An Emotional Election.

[Picture borrowed from the lovely and hilarious Black Snob. She keeps us swimming in Obama family photos.] Is it just me, or is this the most tear-inducing presidential election ever? I've cried or come close to it soooo many times since Iowa, I'm a little ashamed of myself. Between Barack's amazing speeches (to which I've become somewhat immune, though I'm sure I'll need a box of tissues on Thursday) and the gorgeous Obama family, I'm often a pathetic, weepy, mess. The speeches from last night were no exception. And I know it's not just me. It's also my friends. And I would say maybe it's just because black folks are so durn proud of the Obamas that we can't help ourselves, but it ain't just us. My Puerto Rican-Jewish coworker said his wife (who's white) was crying by the end Michelle's speech too. What got me while Michelle was speaking was the moment when her eyes started to shine and you could hear in her voice that even she was close to tears. I'm not complaining, mind you. It's good to feel something about the political process, just as it's important pay attention to the actual issues. I just wanna know, did people cry when FDR was running for president? Did people tear up at the sight of Nancy Reagan on stage? In other news, I posted a round-up of reactions to Michelle's speech on PB, and I somehow managed to keep my hormones out of it.

Stephanie Tubbs Jones in critical condition

From Congressional Quarterly Politics:

Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones died Wednesday in an Ohio hospital after suffering an aneurysm a day earlier, according to a senior House Democratic aide.

Tubbs Jones, a Democrat who has represented Ohio’s 11th District since 1999 and was chairwoman of the House’s ethics committee, suffered the aneurysm Tuesday night while driving near her hometown of Cleveland.

Tubbs Jones, who would have turned 60 on Sept. 10, was scheduled to attend the Democratic National Convention next week as a superdelegate.

“Tuesday’s condition followed a full day of activity, including planning for an upcoming forum on electoral reform, scheduled for September 4, 2008 at Cleveland State University,” according to a statement released earlier Wednesday from her office. She was admitted to Huron Hospital.

Tubbs Jones was among the five black members who claimed committee chairmanships when the Democrats ascended to the majority in 2007.

A dyed-in-the-wool Clintonista, Tubbs Jones was one of the most influential black Democrats in Congress. Update: People must really want this woman gone, because there are several conflicting reports out there. But apparently, she's in critical condition and not expected to recover. Now CQ is saying:

Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones was in critical condition Wednesday in an Ohio hospital, her doctors said, amid conflicting reports that she had died.

Jones suffered an aneurysm late Tuesday while driving, which caused a brain hemorrhage and left her with “very limited brain function,” according to a spokesman for Huron Hospital in East Cleveland, Ohio.

Sources, including congressional aides, had said earlier that Tubbs Jones had died.

Update #2: She died last night around 6 p.m. My sincere condolences to her family, constituents, and sisters in Delta Sigma Theta.

More On Harlem Real Estate

Brother Charlie Rangel, bless him, is renting not one, not two, not three... but four rent-stabilized apartments in one uptown building, for a fraction of what they would normally cost on the market. According to the Times:

Mr. Rangel, who was first elected to Congress in 1970 and is one of the city’s most recognizable elected officials, has written and spoken extensively about his devotion to his home in Harlem, but does not appear to have ever publicly acknowledged that he has been permitted to lease four rent-stabilized apartments there. According to a public records database and interviews with neighbors, he has lived in the building since the early 1970s, but it is not clear when he amassed the four units.

Mr. Rangel, 78, declined to answer questions during a telephone interview, saying that his housing was a private matter that did not affect his representation of his constituents.

“Why should I help you embarrass me?” he said, before abruptly hanging up.

I love it. Although, this is really just another case of the rich and powerful getting things for cheap, while the people who could really use a rent-stabilized place are getting the shaft. Ah, capitalism. Rangel, who did a lot of good back in the day, is old and comfortable, and I guess he feels like he's getting his due. But then again, His Awesomeness, NY Governor David Paterson, also has a rent-stabilized apartment in that building. And so does his dad, who pays less in rent for a one-bedroom than I do. I think I'm mad.