Black people exercised sophistication, power, and strategic posturing in the February 22nd Republican presidential primary in Michigan and the Democrat presidential debate in the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem New York. Black people, almost totally unforeseen by any of the pundits and experts are exercising a powerful influence in this election. This is an unusual and historical election for Black people. Anytime the Republican Party has three candidates for president and one of them is Black, and the two contenders for the democrat nomination debate in Harlem something is afoot! To boot the consistent winner, in public opinion polls, of the Republican debates is Black conservative Alan Keyes.

DEMOCRATS in general and especially Black Democrats fueled a large measure of the McCain victory in Michigan. Exit polls show voters in the Republican primary were 49% republican, 33% independents, and 18% democrats. African American political leaders angered by the policies and positions taken by Republican Governor John Engler rallied their constituents to enter the Republican primary and strike a blow against their enemy. The Bush legacy; the father who was president, the other brother who is a governor, and George W. who would be president arouse less than enthusiastic support from Black voters. Of course I am being facetious, most Black people believe that the "silver spoon in the mouth" Bush boys do not have our best interests at heart. Look at what Bush brother Jeb is doing in Florida to end affirmative action Exit polls reveal that 72% of Black voters voted for McCain! It is clear that Black people decided to move strategically to politically embarrass the Michigan Governor, thwart the campaign of Bush Jr., extend the Republican primary contest and exhaust the financial war chest of whoever becomes the republican nominee. The Republican Party looking forward to a summer of campaigning, flush with money, against the Democrat nominee will now have to struggle with depleted reserves. THE STORY OF THIS PRESIDENTIAL SEASON MAY BE THAT BLACK PEOPLE KILLED THE REPUBLICANS' CHANCES OF RECAPTURING THE WHITE HOUSE, NINE MONTHS BEFORE THE GENERAL ELECTION!

IT is possible that Black people acting politically sophisticated in Michigan, coupled with the elevation of the confederate flag issue in South Carolina might just provide the fuel for the Democrats to regain one or both houses of the U.S. Congress. Black people fired up by the assault on affirmative action in Florida, driving while Black issues across the country, and rampant police brutality struggles are poised to destroy the Republican "revolution." A mobilized and focused Black electorate in the black belt south, and the northern and southern urban areas could easily be the decisive political force of the 2000 national elections. Conservative Republicans know this is possible, how else do you explain the Jim Crow/Apartheid tactics of not opening polling places in black communities in the recent South Carolina primary?

THE sight of Al Gore and Bill Bradley debating Black issues in Harlem, the largest community of Africans in the world and the capital of Black USA, was a remarkable visual and audio spectacle. The fact that Rev. Al Sharpton, once a pariah of the mainstream, played no small role in making this debate a reality is equally remarkable. So much for the fiction that Black people are unalterably wedded to the Democrat party, that we have no place to go, or that the party's candidates do not have to debate our issues or compete for our votes.

NOW more than ever, African people need to realize that a people's economic and political agenda is addressed when the group asserts themselves as a political power, a player to be reckoned with in the high stakes game of national elections.

BLACK people have begun to advance the black agenda by sinking Bush's chances of clinching the Republican nomination quickly, by aiding in exhausting the Republican Party's money advantage for the general election, and by taking the political machine of Michigan Governor John Engler down a peg. Now all that remains to be done is to defeat police brutality poster boy Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in the New York Senate race by electing Hillary Clinton, and play the decisive role in electing Al Gore President and help recapture at least the national House of Representatives for the Democrats.