[BlackRazor]

Both Steele and Ford are unconventional African-American politicians (Steele is, obviously, a Republican while Ford is a right-of-center Democrat)

Well done article, but I cringed at the perpetuation of the myth that Harold Ford is "right-of-center" (and coming from the pen of a conservative, no less). Over the past 5 years, Ford's average rating by the American Conservative Union is 23. While that may be to the right of many Democrats (and maybe that's what the author really meant to convey), he is still decidedly left-of-center overall, and is nowhere near what could even be considered "moderate" territory.

[calcowgirl]

Thanks for the ping! :-)