Arlington Heights, Ill.
Two-time presidential hopeful Alan Keyes this week agreed to run against Democratic heartthrob Barack Obama for a Senate seat in Illinois, marking the first time both parties have fielded black candidates in a U.S. Senate race. Keyes, a fiery conservative, came out swinging, saying the liberal Obama’s support for abortion rights was “the slaveholder’s position” because it denied fetuses the right to life. Obama—the hero of Democrats nationwide since he gave the keynote address at the party’s July convention—scolded Keyes for using “that kind of language.” Keyes, who lives in Maryland, entered the race after a parade of Illinois Republicans declined to replace former candidate Jack Ryan, who withdrew over embarrassing revelations about his sex life.
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