text:
Washington (CNN) -- What's the most emotional and divisive issue in American politics?

Abortion, right?

Just this weekend, former Republican front-runner Rick Perry used the abortion issue to slam current Republican front-runner Herman Cain at the Iowa Faith and Freedom forum.

Perry said:

"It is a liberal canard to say I am personally pro-life, but government should stay out of that decision. If that is your view, you are not pro-life, you are pro having-your-cake-and-eating-it-too."

Over the previous week, Herman Cain had alarmed anti-abortion voters with a series of verbal miscues, indicating both that abortion must be stopped but also that the decision should be left to the individual woman, with no role for government.

At the Faith and Freedom forum, Cain over-corrected for his week of stumbles: "No abortions. No exceptions." That new position goes far beyond the usual pro-life policy, which allows exceptions for rape, child abuse, and to save the life of the mother.

Pro-life activists must unhappily confront the probability that many of the leading candidates for the GOP nomination in 2012 - while all professedly pro-life - in reality neither care very much nor think very much about the abortion issue.

But now look at the world from the politicians' point of view. They must hold together a coalition that is sliced apart by the abortion issue. Pro-choice Republicans do not hold forums. But they exist, and they have power. With the result that while you can't get nominated for president by the GOP if you are pro-choice (see Giuliani, Rudy), you also can't get nominated if you oppose abortion too much (see Huckabee, Mike).

For the politicians, it's all baffling and vexing.

And yet -- incredible as it sounds now -- there is reason to expect that the abortion issue may someday just vanish from national politics. After all, that's what happened to the last great moral issue to rattle the American party system: alcohol prohibition.

For 70 years from the end of the Civil War to the Great Depression, a human lifetime, the "drys" and the "wets" mustered all the passion, commitment, and moralism of the pro-life and pro-choice movements of our day.

"It is my opinion that the saloonkeeper is worse than a thief and a murderer. The ordinary thief steals only your money, but the saloonkeeper steals your honor and your character. The ordinary murderer takes your life, but the saloonkeeper murders your soul."

That's from the famous "booze sermon" of Billy Sunday, the great popular preacher of the 1910s and 1920s. Thousands of such passionate speeches -- millions more passionate words -- were uttered by names now brown with history: William Jennings Bryan, Carrie Nation, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It was not all talk. Ferocious legislative battles were bought to prohibit alcohol at the county, state and then ultimately national level. The great scholar of American politics, Judith Shklar, estimated to her graduate students that through the long run of American history, more elections at more levels of government have turned on alcohol than any other issue, including slavery.

Politicians hated the alcohol issue for the same reason they now dislike the abortion issue: It sliced apart the existing party structure.

The Republicans could not win a national majority without the support of Protestant immigrants from Germany in cities like Milwaukee and St. Louis. The Democrats could not win without the enthusiastic support of Irish Catholics in New York and New England. City-dwelling Germans and Irish intensely resented attempts of their country-dwelling neighbors to regulate their behavior for them.

"If they don't feel like takin' a glass of beer on Sunday, we must abstain," a contemporary Irish-American politician bitterly complained. "If they have not got any amusements up in their backwoods, we mustn't have none."

National politicians responded to Prohibition then in the same way they respond to abortion now: by looking for ways to avoid and de-escalate a destabilizing issue. "Questions based upon temperance, religion, morality, in all their multiplied forms, ought not to be the basis of politics," declared Senator John Sherman of Ohio in 1873. "We don't want to alienate anybody!" complained a Michigan Republican leader of the 1880s as quoted in a contemporary newspaper.

As Richard Jensen observes in his classic history, "The Winning of the Midwest", "Very few prominent Republican politicians were abstainers ... The politicians were not less likely to be churchgoers (many voters, after all, attended church), but they had developed their own standards of personal morality." Then as now!

And yet a century later ... the issue is dead. Vanished. Forgotten. What happened?

Three things.

1. Alcohol prohibition did finally get a national trial, from 1919-1933 and was universally experienced even by former supporters as a disaster.

2. The problem addressed by prohibition has dwindled away. While it's difficult to know with any precision how much people drank in the years after the Civil War, it's almost certain that 19th Century Americans drank much more than they do today. (For that matter, Americans today drink nearly 20% less than they did as recently as 1980.)

3. And maybe most important, drinking and non-drinking are no longer so intimately associated with other ethno-cultural divisions within American life. As alcohol ceased to be a cultural symbol, the appropriate regulation of alcohol ceased to be an ideological issue. When alcohol regulation flared up again in the 1980s, during the debate over stricter punishments for drunk driving, the debate never turned into a culture war because "alcohol" was not code (as it had been a century before) for a dozen other identities and grievances.

Can we imagine such a fate for the abortion issue?

Condition number one could well happen, and would be revolutionary.

But even in its absence, condition number two is beginning to obtain in the United States. In the early 1980s, there were some 29 abortions per 1,000 women of child-bearing age. Today that rate has declined to about 19 abortions per 1,000 women. The rate will never reach zero, but we may expect that it will continue to decline as contraceptives improve and attitudes to out-of-wedlock birth become more accepting, and as younger generations increasingly reject abortion as an acceptable resolution of a pregnancy.

What about condition three? Alcohol became central to American politics at a time when Americans were arguing whether the country should be rural or urban, a farm economy or industrial, and whether Catholics could ever become good Americans. As those arguments lost their intensity, so did the alcohol issue. Abortion became central to modern politics at exactly the same time as Americans were arguing over sexuality generally, over the status of women and the rights of gays.

I think it's a good guess that if we come to a new consensus about the status of women -- absorbing and digesting the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the feminist revolution of the 1970s into a new dispensation more comfortable with both women's equality to men and their differences from men -- disagreements over abortion will come to matter less. Such disagreements won't disappear, any more than we've seen the end of debates about whether bars should open on Sundays. But the disagreements won't matter so furiously much as they now seem to do.

Too bad for Herman Cain that day still seems at least a couple of decades remote.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Frum.

text: Washington

text: CNN

text: What

text: 's

text: the

text: most

text: emotional

text: and

text: divisive

text: issue

text: in

text: American

text: politics

text: Abortion

text: right

text: Just

text: this

text: weekend

text: former

text: Republican

text: front

text: runner

text: Rick

text: Perry

text: used

text: the

text: abortion

text: issue

text: to

text: slam

text: current

text: Republican

text: front

text: runner

text: Herman

text: Cain

text: at

text: the

text: Iowa

text: Faith

text: and

text: Freedom

text: forum

text: Perry

text: said

text: It

text: is

text: a

text: liberal

text: canard

text: to

text: say

text: I

text: am

text: personally

text: pro

text: life

text: but

text: government

text: should

text: stay

text: out

text: of

text: that

text: decision

text: If

text: that

text: is

text: your

text: view

text: you

text: are

text: not

text: pro

text: life

text: you

text: are

text: pro

text: having

text: your

text: cake

text: and

text: eating

text: it

text: too

text: Over

text: the

text: previous

text: week

text: Herman

text: Cain

text: had

text: alarmed

text: anti

text: abortion

text: voters

text: with

text: a

text: series

text: of

text: verbal

text: miscues

text: indicating

text: both

text: that

text: abortion

text: must

text: be

text: stopped

text: but

text: also

text: that

text: the

text: decision

text: should

text: be

text: left

text: to

text: the

text: individual

text: woman

text: with

text: no

text: role

text: for

text: government

text: At

text: the

text: Faith

text: and

text: Freedom

text: forum

text: Cain

text: over

text: corrected

text: for

text: his

text: week

text: of

text: stumbles

text: No

text: abortions

text: No

text: exceptions

text: That

text: new

text: position

text: goes

text: far

text: beyond

text: the

text: usual

text: pro

text: life

text: policy

text: which

text: allows

text: exceptions

text: for

text: rape

text: child

text: abuse

text: and

text: to

text: save

text: the

text: life

text: of

text: the

text: mother

text: Pro

text: life

text: activists

text: must

text: unhappily

text: confront

text: the

text: probability

text: that

text: many

text: of

text: the

text: leading

text: candidates

text: for

text: the

text: GOP

text: nomination

text: in

text: while

text: all

text: professedly

text: pro

text: life

text: in

text: reality

text: neither

text: care

text: very

text: much

text: nor

text: think

text: very

text: much

text: about

text: the

text: abortion

text: issue

text: But

text: now

text: look

text: at

text: the

text: world

text: from

text: the

text: politicians

text: point

text: of

text: view

text: They

text: must

text: hold

text: together

text: a

text: coalition

text: that

text: is

text: sliced

text: apart

text: by

text: the

text: abortion

text: issue

text: Pro

text: choice

text: Republicans

text: do

text: not

text: hold

text: forums

text: But

text: they

text: exist

text: and

text: they

text: have

text: power

text: With

text: the

text: result

text: that

text: while

text: you

text: ca

text: n't

text: get

text: nominated

text: for

text: president

text: by

text: the

text: GOP

text: if

text: you

text: are

text: pro

text: choice

text: see

text: Giuliani

text: Rudy

text: you

text: also

text: ca

text: n't

text: get

text: nominated

text: if

text: you

text: oppose

text: abortion

text: too

text: much

text: see

text: Huckabee

text: Mike

text: For

text: the

text: politicians

text: it

text: 's

text: all

text: baffling

text: and

text: vexing

text: And

text: yet

text: incredible

text: as

text: it

text: sounds

text: now

text: there

text: is

text: reason

text: to

text: expect

text: that

text: the

text: abortion

text: issue

text: may

text: someday

text: just

text: vanish

text: from

text: national

text: politics

text: After

text: all

text: that

text: 's

text: what

text: happened

text: to

text: the

text: last

text: great

text: moral

text: issue

text: to

text: rattle

text: the

text: American

text: party

text: system

text: alcohol

text: prohibition

text: For

text: years

text: from

text: the

text: end

text: of

text: the

text: Civil

text: War

text: to

text: the

text: Great

text: Depression

text: a

text: human

text: lifetime

text: the

text: drys

text: and

text: the

text: wets

text: mustered

text: all

text: the

text: passion

text: commitment

text: and

text: moralism

text: of

text: the

text: pro

text: life

text: and

text: pro

text: choice

text: movements

text: of

text: our

text: day

text: It

text: is

text: my

text: opinion

text: that

text: the

text: saloonkeeper

text: is

text: worse

text: than

text: a

text: thief

text: and

text: a

text: murderer

text: The

text: ordinary

text: thief

text: steals

text: only

text: your

text: money

text: but

text: the

text: saloonkeeper

text: steals

text: your

text: honor

text: and

text: your

text: character

text: The

text: ordinary

text: murderer

text: takes

text: your

text: life

text: but

text: the

text: saloonkeeper

text: murders

text: your

text: soul

text: That

text: 's

text: from

text: the

text: famous

text: booze

text: sermon

text: of

text: Billy

text: Sunday

text: the

text: great

text: popular

text: preacher

text: of

text: the

text: and

text: Thousands

text: of

text: such

text: passionate

text: speeches

text: millions

text: more

text: passionate

text: words

text: were

text: uttered

text: by

text: names

text: now

text: brown

text: with

text: history

text: William

text: Jennings

text: Bryan

text: Carrie

text: Nation

text: Elizabeth

text: Cady

text: Stanton

text: It

text: was

text: not

text: all

text: talk

text: Ferocious

text: legislative

text: battles

text: were

text: bought

text: to

text: prohibit

text: alcohol

text: at

text: the

text: county

text: state

text: and

text: then

text: ultimately

text: national

text: level

text: The

text: great

text: scholar

text: of

text: American

text: politics

text: Judith

text: Shklar

text: estimated

text: to

text: her

text: graduate

text: students

text: that

text: through

text: the

text: long

text: run

text: of

text: American

text: history

text: more

text: elections

text: at

text: more

text: levels

text: of

text: government

text: have

text: turned

text: on

text: alcohol

text: than

text: any

text: other

text: issue

text: including

text: slavery

text: Politicians

text: hated

text: the

text: alcohol

text: issue

text: for

text: the

text: same

text: reason

text: they

text: now

text: dislike

text: the

text: abortion

text: issue

text: It

text: sliced

text: apart

text: the

text: existing

text: party

text: structure

text: The

text: Republicans

text: could

text: not

text: win

text: a

text: national

text: majority

text: without

text: the

text: support

text: of

text: Protestant

text: immigrants

text: from

text: Germany

text: in

text: cities

text: like

text: Milwaukee

text: and

text: St.

text: Louis

text: The

text: Democrats

text: could

text: not

text: win

text: without

text: the

text: enthusiastic

text: support

text: of

text: Irish

text: Catholics

text: in

text: New

text: York

text: and

text: New

text: England

text: City

text: dwelling

text: Germans

text: and

text: Irish

text: intensely

text: resented

text: attempts

text: of

text: their

text: country

text: dwelling

text: neighbors

text: to

text: regulate

text: their

text: behavior

text: for

text: them

text: If

text: they

text: do

text: n't

text: feel

text: like

text: takin

text: a

text: glass

text: of

text: beer

text: on

text: Sunday

text: we

text: must

text: abstain

text: a

text: contemporary

text: Irish

text: American

text: politician

text: bitterly

text: complained

text: If

text: they

text: have

text: not

text: got

text: any

text: amusements

text: up

text: in

text: their

text: backwoods

text: we

text: must

text: n't

text: have

text: National

text: politicians

text: responded

text: to

text: Prohibition

text: then

text: in

text: the

text: same

text: way

text: they

text: respond

text: to

text: abortion

text: now

text: by

text: looking

text: for

text: ways

text: to

text: avoid

text: and

text: de

text: escalate

text: a

text: destabilizing

text: issue

text: Questions

text: based

text: upon

text: temperance

text: religion

text: morality

text: in

text: all

text: their

text: multiplied

text: forms

text: ought

text: not

text: to

text: be

text: the

text: basis

text: of

text: politics

text: declared

text: Senator

text: John

text: Sherman

text: of

text: Ohio

text: in

text: We

text: do

text: n't

text: want

text: to

text: alienate

text: anybody

text: complained

text: a

text: Michigan

text: Republican

text: leader

text: of

text: the

text: as

text: quoted

text: in

text: a

text: contemporary

text: newspaper

text: As

text: Richard

text: Jensen

text: observes

text: in

text: his

text: classic

text: history

text: The

text: Winning

text: of

text: the

text: Midwest

text: Very

text: few

text: prominent

text: Republican

text: politicians

text: were

text: abstainers

text: The

text: politicians

text: were

text: not

text: less

text: likely

text: to

text: be

text: churchgoers

text: many

text: voters

text: after

text: all

text: attended

text: church

text: but

text: they

text: had

text: developed

text: their

text: own

text: standards

text: of

text: personal

text: morality

text: Then

text: as

text: now

text: And

text: yet

text: a

text: century

text: later

text: the

text: issue

text: is

text: dead

text: Vanished

text: Forgotten

text: What

text: happened

text: Three

text: things

text: Alcohol

text: prohibition

text: did

text: finally

text: get

text: a

text: national

text: trial

text: from

text: and

text: was

text: universally

text: experienced

text: even

text: by

text: former

text: supporters

text: as

text: a

text: disaster

text: The

text: problem

text: addressed

text: by

text: prohibition

text: has

text: dwindled

text: away

text: While

text: it

text: 's

text: difficult

text: to

text: know

text: with

text: any

text: precision

text: how

text: much

text: people

text: drank

text: in

text: the

text: years

text: after

text: the

text: Civil

text: War

text: it

text: 's

text: almost

text: certain

text: that

text: Century

text: Americans

text: drank

text: much

text: more

text: than

text: they

text: do

text: today

text: For

text: that

text: matter

text: Americans

text: today

text: drink

text: nearly

text: less

text: than

text: they

text: did

text: as

text: recently

text: as

text: And

text: maybe

text: most

text: important

text: drinking

text: and

text: non

text: drinking

text: are

text: no

text: longer

text: so

text: intimately

text: associated

text: with

text: other

text: ethno

text: cultural

text: divisions

text: within

text: American

text: life

text: As

text: alcohol

text: ceased

text: to

text: be

text: a

text: cultural

text: symbol

text: the

text: appropriate

text: regulation

text: of

text: alcohol

text: ceased

text: to

text: be

text: an

text: ideological

text: issue

text: When

text: alcohol

text: regulation

text: flared

text: up

text: again

text: in

text: the

text: during

text: the

text: debate

text: over

text: stricter

text: punishments

text: for

text: drunk

text: driving

text: the

text: debate

text: never

text: turned

text: into

text: a

text: culture

text: war

text: because

text: alcohol

text: was

text: not

text: code

text: as

text: it

text: had

text: been

text: a

text: century

text: before

text: for

text: a

text: dozen

text: other

text: identities

text: and

text: grievances

text: Can

text: we

text: imagine

text: such

text: a

text: fate

text: for

text: the

text: abortion

text: issue

text: Condition

text: number

text: one

text: could

text: well

text: happen

text: and

text: would

text: be

text: revolutionary

text: But

text: even

text: in

text: its

text: absence

text: condition

text: number

text: two

text: is

text: beginning

text: to

text: obtain

text: in

text: the

text: United

text: States

text: In

text: the

text: early

text: there

text: were

text: some

text: abortions

text: per

text: women

text: of

text: child

text: bearing

text: age

text: Today

text: that

text: rate

text: has

text: declined

text: to

text: about

text: abortions

text: per

text: women

text: The

text: rate

text: will

text: never

text: reach

text: zero

text: but

text: we

text: may

text: expect

text: that

text: it

text: will

text: continue

text: to

text: decline

text: as

text: contraceptives

text: improve

text: and

text: attitudes

text: to

text: out

text: of

text: wedlock

text: birth

text: become

text: more

text: accepting

text: and

text: as

text: younger

text: generations

text: increasingly

text: reject

text: abortion

text: as

text: an

text: acceptable

text: resolution

text: of

text: a

text: pregnancy

text: What

text: about

text: condition

text: three

text: Alcohol

text: became

text: central

text: to

text: American

text: politics

text: at

text: a

text: time

text: when

text: Americans

text: were

text: arguing

text: whether

text: the

text: country

text: should

text: be

text: rural

text: or

text: urban

text: a

text: farm

text: economy

text: or

text: industrial

text: and

text: whether

text: Catholics

text: could

text: ever

text: become

text: good

text: Americans

text: As

text: those

text: arguments

text: lost

text: their

text: intensity

text: so

text: did

text: the

text: alcohol

text: issue

text: Abortion

text: became

text: central

text: to

text: modern

text: politics

text: at

text: exactly

text: the

text: same

text: time

text: as

text: Americans

text: were

text: arguing

text: over

text: sexuality

text: generally

text: over

text: the

text: status

text: of

text: women

text: and

text: the

text: rights

text: of

text: gays

text: I

text: think

text: it

text: 's

text: a

text: good

text: guess

text: that

text: if

text: we

text: come

text: to

text: a

text: new

text: consensus

text: about

text: the

text: status

text: of

text: women

text: absorbing

text: and

text: digesting

text: the

text: sexual

text: revolution

text: of

text: the

text: and

text: the

text: feminist

text: revolution

text: of

text: the

text: into

text: a

text: new

text: dispensation

text: more

text: comfortable

text: with

text: both

text: women

text: 's

text: equality

text: to

text: men

text: and

text: their

text: differences

text: from

text: men

text: disagreements

text: over

text: abortion

text: will

text: come

text: to

text: matter

text: less

text: Such

text: disagreements

text: wo

text: n't

text: disappear

text: any

text: more

text: than

text: we

text: 've

text: seen

text: the

text: end

text: of

text: debates

text: about

text: whether

text: bars

text: should

text: open

text: on

text: Sundays

text: But

text: the

text: disagreements

text: wo

text: n't

text: matter

text: so

text: furiously

text: much

text: as

text: they

text: now

text: seem

text: to

text: do

text: Too

text: bad

text: for

text: Herman

text: Cain

text: that

text: day

text: still

text: seems

text: at

text: least

text: a

text: couple

text: of

text: decades

text: remote

text: The

text: opinions

text: expressed

text: in

text: this

text: commentary

text: are

text: solely

text: those

text: of

text: David

text: Frum

question: What did he say about abortion?

answer: must be stopped but also that the decision should be left to the individual woman,

text: must be stopped but also that the decision should be left to the individual woman,

question: What did Herman Cain say?

answer: "No abortions. No exceptions."

text: "No abortions. No exceptions."

question: Who is Herman Cain?

answer: Republican front-runner

text: Republican front-runner

question: What caused the tear of American politics?

answer: Abortion,

text: Abortion,


text:
Washington (CNN) -- Minerals Management Service Director Elizabeth Birnbaum resigned Thursday as head of the Interior Department's scandal-plagued Minerals Management Service, the department's chief said. Two sources told CNN that Birnbaum had been fired.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) is involved in federal oversight of offshore oil drilling. Birnbaum's resignation letter cast her decision to leave as a consequence of a decision to reorganize the agency following April's explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The explosion resulted in a massive oil spill that well owner BP and federal authorities are still trying to cap.

"As you move forward with the reorganization of Minerals Management Service, you will be requiring ... new leaders," Birnbaum wrote in a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

President Barack Obama said Thursday that he didn't know whether Birnbaum had been fired or chose to resign on her own. Speaking before a House subcommittee, Salazar insisted Birnbaum had resigned "on her own terms and own volition."

She "is a strong and very effective person who ... helped us break through the very difficult things which we have a lot more work to do," Salazar said. "She helped us with addressing a very broken system. And all I can really [say] is that she is a good public servant."

Birnbaum, a former high level staffer on Capitol Hill, became head of the MMS in July 2009.

A recently released federal report highlighted what many observers have characterized as widespread corruption at the agency. Among other things, the report, issued by the Interior Department's inspector general, revealed that federal inspectors overseeing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico accepted meals and tickets to sporting events from companies they monitored.

In one case, an inspector in the MMS office in Lake Charles, Louisiana, conducted inspections of four offshore platforms while negotiating a job with the company, the report stated.

The Lake Charles investigation was launched shortly after another scandal emerged from within the MMS. A September 2008 inspector general's report found regulators in the agency's Colorado office received improper gifts from energy industry representatives and engaged in illegal drug use and inappropriate sexual relations with them.

Salazar recently called the allegations of MMS corruption "evidence of the cozy relationship between some elements of [the agency] and the oil and gas industry." He pledged to follow through with the Interior Department inspector general's recommendations, "including taking any and all appropriate personnel actions including termination, discipline and referrals of any wrongdoing for criminal prosecution."

MMS collected nearly $10 billion in royalties from the energy and mining industries in 2009. Salazar recently announced that he was splitting up the agency to separate its energy development, enforcement and revenue collection divisions, saying they have "conflicting missions" that needed to be separated.

The associate director for the agency's Offshore Minerals Management Program also is leaving at the end of May, a month earlier than planned, in the wake of the Gulf spill. That official, Chris Oynes, launched the investigation that resulted in former New Orleans, Louisiana, supervisor Donald Howard's firing in 2007. Howard later pleaded guilty after being accused of failing to report gifts valued at more than $6,600 from an offshore drilling contractor.

As part of the growing push to crack down on the MMS, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, introduced legislation Wednesday requiring federal oil industry regulators to wait at least two years after leaving government service before going to work for companies they helped regulate.

The bill also would bar regulators from accepting gifts from oil companies, would require regulators to divest themselves of any stock they may currently hold in oil companies, and would prohibit regulators from part-time employment in the industry.

text: Washington

text: CNN

text: Minerals

text: Management

text: Service

text: Director

text: Elizabeth

text: Birnbaum

text: resigned

text: Thursday

text: as

text: head

text: of

text: the

text: Interior

text: Department

text: 's

text: scandal

text: plagued

text: Minerals

text: Management

text: Service

text: the

text: department

text: 's

text: chief

text: said

text: Two

text: sources

text: told

text: CNN

text: that

text: Birnbaum

text: had

text: been

text: fired

text: The

text: Minerals

text: Management

text: Service

text: MMS

text: is

text: involved

text: in

text: federal

text: oversight

text: of

text: offshore

text: oil

text: drilling

text: Birnbaum

text: 's

text: resignation

text: letter

text: cast

text: her

text: decision

text: to

text: leave

text: as

text: a

text: consequence

text: of

text: a

text: decision

text: to

text: reorganize

text: the

text: agency

text: following

text: April

text: 's

text: explosion

text: of

text: the

text: Deepwater

text: Horizon

text: oil

text: rig

text: in

text: the

text: Gulf

text: of

text: Mexico

text: The

text: explosion

text: resulted

text: in

text: a

text: massive

text: oil

text: spill

text: that

text: well

text: owner

text: BP

text: and

text: federal

text: authorities

text: are

text: still

text: trying

text: to

text: cap

text: As

text: you

text: move

text: forward

text: with

text: the

text: reorganization

text: of

text: Minerals

text: Management

text: Service

text: you

text: will

text: be

text: requiring

text: new

text: leaders

text: Birnbaum

text: wrote

text: in

text: a

text: letter

text: to

text: Interior

text: Secretary

text: Ken

text: Salazar

text: President

text: Barack

text: Obama

text: said

text: Thursday

text: that

text: he

text: did

text: n't

text: know

text: whether

text: Birnbaum

text: had

text: been

text: fired

text: or

text: chose

text: to

text: resign

text: on

text: her

text: own

text: Speaking

text: before

text: a

text: House

text: subcommittee

text: Salazar

text: insisted

text: Birnbaum

text: had

text: resigned

text: on

text: her

text: own

text: terms

text: and

text: own

text: volition

text: She

text: is

text: a

text: strong

text: and

text: very

text: effective

text: person

text: who

text: helped

text: us

text: break

text: through

text: the

text: very

text: difficult

text: things

text: which

text: we

text: have

text: a

text: lot

text: more

text: work

text: to

text: do

text: Salazar

text: said

text: She

text: helped

text: us

text: with

text: addressing

text: a

text: very

text: broken

text: system

text: And

text: all

text: I

text: can

text: really

text: say

text: is

text: that

text: she

text: is

text: a

text: good

text: public

text: servant

text: Birnbaum

text: a

text: former

text: high

text: level

text: staffer

text: on

text: Capitol

text: Hill

text: became

text: head

text: of

text: the

text: MMS

text: in

text: July

text: A

text: recently

text: released

text: federal

text: report

text: highlighted

text: what

text: many

text: observers

text: have

text: characterized

text: as

text: widespread

text: corruption

text: at

text: the

text: agency

text: Among

text: other

text: things

text: the

text: report

text: issued

text: by

text: the

text: Interior

text: Department

text: 's

text: inspector

text: general

text: revealed

text: that

text: federal

text: inspectors

text: overseeing

text: oil

text: drilling

text: in

text: the

text: Gulf

text: of

text: Mexico

text: accepted

text: meals

text: and

text: tickets

text: to

text: sporting

text: events

text: from

text: companies

text: they

text: monitored

text: In

text: one

text: case

text: an

text: inspector

text: in

text: the

text: MMS

text: office

text: in

text: Lake

text: Charles

text: Louisiana

text: conducted

text: inspections

text: of

text: four

text: offshore

text: platforms

text: while

text: negotiating

text: a

text: job

text: with

text: the

text: company

text: the

text: report

text: stated

text: The

text: Lake

text: Charles

text: investigation

text: was

text: launched

text: shortly

text: after

text: another

text: scandal

text: emerged

text: from

text: within

text: the

text: MMS

text: A

text: September

text: inspector

text: general

text: 's

text: report

text: found

text: regulators

text: in

text: the

text: agency

text: 's

text: Colorado

text: office

text: received

text: improper

text: gifts

text: from

text: energy

text: industry

text: representatives

text: and

text: engaged

text: in

text: illegal

text: drug

text: use

text: and

text: inappropriate

text: sexual

text: relations

text: with

text: them

text: Salazar

text: recently

text: called

text: the

text: allegations

text: of

text: MMS

text: corruption

text: evidence

text: of

text: the

text: cozy

text: relationship

text: between

text: some

text: elements

text: of

text: the

text: agency

text: and

text: the

text: oil

text: and

text: gas

text: industry

text: He

text: pledged

text: to

text: follow

text: through

text: with

text: the

text: Interior

text: Department

text: inspector

text: general

text: 's

text: recommendations

text: including

text: taking

text: any

text: and

text: all

text: appropriate

text: personnel

text: actions

text: including

text: termination

text: discipline

text: and

text: referrals

text: of

text: any

text: wrongdoing

text: for

text: criminal

text: prosecution

text: MMS

text: collected

text: nearly

text: billion

text: in

text: royalties

text: from

text: the

text: energy

text: and

text: mining

text: industries

text: in

text: Salazar

text: recently

text: announced

text: that

text: he

text: was

text: splitting

text: up

text: the

text: agency

text: to

text: separate

text: its

text: energy

text: development

text: enforcement

text: and

text: revenue

text: collection

text: divisions

text: saying

text: they

text: have

text: conflicting

text: missions

text: that

text: needed

text: to

text: be

text: separated

text: The

text: associate

text: director

text: for

text: the

text: agency

text: 's

text: Offshore

text: Minerals

text: Management

text: Program

text: also

text: is

text: leaving

text: at

text: the

text: end

text: of

text: May

text: a

text: month

text: earlier

text: than

text: planned

text: in

text: the

text: wake

text: of

text: the

text: Gulf

text: spill

text: That

text: official

text: Chris

text: Oynes

text: launched

text: the

text: investigation

text: that

text: resulted

text: in

text: former

text: New

text: Orleans

text: Louisiana

text: supervisor

text: Donald

text: Howard

text: 's

text: firing

text: in

text: Howard

text: later

text: pleaded

text: guilty

text: after

text: being

text: accused

text: of

text: failing

text: to

text: report

text: gifts

text: valued

text: at

text: more

text: than

text: from

text: an

text: offshore

text: drilling

text: contractor

text: As

text: part

text: of

text: the

text: growing

text: push

text: to

text: crack

text: down

text: on

text: the

text: MMS

text: Sen.

text: Bill

text: Nelson

text: D

text: Florida

text: introduced

text: legislation

text: Wednesday

text: requiring

text: federal

text: oil

text: industry

text: regulators

text: to

text: wait

text: at

text: least

text: two

text: years

text: after

text: leaving

text: government

text: service

text: before

text: going

text: to

text: work

text: for

text: companies

text: they

text: helped

text: regulate

text: The

text: bill

text: also

text: would

text: bar

text: regulators

text: from

text: accepting

text: gifts

text: from

text: oil

text: companies

text: would

text: require

text: regulators

text: to

text: divest

text: themselves

text: of

text: any

text: stock

text: they

text: may

text: currently

text: hold

text: in

text: oil

text: companies

text: and

text: would

text: prohibit

text: regulators

text: from

text: part

text: time

text: employment

text: in

text: the

text: industry

question: What did Obama say about Birnbaum?

answer: he didn't know whether

text: he didn't know whether

question: What is Birnbaum's first name?

answer: Elizabeth

text: Elizabeth

question: What did the Interior Department report cite?

answer: widespread corruption

text: widespread corruption

question: Which director resigned?

answer: Elizabeth Birnbaum

text: Elizabeth Birnbaum

question: What has been introduced in part to help crack down on the MMS?

answer: legislation

text: legislation

question: Legislation has been introduced in part to help crack down on what?

answer: MMS,

text: MMS,

question: What doesn't Obama know?

answer: whether Birnbaum had been fired or chose to resign on her own.

text: whether Birnbaum had been fired or chose to resign on her own.

question: What did the report claim?

answer: federal inspectors overseeing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico accepted meals and tickets to sporting events from companies they monitored.

text: federal inspectors overseeing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico accepted meals and tickets to sporting events from companies they monitored.


text:
JERUSALEM (CNN)  -- Terrorism groups are using Facebook and other social networking sites to recruit Israeli citizens as spies, the Israeli government warned Monday.

Israel says its citizens have been targeted by terrorist groups seeking to recruit spies on Facebook.

Shin Bet, Israel's security agency, issued a statement warning Israelis about the dangers of trading confidential information for money.

"The Shin Bet has gotten many reports about cases where terrorist elements are using the Internet to get in touch with Israelis with proposals to enlist in terror activity or to pass classified information in exchange for payment," the statement said.

Not only could the leaked information hurt Israeli security, citizens traveling to other countries to exchange the information for money "might lead to them being kidnapped by terror organizations," Shin Bet said.

The government did not reveal any examples of Israelis becoming spies through Facebook, but it did describe one attempt.

"Lately, an Israeli citizen contacted the Shin Bet and complained about a request in Facebook from a person that presented himself as a Lebanese merchant, who asked him to give him classified information for money," the statement said.

Shin Bet said this was just one example "among many incidents that were identified by the security services."

"It is initiated contacts, concrete and direct to Israeli citizens, with emphasis on the social networks, that offers them to enlist to terror activity or to pass classified information in exchange for payment," it said.

Shin Bet said terror groups are combing Facebook and other networks "for business or personal matters like names, addresses, Internet addresses and phone numbers that are being used to find and contact Israeli citizens in Israel and also abroad."

CNN's Michal Zippori and Kevin Flower contributed to this report.

text: JERUSALEM

text: CNN

text: Terrorism

text: groups

text: are

text: using

text: Facebook

text: and

text: other

text: social

text: networking

text: sites

text: to

text: recruit

text: Israeli

text: citizens

text: as

text: spies

text: the

text: Israeli

text: government

text: warned

text: Monday

text: Israel

text: says

text: its

text: citizens

text: have

text: been

text: targeted

text: by

text: terrorist

text: groups

text: seeking

text: to

text: recruit

text: spies

text: on

text: Facebook

text: Shin

text: Bet

text: Israel

text: 's

text: security

text: agency

text: issued

text: a

text: statement

text: warning

text: Israelis

text: about

text: the

text: dangers

text: of

text: trading

text: confidential

text: information

text: for

text: money

text: The

text: Shin

text: Bet

text: has

text: gotten

text: many

text: reports

text: about

text: cases

text: where

text: terrorist

text: elements

text: are

text: using

text: the

text: Internet

text: to

text: get

text: in

text: touch

text: with

text: Israelis

text: with

text: proposals

text: to

text: enlist

text: in

text: terror

text: activity

text: or

text: to

text: pass

text: classified

text: information

text: in

text: exchange

text: for

text: payment

text: the

text: statement

text: said

text: Not

text: only

text: could

text: the

text: leaked

text: information

text: hurt

text: Israeli

text: security

text: citizens

text: traveling

text: to

text: other

text: countries

text: to

text: exchange

text: the

text: information

text: for

text: money

text: might

text: lead

text: to

text: them

text: being

text: kidnapped

text: by

text: terror

text: organizations

text: Shin

text: Bet

text: said

text: The

text: government

text: did

text: not

text: reveal

text: any

text: examples

text: of

text: Israelis

text: becoming

text: spies

text: through

text: Facebook

text: but

text: it

text: did

text: describe

text: one

text: attempt

text: Lately

text: an

text: Israeli

text: citizen

text: contacted

text: the

text: Shin

text: Bet

text: and

text: complained

text: about

text: a

text: request

text: in

text: Facebook

text: from

text: a

text: person

text: that

text: presented

text: himself

text: as

text: a

text: Lebanese

text: merchant

text: who

text: asked

text: him

text: to

text: give

text: him

text: classified

text: information

text: for

text: money

text: the

text: statement

text: said

text: Shin

text: Bet

text: said

text: this

text: was

text: just

text: one

text: example

text: among

text: many

text: incidents

text: that

text: were

text: identified

text: by

text: the

text: security

text: services

text: It

text: is

text: initiated

text: contacts

text: concrete

text: and

text: direct

text: to

text: Israeli

text: citizens

text: with

text: emphasis

text: on

text: the

text: social

text: networks

text: that

text: offers

text: them

text: to

text: enlist

text: to

text: terror

text: activity

text: or

text: to

text: pass

text: classified

text: information

text: in

text: exchange

text: for

text: payment

text: it

text: said

text: Shin

text: Bet

text: said

text: terror

text: groups

text: are

text: combing

text: Facebook

text: and

text: other

text: networks

text: for

text: business

text: or

text: personal

text: matters

text: like

text: names

text: addresses

text: Internet

text: addresses

text: and

text: phone

text: numbers

text: that

text: are

text: being

text: used

text: to

text: find

text: and

text: contact

text: Israeli

text: citizens

text: in

text: Israel

text: and

text: also

text: abroad

text: CNN

text: 's

text: Michal

text: Zippori

text: and

text: Kevin

text: Flower

text: contributed

text: to

text: this

text: report

question: In which country is the security agency based?

answer: Israel

text: Israel

question: What are terrorists using social networks for?

answer: Facebook

text: Facebook

question: who are looking for personal information?

answer: terror groups

text: terror groups

question: What are subjects offered?

answer: to enlist to terror activity or to pass classified information in exchange for payment,"

text: to enlist to terror activity or to pass classified information in exchange for payment,"

question: Who uses social networking sites to recruit spies?

answer: Terrorism groups

text: Terrorism groups


text:
Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court has decided that the family of a slain professional wrestling personality can continue its lawsuit against Hustler magazine, a case that tested privacy concerns and the competing right to publish "newsworthy" material.

The justices without comment Monday turned aside an appeal from the publishers of the men's magazine, which featured old nude photos of Nancy Benoit, who was killed nearly three years ago by her husband and fellow wrestling superstar Chris Benoit. The couple's young son also was slain in the family's Georgia home.

The order is a victory for the estate of Nancy Benoit, which is seeking damages from Hustler.

At issue was whether the constitutional right of privacy indirectly referenced in the 14th Amendment trumps the First Amendment protections of the media and publishers in this "right-of-publicity" dispute.

The original lawsuit was brought by Maureen Toffoloni, whose daughter, Nancy Benoit, had posed nude for a photographer more than two decades ago. Toffoloni claims that her daughter, who was also known by the wrestling moniker Woman, had asked immediately after the shoot to have the photos and video destroyed and believed that photographer Mark Samansky had done so.

He later sold stills from the video to Hustler, a men's magazine founded by Larry Flynt that publishes racy material. The photos were published in the March 2008 issue.

The murders had occurred the previous summer. At the center of the crimes was Chris Benoit, a Canadian-born athlete who worked for several professional wrestling circuits, including the popular World Wrestling Entertainment. In 2000, he married Nancy Sullivan, a Florida native who had become a well-known wrestling manager after her time in the ring. Their son, Daniel, was born earlier that year.

Police say the crimes occurred over a three-day period in June 2007 at the Atlanta-area home of the Benoits. Investigators concluded that Chris Benoit first bound his 43-year-old wife and strangled her. The 7-year-old boy was then drugged and strangled. The man then committed suicide by hanging himself with a weight machine. No formal motive was ever established.

CNN reported at the time that doctors found testosterone, painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs in the body of 40-year-old Chris Benoit, according to Georgia's chief medical examiner. Performance-enhancing anabolic steroids were later found in the home.

Weeks after the killings, a study of Chris Benoit's brain showed damage from "prior repetitive injury." His father, Michael Benoit, said on CNN's "Larry King Live" that a series of concussions from his high-flying moves in the ring were in part to blame.

Georgia has a law similar to many states' recognizing the right to privacy against "the appropriation of another's name and likeness ... without consent and for the financial gain of the appropriator." That would include "a private citizen, entertainer, or a public figure who is not a public official" like a legislator.

The state's high court ruled against Hustler magazine in June, finding that a "brief biography" of Nancy Benoit and her murder accompanying the nude photos did not represent a "newsworthy article."

"The photographs published by [Flynt] neither relate to the incident of public concern conceptually [the murders] nor correspond with the time period during which Benoit was rendered, against her will, the subject of public scrutiny," the state court wrote. "Were we to hold otherwise, [Flynt] would be free to publish any nude photograph of almost anyone without their permission, simply because the fact they were caught nude on camera strikes someone as 'newsworthy.' Surely that debases the very concept of a right to privacy."

The state justices said "crude though the concept may seem," Nancy Benoit's mother is now entitled to control such images "in order to maximize the economic benefit to be derived from her daughter's posthumous fame." Such power is known legally as the "right of publicity."

Flynt and the photographer, Samansky, later filed the appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court and had the support of several media organizations.

In a brief filed in support of Hustler, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said the Georgia ruling "makes no sense, as it goes well beyond the photographs that appear in magazines such as petitioner's to affect all news-gathering."

The group noted that other courts have long recognized a broadly read "newsworthiness" standard for commercial media like CNN and that such specific "dissection" of content-based stories and pictorials by judges would cripple editorial decision-making by all news outlets.

The case is LFP Publishing Group (dba Hustler Magazine) v. Maureen Toffoloni, as administrator and personal representative of the estate of Nancy E. Benoit (09-625).

text: Washington

text: CNN

text: The

text: Supreme

text: Court

text: has

text: decided

text: that

text: the

text: family

text: of

text: a

text: slain

text: professional

text: wrestling

text: personality

text: can

text: continue

text: its

text: lawsuit

text: against

text: Hustler

text: magazine

text: a

text: case

text: that

text: tested

text: privacy

text: concerns

text: and

text: the

text: competing

text: right

text: to

text: publish

text: newsworthy

text: material

text: The

text: justices

text: without

text: comment

text: Monday

text: turned

text: aside

text: an

text: appeal

text: from

text: the

text: publishers

text: of

text: the

text: men

text: 's

text: magazine

text: which

text: featured

text: old

text: nude

text: photos

text: of

text: Nancy

text: Benoit

text: who

text: was

text: killed

text: nearly

text: three

text: years

text: ago

text: by

text: her

text: husband

text: and

text: fellow

text: wrestling

text: superstar

text: Chris

text: Benoit

text: The

text: couple

text: 's

text: young

text: son

text: also

text: was

text: slain

text: in

text: the

text: family

text: 's

text: Georgia

text: home

text: The

text: order

text: is

text: a

text: victory

text: for

text: the

text: estate

text: of

text: Nancy

text: Benoit

text: which

text: is

text: seeking

text: damages

text: from

text: Hustler

text: At

text: issue

text: was

text: whether

text: the

text: constitutional

text: right

text: of

text: privacy

text: indirectly

text: referenced

text: in

text: the

text: Amendment

text: trumps

text: the

text: First

text: Amendment

text: protections

text: of

text: the

text: media

text: and

text: publishers

text: in

text: this

text: right

text: of

text: publicity

text: dispute

text: The

text: original

text: lawsuit

text: was

text: brought

text: by

text: Maureen

text: Toffoloni

text: whose

text: daughter

text: Nancy

text: Benoit

text: had

text: posed

text: nude

text: for

text: a

text: photographer

text: more

text: than

text: two

text: decades

text: ago

text: Toffoloni

text: claims

text: that

text: her

text: daughter

text: who

text: was

text: also

text: known

text: by

text: the

text: wrestling

text: moniker

text: Woman

text: had

text: asked

text: immediately

text: after

text: the

text: shoot

text: to

text: have

text: the

text: photos

text: and

text: video

text: destroyed

text: and

text: believed

text: that

text: photographer

text: Mark

text: Samansky

text: had

text: done

text: so

text: He

text: later

text: sold

text: stills

text: from

text: the

text: video

text: to

text: Hustler

text: a

text: men

text: 's

text: magazine

text: founded

text: by

text: Larry

text: Flynt

text: that

text: publishes

text: racy

text: material

text: The

text: photos

text: were

text: published

text: in

text: the

text: March

text: issue

text: The

text: murders

text: had

text: occurred

text: the

text: previous

text: summer

text: At

text: the

text: center

text: of

text: the

text: crimes

text: was

text: Chris

text: Benoit

text: a

text: Canadian

text: born

text: athlete

text: who

text: worked

text: for

text: several

text: professional

text: wrestling

text: circuits

text: including

text: the

text: popular

text: World

text: Wrestling

text: Entertainment

text: In

text: he

text: married

text: Nancy

text: Sullivan

text: a

text: Florida

text: native

text: who

text: had

text: become

text: a

text: well

text: known

text: wrestling

text: manager

text: after

text: her

text: time

text: in

text: the

text: ring

text: Their

text: son

text: Daniel

text: was

text: born

text: earlier

text: that

text: year

text: Police

text: say

text: the

text: crimes

text: occurred

text: over

text: a

text: three

text: day

text: period

text: in

text: June

text: at

text: the

text: Atlanta

text: area

text: home

text: of

text: the

text: Benoits

text: Investigators

text: concluded

text: that

text: Chris

text: Benoit

text: first

text: bound

text: his

text: old

text: wife

text: and

text: strangled

text: her

text: The

text: old

text: boy

text: was

text: then

text: drugged

text: and

text: strangled

text: The

text: man

text: then

text: committed

text: suicide

text: by

text: hanging

text: himself

text: with

text: a

text: weight

text: machine

text: No

text: formal

text: motive

text: was

text: ever

text: established

text: CNN

text: reported

text: at

text: the

text: time

text: that

text: doctors

text: found

text: testosterone

text: painkillers

text: and

text: anti

text: anxiety

text: drugs

text: in

text: the

text: body

text: of

text: old

text: Chris

text: Benoit

text: according

text: to

text: Georgia

text: 's

text: chief

text: medical

text: examiner

text: Performance

text: enhancing

text: anabolic

text: steroids

text: were

text: later

text: found

text: in

text: the

text: home

text: Weeks

text: after

text: the

text: killings

text: a

text: study

text: of

text: Chris

text: Benoit

text: 's

text: brain

text: showed

text: damage

text: from

text: prior

text: repetitive

text: injury

text: His

text: father

text: Michael

text: Benoit

text: said

text: on

text: CNN

text: 's

text: Larry

text: King

text: Live

text: that

text: a

text: series

text: of

text: concussions

text: from

text: his

text: high

text: flying

text: moves

text: in

text: the

text: ring

text: were

text: in

text: part

text: to

text: blame

text: Georgia

text: has

text: a

text: law

text: similar

text: to

text: many

text: states

text: recognizing

text: the

text: right

text: to

text: privacy

text: against

text: the

text: appropriation

text: of

text: another

text: 's

text: name

text: and

text: likeness

text: without

text: consent

text: and

text: for

text: the

text: financial

text: gain

text: of

text: the

text: appropriator

text: That

text: would

text: include

text: a

text: private

text: citizen

text: entertainer

text: or

text: a

text: public

text: figure

text: who

text: is

text: not

text: a

text: public

text: official

text: like

text: a

text: legislator

text: The

text: state

text: 's

text: high

text: court

text: ruled

text: against

text: Hustler

text: magazine

text: in

text: June

text: finding

text: that

text: a

text: brief

text: biography

text: of

text: Nancy

text: Benoit

text: and

text: her

text: murder

text: accompanying

text: the

text: nude

text: photos

text: did

text: not

text: represent

text: a

text: newsworthy

text: article

text: The

text: photographs

text: published

text: by

text: Flynt

text: neither

text: relate

text: to

text: the

text: incident

text: of

text: public

text: concern

text: conceptually

text: the

text: murders

text: nor

text: correspond

text: with

text: the

text: time

text: period

text: during

text: which

text: Benoit

text: was

text: rendered

text: against

text: her

text: will

text: the

text: subject

text: of

text: public

text: scrutiny

text: the

text: state

text: court

text: wrote

text: Were

text: we

text: to

text: hold

text: otherwise

text: Flynt

text: would

text: be

text: free

text: to

text: publish

text: any

text: nude

text: photograph

text: of

text: almost

text: anyone

text: without

text: their

text: permission

text: simply

text: because

text: the

text: fact

text: they

text: were

text: caught

text: nude

text: on

text: camera

text: strikes

text: someone

text: as

text: newsworthy

text: Surely

text: that

text: debases

text: the

text: very

text: concept

text: of

text: a

text: right

text: to

text: privacy

text: The

text: state

text: justices

text: said

text: crude

text: though

text: the

text: concept

text: may

text: seem

text: Nancy

text: Benoit

text: 's

text: mother

text: is

text: now

text: entitled

text: to

text: control

text: such

text: images

text: in

text: order

text: to

text: maximize

text: the

text: economic

text: benefit

text: to

text: be

text: derived

text: from

text: her

text: daughter

text: 's

text: posthumous

text: fame

text: Such

text: power

text: is

text: known

text: legally

text: as

text: the

text: right

text: of

text: publicity

text: Flynt

text: and

text: the

text: photographer

text: Samansky

text: later

text: filed

text: the

text: appeal

text: with

text: the

text: U.S.

text: Supreme

text: Court

text: and

text: had

text: the

text: support

text: of

text: several

text: media

text: organizations

text: In

text: a

text: brief

text: filed

text: in

text: support

text: of

text: Hustler

text: the

text: Reporters

text: Committee

text: for

text: Freedom

text: of

text: the

text: Press

text: said

text: the

text: Georgia

text: ruling

text: makes

text: no

text: sense

text: as

text: it

text: goes

text: well

text: beyond

text: the

text: photographs

text: that

text: appear

text: in

text: magazines

text: such

text: as

text: petitioner

text: 's

text: to

text: affect

text: all

text: news

text: gathering

text: The

text: group

text: noted

text: that

text: other

text: courts

text: have

text: long

text: recognized

text: a

text: broadly

text: read

text: newsworthiness

text: standard

text: for

text: commercial

text: media

text: like

text: CNN

text: and

text: that

text: such

text: specific

text: dissection

text: of

text: content

text: based

text: stories

text: and

text: pictorials

text: by

text: judges

text: would

text: cripple

text: editorial

text: decision

text: making

text: by

text: all

text: news

text: outlets

text: The

text: case

text: is

text: LFP

text: Publishing

text: Group

text: dba

text: Hustler

text: Magazine

text: v.

text: Maureen

text: Toffoloni

text: as

text: administrator

text: and

text: personal

text: representative

text: of

text: the

text: estate

text: of

text: Nancy

text: E.

text: Benoit

question: Who did husband kill?

answer: Nancy Benoit,

text: Nancy Benoit,

question: What did Supreme Court turn aside?

answer: an appeal from the publishers of the men's magazine,

text: an appeal from the publishers of the men's magazine,

question: Who was sued over the photo?

answer: Hustler magazine,

text: Hustler magazine,

question: who turns aside appeal over Nancy Benoit nude photos?

answer: The justices

text: The justices

question: What does the case center on?

answer: "right-of-publicity"

text: "right-of-publicity"

question: What did Hustler publish?

answer: old nude photos of Nancy Benoit,

text: old nude photos of Nancy Benoit,

question: who published the pictures?

answer: Hustler

text: Hustler

question: What was turned aside?

answer: appeal from the publishers of the men's magazine, which featured old nude photos of Nancy Benoit,

text: appeal from the publishers of the men's magazine, which featured old nude photos of Nancy Benoit,


text:
There's always something happening in the city that never sleeps, but if you're in New York at the right time you'll get to see New Yorkers coming together for one of the city's big annual events.

Giant inflatables are the highlight of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.

St Patrick's Day Parade (17 March) St Patrick's Day is when New York's sizeable Irish-American community celebrates its long association with the city, with thousands joining a flag-waving parade of traditional marching pipe bands.

Dating back to 1762, it's far more traditional than New York's other parades. There are no floats or corporate sponsors involved -- just vast numbers of green-clad revelers. Indeed, it's the one day of the year when shamrock-adorned hats and stick on ginger beards are considered appropriate attire.

The event kicks off at 11 a.m. at 44th Street, making its way past St. Patrick's Cathedral at 50th Street and the American Irish Historical Society at 83rd, finishing at 86th Street at around 5:00 p.m. Needless to say, New York's Irish bars get pretty crowded in the evening.

Watch Candace Bushnell take CNN on a tour of New York. Â»

Met in the Parks (June) An al fresco treat for opera lovers, every summer New York's Metropolitan Opera Company lays on free outdoor performances in the city's parks.

The 2009 program will feature performances in each of the five boroughs, at Staten Island's Tappan Park, Crotona Park in The Bronx, Queensbridge Park in Queens; Coffey Park in Brooklyn, East River Park in Manhattan and at SummerStage in Central Park.

If that's whet your appetite for evenings of outdoor classical music, "New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks" takes place in July at parks around the city. Take a blanket and a well-stocked picnic hamper for maximum enjoyment.

What do you think are New York's seasonal highlights? Sound Off below.

Independence Day (July 4) The day America declared its independence from Britain in 1776 is a national holiday celebrated in style throughout the country. But, naturally, New York is where the celebrations become a full-blown extravaganza.

The highlight of New York's Independence Day celebrations is the Macy's fireworks display. Usually, fireworks are launched from the East River, but the 2009 fireworks will be launched from barges positioned between 24th and 50th Streets on the Hudson River.

That means Manhattan's West Side and New Jersey will provide prime viewing spots and will consequently be packed to the gills with tens of thousands of rubbernecking New Yorkers.

See photos of Candace Bushnell in New York. Â»

Village Halloween Parade (31 October) Halloween is a big deal in America and the nation's biggest and best Halloween parade takes place along New York's Sixth Avenue.

Greenwich Village's "anything goes" attitude is what makes this event special, translating into eye-popping costumes, heaps of audience interaction and dazzling giant puppets, brought to life by showboating puppeteers.

The parade begins at 6.30 p.m., starting on Spring Street and making its way to 23rd Street. You'll need to stake your roadside spot early if you want to see more than the backs of other spectators. Better still, wear a costume and you're entitled to join in the parade -- nothing is too outrageous.

Even if you're cheering from the sidelines, you should get into the spirit of things by donning a ghoulish mask at the very least, thousands of which suddenly appear in local shops in the days leading up to the parade. http://www.halloween-nyc.com

Macy's Thanksgiving Parade (fourth Thursday in November) A New York institution, the inaugural parade in 1924 included live animals on loan from from Central Park Zoo. The zoo animals have long been retired, replaced by floats that act as moving anchors for enormous helium balloons of various colorful cartoon characters. These floating colossi are the highlight of the event and attract annual crowds of around three million New Yorkers.

The parade runs from 9 a.m. to midday and follows a two-and-a-half mile route through Central Park West to Herald Square. A new route for the 2009 parade has yet to be confirmed -- check the web site for details.

To enjoy the giant balloons without battling the crowds, wrap up warm and see them inflated the night before the parade on West 77th and 81st streets between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue.

text: There

text: 's

text: always

text: something

text: happening

text: in

text: the

text: city

text: that

text: never

text: sleeps

text: but

text: if

text: you

text: 're

text: in

text: New

text: York

text: at

text: the

text: right

text: time

text: you

text: 'll

text: get

text: to

text: see

text: New

text: Yorkers

text: coming

text: together

text: for

text: one

text: of

text: the

text: city

text: 's

text: big

text: annual

text: events

text: Giant

text: inflatables

text: are

text: the

text: highlight

text: of

text: the

text: Macy

text: 's

text: Thanksgiving

text: Parade

text: St

text: Patrick

text: 's

text: Day

text: Parade

text: March

text: St

text: Patrick

text: 's

text: Day

text: is

text: when

text: New

text: York

text: 's

text: sizeable

text: Irish

text: American

text: community

text: celebrates

text: its

text: long

text: association

text: with

text: the

text: city

text: with

text: thousands

text: joining

text: a

text: flag

text: waving

text: parade

text: of

text: traditional

text: marching

text: pipe

text: bands

text: Dating

text: back

text: to

text: it

text: 's

text: far

text: more

text: traditional

text: than

text: New

text: York

text: 's

text: other

text: parades

text: There

text: are

text: no

text: floats

text: or

text: corporate

text: sponsors

text: involved

text: just

text: vast

text: numbers

text: of

text: green

text: clad

text: revelers

text: Indeed

text: it

text: 's

text: the

text: one

text: day

text: of

text: the

text: year

text: when

text: shamrock

text: adorned

text: hats

text: and

text: stick

text: on

text: ginger

text: beards

text: are

text: considered

text: appropriate

text: attire

text: The

text: event

text: kicks

text: off

text: at

text: a.m.

text: at

text: Street

text: making

text: its

text: way

text: past

text: St.

text: Patrick

text: 's

text: Cathedral

text: at

text: Street

text: and

text: the

text: American

text: Irish

text: Historical

text: Society

text: at

text: finishing

text: at

text: Street

text: at

text: around

text: p.m.

text: Needless

text: to

text: say

text: New

text: York

text: 's

text: Irish

text: bars

text: get

text: pretty

text: crowded

text: in

text: the

text: evening

text: Watch

text: Candace

text: Bushnell

text: take

text: CNN

text: on

text: a

text: tour

text: of

text: New

text: York

text: Â

text: Met

text: in

text: the

text: Parks

text: June

text: An

text: al

text: fresco

text: treat

text: for

text: opera

text: lovers

text: every

text: summer

text: New

text: York

text: 's

text: Metropolitan

text: Opera

text: Company

text: lays

text: on

text: free

text: outdoor

text: performances

text: in

text: the

text: city

text: 's

text: parks

text: The

text: program

text: will

text: feature

text: performances

text: in

text: each

text: of

text: the

text: five

text: boroughs

text: at

text: Staten

text: Island

text: 's

text: Tappan

text: Park

text: Crotona

text: Park

text: in

text: The

text: Bronx

text: Queensbridge

text: Park

text: in

text: Queens

text: Coffey

text: Park

text: in

text: Brooklyn

text: East

text: River

text: Park

text: in

text: Manhattan

text: and

text: at

text: SummerStage

text: in

text: Central

text: Park

text: If

text: that

text: 's

text: whet

text: your

text: appetite

text: for

text: evenings

text: of

text: outdoor

text: classical

text: music

text: New

text: York

text: Philharmonic

text: Concerts

text: in

text: the

text: Parks

text: takes

text: place

text: in

text: July

text: at

text: parks

text: around

text: the

text: city

text: Take

text: a

text: blanket

text: and

text: a

text: well

text: stocked

text: picnic

text: hamper

text: for

text: maximum

text: enjoyment

text: What

text: do

text: you

text: think

text: are

text: New

text: York

text: 's

text: seasonal

text: highlights

text: Sound

text: Off

text: below

text: Independence

text: Day

text: July

text: The

text: day

text: America

text: declared

text: its

text: independence

text: from

text: Britain

text: in

text: is

text: a

text: national

text: holiday

text: celebrated

text: in

text: style

text: throughout

text: the

text: country

text: But

text: naturally

text: New

text: York

text: is

text: where

text: the

text: celebrations

text: become

text: a

text: full

text: blown

text: extravaganza

text: The

text: highlight

text: of

text: New

text: York

text: 's

text: Independence

text: Day

text: celebrations

text: is

text: the

text: Macy

text: 's

text: fireworks

text: display

text: Usually

text: fireworks

text: are

text: launched

text: from

text: the

text: East

text: River

text: but

text: the

text: fireworks

text: will

text: be

text: launched

text: from

text: barges

text: positioned

text: between

text: and

text: Streets

text: on

text: the

text: Hudson

text: River

text: That

text: means

text: Manhattan

text: 's

text: West

text: Side

text: and

text: New

text: Jersey

text: will

text: provide

text: prime

text: viewing

text: spots

text: and

text: will

text: consequently

text: be

text: packed

text: to

text: the

text: gills

text: with

text: tens

text: of

text: thousands

text: of

text: rubbernecking

text: New

text: Yorkers

text: See

text: photos

text: of

text: Candace

text: Bushnell

text: in

text: New

text: York

text: Â

text: Village

text: Halloween

text: Parade

text: October

text: Halloween

text: is

text: a

text: big

text: deal

text: in

text: America

text: and

text: the

text: nation

text: 's

text: biggest

text: and

text: best

text: Halloween

text: parade

text: takes

text: place

text: along

text: New

text: York

text: 's

text: Sixth

text: Avenue

text: Greenwich

text: Village

text: 's

text: anything

text: goes

text: attitude

text: is

text: what

text: makes

text: this

text: event

text: special

text: translating

text: into

text: eye

text: popping

text: costumes

text: heaps

text: of

text: audience

text: interaction

text: and

text: dazzling

text: giant

text: puppets

text: brought

text: to

text: life

text: by

text: showboating

text: puppeteers

text: The

text: parade

text: begins

text: at

text: p.m.

text: starting

text: on

text: Spring

text: Street

text: and

text: making

text: its

text: way

text: to

text: Street

text: You

text: 'll

text: need

text: to

text: stake

text: your

text: roadside

text: spot

text: early

text: if

text: you

text: want

text: to

text: see

text: more

text: than

text: the

text: backs

text: of

text: other

text: spectators

text: Better

text: still

text: wear

text: a

text: costume

text: and

text: you

text: 're

text: entitled

text: to

text: join

text: in

text: the

text: parade

text: nothing

text: is

text: too

text: outrageous

text: Even

text: if

text: you

text: 're

text: cheering

text: from

text: the

text: sidelines

text: you

text: should

text: get

text: into

text: the

text: spirit

text: of

text: things

text: by

text: donning

text: a

text: ghoulish

text: mask

text: at

text: the

text: very

text: least

text: thousands

text: of

text: which

text: suddenly

text: appear

text: in

text: local

text: shops

text: in

text: the

text: days

text: leading

text: up

text: to

text: the

text: parade

text: Macy

text: 's

text: Thanksgiving

text: Parade

text: fourth

text: Thursday

text: in

text: November

text: A

text: New

text: York

text: institution

text: the

text: inaugural

text: parade

text: in

text: included

text: live

text: animals

text: on

text: loan

text: from

text: from

text: Central

text: Park

text: Zoo

text: The

text: zoo

text: animals

text: have

text: long

text: been

text: retired

text: replaced

text: by

text: floats

text: that

text: act

text: as

text: moving

text: anchors

text: for

text: enormous

text: helium

text: balloons

text: of

text: various

text: colorful

text: cartoon

text: characters

text: These

text: floating

text: colossi

text: are

text: the

text: highlight

text: of

text: the

text: event

text: and

text: attract

text: annual

text: crowds

text: of

text: around

text: three

text: million

text: New

text: Yorkers

text: The

text: parade

text: runs

text: from

text: a.m.

text: to

text: midday

text: and

text: follows

text: a

text: two

text: and

text: a

text: half

text: mile

text: route

text: through

text: Central

text: Park

text: West

text: to

text: Herald

text: Square

text: A

text: new

text: route

text: for

text: the

text: parade

text: has

text: yet

text: to

text: be

text: confirmed

text: check

text: the

text: web

text: site

text: for

text: details

text: To

text: enjoy

text: the

text: giant

text: balloons

text: without

text: battling

text: the

text: crowds

text: wrap

text: up

text: warm

text: and

text: see

text: them

text: inflated

text: the

text: night

text: before

text: the

text: parade

text: on

text: West

text: and

text: streets

text: between

text: Central

text: Park

text: West

text: and

text: Columbus

text: Avenue

question: Which characters are in the parade?

answer: green-clad revelers.

text: green-clad revelers.

question: What city turns green for the traditional St Patty's Day Parade?

answer: New York's

text: New York's

question: What is the highlight of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?

answer: Giant inflatables

text: Giant inflatables

question: Wearing a costume will let you join what?

answer: n the parad

text: n the parad

question: What do you do to join the celebration?

answer: , wear a costum

text: , wear a costum


text:
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Michael Jackson's mother fired the lawyers helping her fight for control of her son's estate, but her new lawyer missed a key hearing where the judge gave more power to the men she is opposing.

Katherine Jackson, with Michael in 2005, is challenging the appointment of Michael's estate trustees.

Katherine Jackson replaced lawyers Burt Levitch and Londell McMillan with Adam Streisand, a lawyer known for his expertise in Los Angeles probate cases.

"The family came to a decision before they called me," Streisand said. "They felt they needed a different perspective and fresh look at how this case was being approached."

But Streisand arrived at court Thursday minutes after Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff ended a hearing in which he granted a request from estate special administrators John Branca and John McClain for more authority to make deals on behalf of Jackson's estate.

"I want this estate to move forward and I want these creditors to be dealt with," Beckloff said. "And while we are proceeding in this posture, I want Mrs. Jackson to have information about what is going on and I don't want to be in court all the time."

The process of probate of Jackson's will, which named Branca and McClain as executors, has been slowed since soon after the pop star's June 25 death by numerous legal challenges filed by Katherine Jackson's lawyers, led by Levitch.

Howard Weitzman, lead lawyer for the estate's administrators, expressed optimism that the two sides would be able to work better toward a settlement with Streisand in charge.

The estate's administrators were able to make a series of deals expected to bring in at least $100 million to the estate this year, mostly through a documentary movie that premieres next week.

Katherine Jackson's legal team has asked that a member of the Jackson family "have a seat at the table" as a third executor.

They've also raised questions in sealed court papers about possible conflicts of interest that might prevent Branca and McClain from controlling the estate.

Streisand said the Jackson family was frustrated with the inability "to get this case going."

He indicated Katherine Jackson still planned to challenge Branca and McClain's control of her son's wealth.

Under the 2002 will, Michael Jackson's three children and his mother are the chief beneficiaries of his estate, while unnamed charities will share in 20 percent of the wealth.

Streisand said when he met with Katherine Jackson and the children to discuss the case, they were united.

He said Jackson patriarch Joe Jackson was not present at the meeting and he's never talked with him.

Joe Jackson appeared frustrated earlier this month when he attended his first hearing in the probate process, suggesting the lawyers should be more aggressive in court.

Streisand said the three Jackson children are doing "absolutely wonderful."

text: LOS

text: ANGELES

text: California

text: CNN

text: Michael

text: Jackson

text: 's

text: mother

text: fired

text: the

text: lawyers

text: helping

text: her

text: fight

text: for

text: control

text: of

text: her

text: son

text: 's

text: estate

text: but

text: her

text: new

text: lawyer

text: missed

text: a

text: key

text: hearing

text: where

text: the

text: judge

text: gave

text: more

text: power

text: to

text: the

text: men

text: she

text: is

text: opposing

text: Katherine

text: Jackson

text: with

text: Michael

text: in

text: is

text: challenging

text: the

text: appointment

text: of

text: Michael

text: 's

text: estate

text: trustees

text: Katherine

text: Jackson

text: replaced

text: lawyers

text: Burt

text: Levitch

text: and

text: Londell

text: McMillan

text: with

text: Adam

text: Streisand

text: a

text: lawyer

text: known

text: for

text: his

text: expertise

text: in

text: Los

text: Angeles

text: probate

text: cases

text: The

text: family

text: came

text: to

text: a

text: decision

text: before

text: they

text: called

text: me

text: Streisand

text: said

text: They

text: felt

text: they

text: needed

text: a

text: different

text: perspective

text: and

text: fresh

text: look

text: at

text: how

text: this

text: case

text: was

text: being

text: approached

text: But

text: Streisand

text: arrived

text: at

text: court

text: Thursday

text: minutes

text: after

text: Los

text: Angeles

text: Superior

text: Court

text: Judge

text: Mitchell

text: Beckloff

text: ended

text: a

text: hearing

text: in

text: which

text: he

text: granted

text: a

text: request

text: from

text: estate

text: special

text: administrators

text: John

text: Branca

text: and

text: John

text: McClain

text: for

text: more

text: authority

text: to

text: make

text: deals

text: on

text: behalf

text: of

text: Jackson

text: 's

text: estate

text: I

text: want

text: this

text: estate

text: to

text: move

text: forward

text: and

text: I

text: want

text: these

text: creditors

text: to

text: be

text: dealt

text: with

text: Beckloff

text: said

text: And

text: while

text: we

text: are

text: proceeding

text: in

text: this

text: posture

text: I

text: want

text: Mrs.

text: Jackson

text: to

text: have

text: information

text: about

text: what

text: is

text: going

text: on

text: and

text: I

text: do

text: n't

text: want

text: to

text: be

text: in

text: court

text: all

text: the

text: time

text: The

text: process

text: of

text: probate

text: of

text: Jackson

text: 's

text: will

text: which

text: named

text: Branca

text: and

text: McClain

text: as

text: executors

text: has

text: been

text: slowed

text: since

text: soon

text: after

text: the

text: pop

text: star

text: 's

text: June

text: death

text: by

text: numerous

text: legal

text: challenges

text: filed

text: by

text: Katherine

text: Jackson

text: 's

text: lawyers

text: led

text: by

text: Levitch

text: Howard

text: Weitzman

text: lead

text: lawyer

text: for

text: the

text: estate

text: 's

text: administrators

text: expressed

text: optimism

text: that

text: the

text: two

text: sides

text: would

text: be

text: able

text: to

text: work

text: better

text: toward

text: a

text: settlement

text: with

text: Streisand

text: in

text: charge

text: The

text: estate

text: 's

text: administrators

text: were

text: able

text: to

text: make

text: a

text: series

text: of

text: deals

text: expected

text: to

text: bring

text: in

text: at

text: least

text: million

text: to

text: the

text: estate

text: this

text: year

text: mostly

text: through

text: a

text: documentary

text: movie

text: that

text: premieres

text: next

text: week

text: Katherine

text: Jackson

text: 's

text: legal

text: team

text: has

text: asked

text: that

text: a

text: member

text: of

text: the

text: Jackson

text: family

text: have

text: a

text: seat

text: at

text: the

text: table

text: as

text: a

text: third

text: executor

text: They

text: 've

text: also

text: raised

text: questions

text: in

text: sealed

text: court

text: papers

text: about

text: possible

text: conflicts

text: of

text: interest

text: that

text: might

text: prevent

text: Branca

text: and

text: McClain

text: from

text: controlling

text: the

text: estate

text: Streisand

text: said

text: the

text: Jackson

text: family

text: was

text: frustrated

text: with

text: the

text: inability

text: to

text: get

text: this

text: case

text: going

text: He

text: indicated

text: Katherine

text: Jackson

text: still

text: planned

text: to

text: challenge

text: Branca

text: and

text: McClain

text: 's

text: control

text: of

text: her

text: son

text: 's

text: wealth

text: Under

text: the

text: will

text: Michael

text: Jackson

text: 's

text: three

text: children

text: and

text: his

text: mother

text: are

text: the

text: chief

text: beneficiaries

text: of

text: his

text: estate

text: while

text: unnamed

text: charities

text: will

text: share

text: in

text: percent

text: of

text: the

text: wealth

text: Streisand

text: said

text: when

text: he

text: met

text: with

text: Katherine

text: Jackson

text: and

text: the

text: children

text: to

text: discuss

text: the

text: case

text: they

text: were

text: united

text: He

text: said

text: Jackson

text: patriarch

text: Joe

text: Jackson

text: was

text: not

text: present

text: at

text: the

text: meeting

text: and

text: he

text: 's

text: never

text: talked

text: with

text: him

text: Joe

text: Jackson

text: appeared

text: frustrated

text: earlier

text: this

text: month

text: when

text: he

text: attended

text: his

text: first

text: hearing

text: in

text: the

text: probate

text: process

text: suggesting

text: the

text: lawyers

text: should

text: be

text: more

text: aggressive

text: in

text: court

text: Streisand

text: said

text: the

text: three

text: Jackson

text: children

text: are

text: doing

text: absolutely

text: wonderful

question: Who missed the hearing?

answer: her new lawyer

text: her new lawyer

question: Who hired probate lawyer Adam Streisand?

answer: Katherine Jackson

text: Katherine Jackson

question: Who has Katherine Jackson hired?

answer: Adam Streisand,

text: Adam Streisand,

question: Who did Michael Jackson make is executors?

answer: Branca and McClain

text: Branca and McClain

question: Who did Michael Jackson make his executors?

answer: Branca and McClain

text: Branca and McClain

question: What has Katherine Jackson been fighting for?

answer: of her son's estate,

text: of her son's estate,


text:
(CNN) -- A new study that surveyed racial attitudes suggests that racial prejudices could tip the balance in the upcoming presidential election.

A poll finds a small percentage of voters said they may turn away from Sen. Barack Obama because of his race.

If there were no racial prejudice among voters, Sen. Barack Obama would receive about 6 percentage points more support, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll, designed in partnership with Stanford University.

The results suggest that 40 percent of white Americans hold at least a partly negative view toward blacks, including more than a third of white Democrats and independents. A small percentage of voters -- 2.5 percent of those surveyed -- said they may turn away from Obama because of his race.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey also indicates that race could play a big role in November. Asked if race would be a factor in their vote, 37 percent of respondents said yes. But of that group, many are Republicans who are not likely to vote for any Democrat, and some are Democrats who may vote for Obama because of his race.

Of the 8 percent of Democrats who told CNN they plan to vote for Obama's GOP rival, Sen. John McCain, half said race was a factor.

The survey, conducted August 29-31, questioned 1,031 people and has a sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Experts point out that it's hard to quantify racial prejudice because many people who hold prejudices are not going to admit to it.  Watch how race could affect the election Â»

"The hardest thing in the world for pollsters to poll for, with the exception of sexual behavior, is racial attitudes and how it affects behavior," said Walter Shapiro, Washington bureau chief for Salon.com. Shapiro said while people might say things differently off the record, racial issues cannot easily be quantified.

The pollsters for the AP/Yahoo survey used techniques that they thought would be more likely to lead to honest results -- such as conducting the poll online and using subtle methods and formulas to calculate racial attitudes.

That study also suggests that the number of people who may turn away from Obama because of his race could be larger than what the margin of victory was in the 2004 election.

Jeff Johnson, host of BET's "The Truth With Jeff Johnson," said, "I think there is a concern clearly about the number of people who will vote based on race.

"But I agree -- how you quantify that number, I think, is very difficult."

According to CNN's average of recent national polls, Obama holds a lead of 5 percentage points over  McCain.

Johnson said one misconception is that racial prejudices are unique to conservatives or people in "Middle America."

"There are liberals also in many cases that are racist. I don't think we know yet how it's going to play out," he said.

In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes," Obama said while some people might not vote for him because he is black, others might vote for him just because he is.

"Are there going to be some people who don't vote for me because I'm black? Of course. There are probably some African-Americans who are voting for me because I'm black or maybe others just inspired by the idea of breaking new ground, and so I think all that's a wash," he said.

Democrats, however, typically get close to 90 percent of the African-American vote anyway.

Salon.com's Shapiro said Democrats can work on increasing turnout among black voters but that it will be hard to make gains on the percentages they already see.

Johnson said he thinks race will matter, and the best way for Obama to balance out any negative effect is to just stay on message.

"I don't know if I believe it's going to be a wash. I think it's going to matter. This race is extremely close, and so every single demographic and every single point is going to count," he said.

"I think he has to speak to the issues of people in Middle America, and by that, it can counterbalance some of these racial issues."

The AP-Yahoo News poll surveyed 2,227 adults. It was conducted August 27-September 5, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

text: CNN

text: A

text: new

text: study

text: that

text: surveyed

text: racial

text: attitudes

text: suggests

text: that

text: racial

text: prejudices

text: could

text: tip

text: the

text: balance

text: in

text: the

text: upcoming

text: presidential

text: election

text: A

text: poll

text: finds

text: a

text: small

text: percentage

text: of

text: voters

text: said

text: they

text: may

text: turn

text: away

text: from

text: Sen.

text: Barack

text: Obama

text: because

text: of

text: his

text: race

text: If

text: there

text: were

text: no

text: racial

text: prejudice

text: among

text: voters

text: Sen.

text: Barack

text: Obama

text: would

text: receive

text: about

text: percentage

text: points

text: more

text: support

text: according

text: to

text: an

text: AP

text: Yahoo

text: News

text: poll

text: designed

text: in

text: partnership

text: with

text: Stanford

text: University

text: The

text: results

text: suggest

text: that

text: percent

text: of

text: white

text: Americans

text: hold

text: at

text: least

text: a

text: partly

text: negative

text: view

text: toward

text: blacks

text: including

text: more

text: than

text: a

text: third

text: of

text: white

text: Democrats

text: and

text: independents

text: A

text: small

text: percentage

text: of

text: voters

text: percent

text: of

text: those

text: surveyed

text: said

text: they

text: may

text: turn

text: away

text: from

text: Obama

text: because

text: of

text: his

text: race

text: A

text: CNN

text: Opinion

text: Research

text: Corp.

text: survey

text: also

text: indicates

text: that

text: race

text: could

text: play

text: a

text: big

text: role

text: in

text: November

text: Asked

text: if

text: race

text: would

text: be

text: a

text: factor

text: in

text: their

text: vote

text: percent

text: of

text: respondents

text: said

text: yes

text: But

text: of

text: that

text: group

text: many

text: are

text: Republicans

text: who

text: are

text: not

text: likely

text: to

text: vote

text: for

text: any

text: Democrat

text: and

text: some

text: are

text: Democrats

text: who

text: may

text: vote

text: for

text: Obama

text: because

text: of

text: his

text: race

text: Of

text: the

text: percent

text: of

text: Democrats

text: who

text: told

text: CNN

text: they

text: plan

text: to

text: vote

text: for

text: Obama

text: 's

text: GOP

text: rival

text: Sen.

text: John

text: McCain

text: half

text: said

text: race

text: was

text: a

text: factor

text: The

text: survey

text: conducted

text: August

text: questioned

text: people

text: and

text: has

text: a

text: sampling

text: error

text: of

text: plus

text: or

text: minus

text: percentage

text: points

text: Experts

text: point

text: out

text: that

text: it

text: 's

text: hard

text: to

text: quantify

text: racial

text: prejudice

text: because

text: many

text: people

text: who

text: hold

text: prejudices

text: are

text: not

text: going

text: to

text: admit

text: to

text: it

text: Watch

text: how

text: race

text: could

text: affect

text: the

text: election

text: Â

text: The

text: hardest

text: thing

text: in

text: the

text: world

text: for

text: pollsters

text: to

text: poll

text: for

text: with

text: the

text: exception

text: of

text: sexual

text: behavior

text: is

text: racial

text: attitudes

text: and

text: how

text: it

text: affects

text: behavior

text: said

text: Walter

text: Shapiro

text: Washington

text: bureau

text: chief

text: for

text: Salon.com

text: Shapiro

text: said

text: while

text: people

text: might

text: say

text: things

text: differently

text: off

text: the

text: record

text: racial

text: issues

text: can

text: not

text: easily

text: be

text: quantified

text: The

text: pollsters

text: for

text: the

text: AP

text: Yahoo

text: survey

text: used

text: techniques

text: that

text: they

text: thought

text: would

text: be

text: more

text: likely

text: to

text: lead

text: to

text: honest

text: results

text: such

text: as

text: conducting

text: the

text: poll

text: online

text: and

text: using

text: subtle

text: methods

text: and

text: formulas

text: to

text: calculate

text: racial

text: attitudes

text: That

text: study

text: also

text: suggests

text: that

text: the

text: number

text: of

text: people

text: who

text: may

text: turn

text: away

text: from

text: Obama

text: because

text: of

text: his

text: race

text: could

text: be

text: larger

text: than

text: what

text: the

text: margin

text: of

text: victory

text: was

text: in

text: the

text: election

text: Jeff

text: Johnson

text: host

text: of

text: BET

text: 's

text: The

text: Truth

text: With

text: Jeff

text: Johnson

text: said

text: I

text: think

text: there

text: is

text: a

text: concern

text: clearly

text: about

text: the

text: number

text: of

text: people

text: who

text: will

text: vote

text: based

text: on

text: race

text: But

text: I

text: agree

text: how

text: you

text: quantify

text: that

text: number

text: I

text: think

text: is

text: very

text: difficult

text: According

text: to

text: CNN

text: 's

text: average

text: of

text: recent

text: national

text: polls

text: Obama

text: holds

text: a

text: lead

text: of

text: percentage

text: points

text: over

text: McCain

text: Johnson

text: said

text: one

text: misconception

text: is

text: that

text: racial

text: prejudices

text: are

text: unique

text: to

text: conservatives

text: or

text: people

text: in

text: Middle

text: America

text: There

text: are

text: liberals

text: also

text: in

text: many

text: cases

text: that

text: are

text: racist

text: I

text: do

text: n't

text: think

text: we

text: know

text: yet

text: how

text: it

text: 's

text: going

text: to

text: play

text: out

text: he

text: said

text: In

text: an

text: interview

text: that

text: aired

text: Sunday

text: on

text: CBS

text: Minutes

text: Obama

text: said

text: while

text: some

text: people

text: might

text: not

text: vote

text: for

text: him

text: because

text: he

text: is

text: black

text: others

text: might

text: vote

text: for

text: him

text: just

text: because

text: he

text: is

text: Are

text: there

text: going

text: to

text: be

text: some

text: people

text: who

text: do

text: n't

text: vote

text: for

text: me

text: because

text: I

text: 'm

text: black

text: Of

text: course

text: There

text: are

text: probably

text: some

text: African

text: Americans

text: who

text: are

text: voting

text: for

text: me

text: because

text: I

text: 'm

text: black

text: or

text: maybe

text: others

text: just

text: inspired

text: by

text: the

text: idea

text: of

text: breaking

text: new

text: ground

text: and

text: so

text: I

text: think

text: all

text: that

text: 's

text: a

text: wash

text: he

text: said

text: Democrats

text: however

text: typically

text: get

text: close

text: to

text: percent

text: of

text: the

text: African

text: American

text: vote

text: anyway

text: Salon.com

text: 's

text: Shapiro

text: said

text: Democrats

text: can

text: work

text: on

text: increasing

text: turnout

text: among

text: black

text: voters

text: but

text: that

text: it

text: will

text: be

text: hard

text: to

text: make

text: gains

text: on

text: the

text: percentages

text: they

text: already

text: see

text: Johnson

text: said

text: he

text: thinks

text: race

text: will

text: matter

text: and

text: the

text: best

text: way

text: for

text: Obama

text: to

text: balance

text: out

text: any

text: negative

text: effect

text: is

text: to

text: just

text: stay

text: on

text: message

text: I

text: do

text: n't

text: know

text: if

text: I

text: believe

text: it

text: 's

text: going

text: to

text: be

text: a

text: wash

text: I

text: think

text: it

text: 's

text: going

text: to

text: matter

text: This

text: race

text: is

text: extremely

text: close

text: and

text: so

text: every

text: single

text: demographic

text: and

text: every

text: single

text: point

text: is

text: going

text: to

text: count

text: he

text: said

text: I

text: think

text: he

text: has

text: to

text: speak

text: to

text: the

text: issues

text: of

text: people

text: in

text: Middle

text: America

text: and

text: by

text: that

text: it

text: can

text: counterbalance

text: some

text: of

text: these

text: racial

text: issues

text: The

text: AP

text: Yahoo

text: News

text: poll

text: surveyed

text: adults

text: It

text: was

text: conducted

text: August

text: and

text: has

text: a

text: margin

text: of

text: error

text: of

text: plus

text: or

text: minus

text: percentage

text: points

question: What could cost Obama percentage points?

answer: racial prejudices

text: racial prejudices

question: How much of the African-American vote do Democrats usually get?

answer: 90 percent

text: 90 percent

question: Who is the black politician who is mentioned?

answer: Sen. Barack Obama

text: Sen. Barack Obama

question: What percent of white Americans have at least a partly negative view of blacks?

answer: 40

question: What caused President Obama 6 percent of the polls?

answer: racial prejudice

text: racial prejudice

question: What could cost Obama points?

answer: racial prejudice

text: racial prejudice

question: What do experts say is difficult to quantify?

answer: number of people who will vote based on race.

text: number of people who will vote based on race.

question: What percent of whites have at least a partly negative view of blacks?

answer: 40

question: What percentage of white Americans have negative views about blacks?

answer: 40 percent

text: 40 percent

question: Who gets up to 90 % of the African-American vote?

answer: Democrats,

text: Democrats,

question: How much of the black vote do Democrats get?

answer: 90 percent

text: 90 percent

question: What percentage of the African-American vote do Democrats usually get?

answer: close to 90 percent

text: close to 90 percent