Long Before His Arrest, Smith’s History Held Clues
Two forces have swirled around Queens State Senator Malcolm Smith throughout his career: power and scandal. And they appeared long before his arrest for allegedly trying to bribe his way into this year’s mayoral race

Quick: what does OFA stand for? Most of you probably think Obama for America, the organizing group that led the 2008 and 2012 election campaigns. But in 2009 OFA became Organizing for America. And just last month OFA morphed yet again into Organizing for Action. Brian Lehrer talked with Nicholas Confessore, who writes about campaign finance and big-money lobbying for the New York Times, about the latest incarnation of OFA, which looks an awful lot like a traditional lobbying organization providing big donors direct access to the Obama administration. Plus, an OFA reading list. Check it out.

micropolisnyc:

Jewish politician does blackface, gets into trouble.

Dov Hikind, a state assemblyman from Brooklyn, was celebrating the Jewish festival of Purim, and decided to wear an afro, sunglasses and orange jersey to a party he was throwing. Oh, and dark makeup.

“Someone gave me a uniform, someone gave me the hair of the actual, you know, sort of a black basketball player.”

Hikind is now catching heat from other New York politicos but says the reaction is overblown and that it was all in “good fun.”

“This is political correctness to the absurd,” he wrote on his blog, even going so far as to say, “I would do it again in a minute.”

We’re in the final days of the 2012 presidential campaign, but for the past few weeks Soundcheck has been in the throes of it’s own democratic process, our search for The Musician In Chief.

Here’s our top four vote-getters and the matchups for the “semifinals”:

— Aimee Mann vs. Patti Smith
— Dolly Parton vs. Jay-Z

Watching the vice presidential debate? Why not watch and chat with us while we play interactive debate bingo!

It’s Lehrer on Lehrer. Jim (no relation) Lehrer joined Brian Lehrer to talk about his new book and his experience moderating presidential debates. On last week’s Obama-Romney debate, Jim had this to say:

• In response to a caller who asked “Why didn’t you bring up Mitt Romney’s 47% comment?” Jim Lehrer: “I was not there to do the challenging, I was there to facilitate the challenging. And if 47% was to be brought up in a way that was unattractive to Romney, then it was Obama’s responsibility to do that.”
• On whether Mitt Romney’s interrupting him was “bullying”: “Everybody saw it. So if someone was to be turned off by it, then they saw it and can judge for themselves. “
• “Debates matter because, beyond policy, you need to be able to articulate and gain the support of the American people. If you’re going to be President of the United States, you better be able to stand up on your feet or sit down on your bottom and talk. And talk to the American people and talk to people who ask you questions in journalism.”
• And on Romney saying he liked Big Bird, and liked Jim Lehrer, but he would want to still want to cut PBS funding? “I can and I do make a strong case for PBS funding, but after Romney mentioned me in the debate, that was not the place to make it.”

Listen to the full interview here.

-Jody, BL Show-

(Spoiler alert: Obama lost.)

@Deltaann is playing Presidential Debate Bingo! Are you?

30 Issues in 30 Days looks at foreclosure in America. Check out the map of foreclosures by county, over the last five years. Here.

-Jody, BL Show-

Obama vs. Romney: HANDBALL EDITION.

-Jody, BL Show-

braiker:

Watch this video we put together. Went to a Brooklyn block party and grilled kids on what they know about the election. Kids are rad. 

No cigarette-ing 2012. —A.P. 

Today’s 30 Issues in 30 Days conversation: What’s the future of unions? Listen below, join the conversation on our website (and check out the infographic on the history of mass protests in the US).

30 Issues in 30 Days tackles the high cost of college. Listen to Brian Lehrer with Anya Kamentetz of Fast Company, Tamar Lewin of the New York Times, Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute, and a super-cool widget that shows you how much your alma mater costs now compared to when you graduated. All here.

As part of 30 Issues in 30 Days, WNYC is partnering with Longform.org to bring you great stories on the key issues this election season. Check out the first batch of six articles on jobs, education, and the economy. More stories every Monday between now and the election.