IT IS BLACK AND WHITE. As Dana noted, mainstream press coverage of the Jena 6 was pitiful at best, until it finally hit the major-media radar this week . And recent coverage seems to have disproportionately focused on Jesse Jackson's (possible) accusation that Barack Obama has been "acting like he's white" by not coming out more visibly on the Jena 6 issue. Jackson later backed down, saying that the statement doesn't really represent the way he feels about Obama, or that it was taken out of context.

WHAT DO WE APPROVE OF THESE DAYS? We've been hearing about Bush's sinking public opinion ship a lot lately, and the Reuters/Zogby poll released yesterday put him at a mere 29 percent approval rating. But despite the glee with which we repeat that ever-shrinking figure, Congress has been getting bad marks too -- even worse then the man in the White House. Only 11 percent of Americans gave Congress a positive rating, down three points from the previous low of 14 percent in July.