of the country. People rely on the words and actions of our elected officials to paint a picture of our trajectory. If all good news under this president is greeted with doom, negative spin, or even worse – GLOOMY ILLUSTRATIONS like the one above – how will Americans ever feel confident about the future of the country?

We would never tell someone who almost lost his or her life in a major car accident “you know, you sure as hell could do better than taking that first step! You used to be able to run faster!!!!”

We can’t forget the severity of where we once were – our economy and all american industries faced severe trauma. And just as a person recovering from trauma should feel encouraged at every bit of good news, so, too, should all of the american people. It’s reckless to react with the same talking points when there is reason to feel good about where we’re headed.

The fact is: we were once upon a time hemorrhaging jobs at a rate of 750,000 per month. Today, we are creating over a quarter of a million jobs in the same time frame. Recovery could be more robust and faster, absolutely. But think for a second where we were.

I don’t say any of this because I’m some raging liberal fired up about November. I’m just looking at reality. Progress, no matter how you measure it, is still progress. Don’t let the spin fool you.

Mitt Romney campaigns in Ames, Iowa. Photo courtesy of WEBN-TV.

And you thought President Obama was the only one that could sang!

At a campaign stop in Florida, where he’s sure to win today’s Republican primary, presidential candidate Mitt Romney hit the crowd with a taste of his patriotism. And if that soulful performance left you with any doubts that he, you know, really loves America and its people, he let everyone in on a secret: he knows ALL of the verses of “America the Beautiful.”

Some of you can’t even remember the pledge of allegiance!

Check it out:

Standing ovation for that man! Get him a recording contract STAT! I could clean my apartment to this every Sunday morning.

Official Huntsman Campaign photo.

Good for him for accepting reality faster than Rick Perry.

After throwing all his hopes in New Hampshire and finishing a disappointing 3rd place behind Mitt Romney and Ron Paul in the state’s primary, Jon Huntsman is suspending his campaign. The New York Times reports that he will endorse Mitt Romney at a speech in Myrtle Beach later today.

Despite the wave of shock felt in the aftermath of this development, it should hardly come as a surprise and will probably have zero impact on the race. Huntsman polled at about 3% in state and national polls – not even the margin of error by some standards. His campaign was operating on a shoe-string budget and, as a result, failed to compete anywhere outside of New Hampshire.

I’m reading the two or three countless theories being thrown about as to why Huntsman never caught on. Just a few moments ago on Morning Joe, someone said he wasn’t “shrill” enough – that his restrained behavior almost eliminated him by default because of the crazy-status of today’s Republican party.

Another theory is that he automatically disqualified himself because he served in the Obama administration as the Ambassador to China.

Besides Rachel Maddow’s smart, spot-on analysis of Jon Huntsman’s campaign missteps last week, both of these are inaccurate. I’d hardly call Mitt Romney “shrill,” for example, and one could almost argue that Romney cruised to the top of the polls simply by showing up and standing on stage at debate performances and looking all presidential and stuff. As far as being disqualified because of his former Ambassadorship, there’s a great chance that Republican primary voters have failed to learn this gem of information because no one knows who Jon Huntsman is. And that, ladies and gentlemen, has been the problem. Here are my three reasons why Jon Huntsman never caught fire in the primary race.

He lacked a message that urged a call to action.

Jon Huntsman makes his compassionate, compelling plea for the presidency.

Can I share with you a campaign email from the Huntsman team that I received back in October?

“We need a nominee who can beat President Obama and unite Republicans, Independents and disaffected Democrats, just as Ronald Reagan did. We don’t need hope and hype anymore; we need solutions. We need a principled leader who has a set of core beliefs they can draw upon in the Oval Office. We don’t need a nominee who is choosing his positions like a weather vane blowing in the political winds.

If you agree, I hope you will support my campaign for President with an immediate donation before midnight of $10, $25, $50, $100 or more. Our support in New Hampshire is on the rise and you can feel the excitement on the campaign trail. What we need now are the financial resources to compete. 

So please endorse my campaign with an immediate donation of $10, $25, $50, $100 or more before our midnight fundraising deadline. 

I am counting on your support.

Sincerely, Jon Huntsman

PS Our support in New Hampshire is growing. What we need now are the resources to take advantage of our momentum on the ground. Please help us with an immediate donation before midnight. Then please forward this email to at least five of your friends. Thank you in advance!

Who wrote this email!? This has all the urgency of a guy gunning for that promotion from head cashier to shift supervisor. But does it make the case for someone aspiring to lead the free world? Not so much.

“If you agree, I hope you will support my campaign for President.“ A man who knows he is making a strong case for the presidency doesn’t use terms like “if you agree, I hope…” Also, isn’t Jon Huntsman a rich man? The redundancies here (care to make an immediate donation? how about making that immediate donation? oh, by the way, tell a friend and make an immediate donation.) make it hard to believe that there are real live people being paid out of his father’s Super PAC super rich pockets to produce such amateur work. I’m not speaking solely about this one missive – all of his campaign updates read like he hired the kids from the local high school to devise his strategy.

You sometimes got the impression that you were reading a Land’s End catalog.

Take one look at the merchandise section on his site. There is some really cool, well-designed stuff on there! I actually considered buying a black t-shirt with the futuristic ‘H’ emblazoned across my chest.

That's not me in this photo, by the way.

The problem is that it looks like more thought went into the design of that gigantic “H” than into an actual message, policies, and overall strategy. While you’re selling can coolies and tumblers and mugs and lapel pins via Paypal, no one knows who you are. But you’ve got nice shirts, sir.

His campaign always seemed to be running from behind.

Another not-so-smart highlight of the Huntsman brand would be this graphic that served as the marquee banner to all new visitors of Jon2012.com last week:

Jon Huntsman appeals to folks to help him air an ad.

The issue here? It was still the site’s lead story just hours before the New Hampshire primary. At that point, the ad should have been streamed on his site automatically, complete with links to voting sites as well as photos of enthusiastic voters amped to show their support for the former governor. Instead, curious visitors to his website were being asked to donate money to air an ad in a state that would be forgotten in a few hours? I’m glad I bought a sandwich instead.

According to his own official bio, “Utah… was named the best-managed state by the Pew Center” under Huntsman’s leadership. Yet, the man couldn’t hire anyone to manage his little website with basic updates that were, in fact, up to date? I don’t get it.

I think it’s admirable that governor Huntsman managed to build his support from 1% in Hew Hampshire to around 20% in an organic fashion. That’s remarkable. And I believe that if the New Hampshire primary were to be held tomorrow as opposed to last week, he could’ve won, or came in a close second to Romney. I’m also not suggesting that it’s an easy task to run for president.

But there were obvious signs from day 1 that Huntsman’s team was always a day late and a dollar short. It wasn’t because he was steady or sober or calm and collected. It was a lack of discipline in messaging, direction, conveying urgency, management of the campaign strategy – those are the reasons that Huntsman never moved beyond last place in the polls. And that’s disappointing from someone who seemed primed to make the 2012 race interesting and close.

We’ll see if and how much he improves come 2016.

Former Governor Jon Huntsman (R-UT) speaking at CPAC FL in Orlando, Florida. If you look closely, you can spot the Chinese features and Chinese values. Photo by Gage Skidmore.

Texas representative Ron Paul is having a hard time distancing himself from racist materials that bear his name.

New Hampshire Liberty 4 Paul, a group of so-called “Ron Paul Supporters,” produced this ad depicting former Utah governor Jon Huntsman as a secret, scary Chinese man – the real manchurian candidate if you will. (If you remember, Governor Huntsman served 2 years in the Obama administration as an ambassador to China). The ad depicts him as someone who has Chinese values – scary! – and even speaks Chinese, although some have called his Chinese-speaking abilities even scarier. Make sure you keep the lights on while you check out the clip below:

I mean, really…

Even though it’s not tied to a Ron Paul PAC, it would be best if congressman Paul came out and denounced this as monstrous, racist, and unacceptable.

Perhaps the only good thing coming from this episode, however, is that we’re actually talking about Jon Huntsman. Despite practically camping out in the White Mountains for the last six months, the former governor has barely made a mark in New Hampshire and national polls.

If this is a sign of things to come in the general election, expect a slew of Orly Taitz & Donald Trump ads calling on Obama to reveal his Kenyan birth certificate.

Photo by Flickr user photologue_np

Slow and steady progress.

In a better-than-expected monthly jobs report released this morning by the Labor dept,  the U.S. economy saw an increase of 200,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate dipped slightly to 8.5%.

Despite today’s positive news, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney continued to hammer President Obama. Campaigning this morning in Conway, SC alongside South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and AZ senator John McCain, Romney charged “remember [president Obama] was early in his administration, he said ‘look if you let me borrow 787 billion dollars, well I’ll be able to keep unemployment from going above 8%.‘ Well it went past 8% and hasn’t been back since! 3 years later!”

The AP and other outlets had already reported that this past December capped a 2011 which saw more growth in the economy that hadn’t been seen, by some measures, in over 5 years. Let’s hope for more news like this in the months to come. Read an in-depth analysis of the numbers over at Reuters or the official statement from Department of Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis here.

Richard Cordray, former Attorney General of Ohio and newly appointed Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Depending on who you ask, President Obama’s appointment of Richard Cordray as the new director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is either treasonous, brilliant, unconstitutional, bold, arrogant or a much needed breath of fresh air for American consumers.

During what is traditionally a respite from Congressional business, the Senate GOP had been holding “pro-forma” sessions every few days – hitting a gavel in the Senate chamber, then doing jumping jacks or chin ups or ordering pizza – and calling it “official” business so as to block the president from making any recess appointments. Tactics like this are exactly why an overwhelming majority of the American people view Congress as a joke.

Despite these tactics, President Obama announced Cordray as the new head of the Bureau anyway. This immediately prompted calls from Republicans that Cordray’s appointment by circumventing Congress is an extreme and unconstitutional overreach by President Obama. The GOP fails to see the tackiness in their argument (“we’ve been holding bogus sessions, therefore we weren’t technically in recess!”), instead choosing to argue that the president is a dictator who has assaulted the average man’s rights and affronted the Constitution. (Take a look at the Arena - Democrats are beyond pleased while Republicans, except for Scott Brown, are PEEVED).

Amidst all of this, Cordray, the former Ohio Attorney General is making his rounds on the ‘net and in the media to push forth his stated cause – to make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans. Following Wednesday’s controversial appointment, he appeared on MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell to tout his new position in the agency and also posted a YouTube clip on Consumerfinance.gov, the agency’s official website. Check out the clip below:

Let’s cut through the GOP spin regarding the Bureau for a second. Conventional GOP talking points insist that government advocacy for consumers’ best interests amounts to the creation of a big agency that’s going to threaten the livelihood of small businesses and the average man and blah blah. Protecting consumers’ interests is a good thing. Just look to the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009, which changed the way average American consumers read their credit card statements:

Until the CARD Act of 2009, the Payment Information box on our credit card statements failed to inform the average user with such detailed information. Photo courtesy of consumerismcommentary.com.

In addition to understanding information more easily as displayed above, the CARD Act also mandated consistent due dates each month. Remember when that Bank of America credit card payment was due on March 3rd, then April 2nd, then May 5th or June 2nd or something? The CARD Act eliminated the silly guessing games we’d play as we raced each month to avoid late fees and increased APR %s. Think of how the average family is better able to plan a monthly budget or save for a vacation as a result.

If the Bureau is able to advocate for and produce small, significant changes like this, then that’s a good thing for the average American. I think it’s important that we remind ourselves of exactly what we want our elected leaders to fight for. Regardless of political ideology, we should continue to advocate for better reforms that make our lives simpler, and frown on political tactics that block our collective progress.

Jon Huntsman photo by Kathryn Skaggs.

In what is sure to be viewed as a snub to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman received an endorsement today from the Boston Globe.

You read that right. The dude who has consistently polled at or next to last just scored a key endorsement from New England’s largest newspaper, just days before neighboring New Hampshire’s January 10th primary. The article makes consistent references to both Romney and Huntsman, asserting that both appear to be the most presidential. About Huntsman, The Globe writes:

“With a strong record as governor of Utah and US ambassador to China, arguably the most important overseas diplomatic post, Huntsman’s credentials match those of anyone in the field. He would be the best candidate to seize this moment in GOP history, and the best-prepared to be president. Huntsman governed Utah as a clear conservative who nonetheless put the interests of his state ahead of ideology.”

Conversely, the editorial amplifies what most in conservative circles complain about often – Mitt Romney is not clear and lacks conviction.

“Without personal experience to guide him, Romney is catering to the most vocal constituencies in the national-security wing of the GOP… Romney’s ultimate intentions aren’t clear. Is this for real? Both his supporters and detractors suspect that behind the conservative scaffolding is a data-driven moderate who will make practical compromises. But the way Romney has run his campaign, it’s impossible to tell.”

Fighting words, no doubt.

Although I consistently poke fun at Jon Huntsman – no one knows who he is despite being a mega-bazillionaire with a stellar resume and excellent credentials – I’ve been puzzled as to why he hasn’t caught on thus far. Nonetheless, it’ll be interesting to see if this has any effect on the upcoming primary in New Hampshire. The Globe is widely circulated throughout New England, and Boston media has a definite influence on southern New Hampshire. Though Mitt Romney has a solid lead in the polls there, Jon Huntsman has ticked up slightly in the past few months, as he’s basically staked all chances for a shot at the presidency in the Granite State.

Read the full endorsement here.

Former Governor Mitt Romney giving an interview at a supporters rally in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Photo by Gage Skidmore.

Call it a good day for Mitt Romney.

The former Massachusetts Governor scored a prime nod from The Boston Herald today. The Herald’s Editorial team writes:

There is only one candidate in the Republican field with the integrity, the experience, the organizational strength and the intelligence to beat Barack Obama… There is only one candidate who can put this nation back on the path to fiscal sanity and restore it to its central role on the world stage. That candidate is Mitt Romney.

Though a great development for team Romney, this is hardly surprising, considering the former governor’s self-described “sober” approach to the nomination and the fact that this is the state he used to govern. It might make more waves if, say, the Houston Chronicle endorsed Mitt Romney.

In similarly groundbreaking news, former North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole gave her voice of approval to Romney’s candidacy. The Charlotte Observer reports that Mrs. Dole will do “whatever [she] can to be of assistance between now and the November election” in announcing her support earlier today.

Governor Rick Perry speaking at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC. Photo by Gage Skidmore.

Delusional? Or determined?

Texas Governor Rick Perry missed the filing deadline to qualify for the state of Virginia’s Republican primary contest in March. His response? Sue Virginia!

From Reuters:

The Republican presidential candidate failed to get the 10,000 verifiable signatures, including at least 400 qualified voters from each congressional district, required to be in the March 6 primary. Perry is challenging the state’s qualification process on constitutional grounds, saying it restricts the access of Virginia voters to the candidates of their choosing.

Look, I’m a believer of people and have faith that one can overcome even the most insurmountable obstacle. But Rick Perry is not going to win the Republican presidential nomination, and the polls have backed up this theory for months. Who is advising him to spend money on a losing battle? Give it to the man – he certainly has confidence.

Governor Perry isn’t the only candidate that won’t appear on Virginia’s primary ballot, however: Jon Huntsman, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Santorum also missed the deadline. But don’t worry –  none of them have a chance to win the nomination either. It’s a pretty sure bet that Virginia primary voters won’t notice the empty spaces on the ballots.

Newt Gingrich also failed to meet the deadline, a hilarious sad ridiculous, SMH-worthy development because he lives in Virginia.

This is quickly becoming Mitt Romney’s race to lose.

My cousin Louis (right) and me, color coordinated and just coooool as ice!

18 years ago today, my cousin, Louis D. Brown, was shot and killed. And it changed my life.

If you live in the Boston area, there’s a chance that you’ve already heard the story: Louis was a “good kid,” who dreamt of becoming the first Black president of the U.S. As a member of a youth activist organization – Teens Against Gang Violence – he was caught in the middle of a shootout while en route to the group’s annual Christmas party. Wearing headphones and, as a result, totally oblivious to what was going on, Louis was shot directly in the head and died instantly.

I replay that fateful December 20th in my head over and over again, like a broken record. Few instances in my life have given me an equal or greater perspective: once you experience murder of a family member, friend, neighbor or any loved one, you’re forced to think about life on a different level. All of a sudden, you’re presented with two choices. The first is to let this brutal act kill you just the same – to live a life full of anger, sadness, regret and remorse until you wither away, losing all connection with humanity.

Or you can turn it into an opportunity to help, empathize with, and be kind to others, regardless of circumstance. Not easy, but it’s the option that my family chose. This is the example that my aunts, grandmother, mom, sister, and cousins chose. And it’s why I’m grateful to have them all as role models.

In the past 18 years, I’ve watched in awe as my aunt Clementina Chery started a non-profit organization in Louis’s name with the sole purpose of assisting family members of homicide victims. I’ve admired her ability to speak with grace, intelligence, and an unfitting gentleness about picking up the pieces of her life after burying her murdered son. I’m continuously bewildered by her ironic success that brought her all the way to the White House, advocating programs that encourage violence prevention and support families who have experienced murder. I’ve stood beside her as she forged a friendship with the family of Charles Bogues, the man convicted of murdering Louis. Since his 1997 conviction, he has retracted his guilty plea, an action that my aunt supports wholeheartedly, knowing the flawed intricacies of the criminal justice system.

In short, through her actions, I know that the human spirit is not only meant to withstand the unthinkable; it is tough and resilient, and I’m grateful to have learned these lessons from someone who is so very graceful.

Despite these lessons, my family continues to stumble and experience the same grievances as others. The holiday season brings about a quiet anxiety that keeps us in our thoughts. Celebrating my mother’s birthday every December 18^th still has a bittersweet aftertaste, remembering that our last meal with Louis occurred just two days before his death. His little brother, Allen, who was only 1 at the time of his murder, struggles with having never known the boy who was his big brother. Though we are close, my small family continues to feel an unexplainable distance from one another. It’s as if a vital piece of the puzzle that connected us all has gone missing, and will never be replaced.

Today, when I hear people speak of the tragic irony of his murder, I still cringe. Though not ill intentioned, there are often references to him having been “such a good kid,” which indirectly implies that there are some “bad people” out there who deserve to have their lives taken from them. It also implies that there are families who deserve the hell that my family has gone through. No doubt that stories of gang and gun violence paint a picture of uncontrollable urban warfare led by rebel forces in the ‘hood.

But if there’s anything that I’ve learned from my aunt and through my own journey, it’s that violence in all its forms is an epidemic and that no one is exempt from its vicious current. It can strike at any time, to the “good ones” and to those who are considered menaces to society. It’s a ravaging cancer to neighborhoods and families and individuals no matter the perpetrator or the victim. And we’re all responsible for doing our parts in making this world a safer, saner place to thrive.

As I take in my 2011 lessons – professional and personal (especially the most painful ones) – in hopes for an even more awesome 2012, I’m reminded today, on this 18^th anniversary of the murder of my cousin, to let the most excruciating and bitter moments in life serve as inspiration to enlighten myself, to encourage others to be their best, and to strive for greatness by exercising empathy, humanity and integrity.

Today, hug a loved one. Help a stranger in need. Be peaceful.

Still styling and profiling.