Blacks for Bush

In other words, I, Miss Black Middle Class, finally got an up-close and personal view of my poor, downtrodden brethren and saw who exactly it was that was keeping them poor and downtrodden. Hint: it wasn’t white Republicans.

Education is the most obvious example. Poll after poll shows that most blacks want school vouchers. But Democrats -- black and white alike -- bitterly oppose anything that would offend the teachers' unions, who are among their biggest political backers, in terms of money, votes, and the ability to mobilize precincts on Election Day with manpower and phone banks.

Hard work. Not making excuses. Refusing to blame others. Appreciation of this country's rule of law and its free enterprise system, along with a willingness to accept the consequences of one's own actions. Or, as our ex-homeless-man turned stockbroker, who now runs a multimillion-dollar firm, put it, "If all of this were to crash tomorrow, I'd get up the next day and get back at it. I've been there, OK? The worst thing in the world that can happen has already happened. What's next?" Affirmative action, meet affirmative attitude.