By Johnette Jernigan and Kathy Wray Coleman, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog

CLEVELAND,Ohio- President Obama won on two ends this week. The president out did Mitt Romney during Tuesday night's debate, polls and people said. And earlier that day he out did Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted and the Republicans.

Obama gained bragging rights in Ohio for a win on Tuesday on his early voting lawsuit as the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a decision affirmed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals last Friday that upheld Federal District Judge Peter Economus' ruling to strike down an unconstitutional state law that precluded early voting the weekend before the November 6 election.

Opposition to that voter suppression federal lawsuit had become Husted's baby, and ultimately his loss.

Economus, in August, restored early voting three days before the November election by supporting the Obama campaign lawsuit and  striking down the state law passed last year by the Republican controlled Ohio State Legislature that precluded it.

In his ruling, the federal district court judge out of Youngstown, Oh., an urban city between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Pa., said that because the since defunct statute or state law gave privilege to military personnel to vote and not others, it is therefore unconstitutional.

And the rejection by the nation's high court to hear an appeal of the Sixth Circuit decision that supports Economus' ruling just made the Democrats even more enthusiastic at debate watch parties held later that Tuesday evening in Cleveland metropolitan areas for the second of three scheduled presidential debates.

"The president stood on his record and he won the debate,"said, Democratic state Rep. Nickie Antonio (D-13) during a debate watch party in Lakewood, Oh at the home of prominent Cleveland trial lawyer E. John Brzytwa and his wife Ellen,  both lifelong Democrats whose seven-bedroom mini-mansion on Lake Erie overlooks downtown Cleveland.

About 40 Obama supporters, mostly White loyal Democrats, nibbled on cheese and crackers and drank fine wine at the community watch party as Obama and Romney sparred over their tax plans , domestic and foreign policy issues, and Libya.

Moderated by CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crawley, Obama did better the second time around, and he was aggressive when needed, political pundits said. (Editor's note: The third and final U.S. presidential debate is Monday at  9 pm Eastern Time at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fl).

The president said that Romney's proposal to cut taxes for the rich on the backs of middle class and poor Americans is merely a reflection of his disrespect for fair play and equal treatment for all Americans.

"We haven't heard anything from the governor beyond big bird," said the Democrat Obama of Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and the nominee for president for the Republican Party.

Rebecca Patton, president of the American Nurses Association, agreed, and said that the election is about either selecting Romney to further the agendas of rich Americans, or reelecting President Obama for the betterment of all Americans.

"It's about a candidate such as Mitt Romney who wants to continue to take care of people who are well off or a president  whose first initiative when taking office was to sign the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 into law, said Patton, who was among a cadre of Cleveland area nurses that joined other Obama supporters at the debate watch party in Lakewood Tuesday night.

By Kathy Wray Coleman, Executive Publisher, Editor, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog

CLEVELAND, Ohio- Former U.S. Secretary of State Condolezza Rice (picture), the first Black female to hold the post, visited the Cleveland area on Wednesday to join Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Congressman Paul Ryan (pictured) for a rally in support of Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney (pictured) at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Oh.

Rice, 57, a Republican who served as secretary of state under the George W. Bush administration and now teaches political science at California's Standford University, spoke to a crowd of some 1300 people and said that Romney should be elected president because he is the better choice to lead the country to liberty and prosperity.

"This is a powerful country that has been a powerful force for peace and liberty in this world," Rice told the cheering crowd. "I want to see it be that way for well into the future."

Rice said that Romney and the Republicans do believe in fair play for all Americans and will continue to promote "equality of opportunity."

President Barack Obama and Romey are neck and neck and Ohio remains a key battleground state.

By Johnette Jernigan and Kathy Wray Coleman, Cleveland Urban News.Com

Cleveland, Ohio -Michelle Obama (pictured) told a cheering crowd at Cuyahoga Community College Metro Campus in Cleveland, Oh. on Monday evening that she knows President Barack Obama not only as a president but as a man whose vision for America was shaped long before he won the White House in 2008.

“Barack knows the American dream because he has lived it,” said Mrs. Obama."'I have seen up close and personal what being president is like."

Some 2,000 people came out for the get-out-the-vote rally, according to Claire Rasacco, vice president of the Tri-C  Metro Department of Government and Community Relations.

The eldest Obama supporter there made it clear that she believes the country is moving forward under the leadership of President Obama.

“I’m a lifelong Democrat, and I pray for the president all of the time,” said Marie Lukacevic, a retired pediatric and maternity nurse who turned 101 this year.  “I support the president because he is for the general public and healthcare.”

Before delivering her speech the first lady had met to thank Obama for America Campaign volunteers and other Cleveland area supporters, including former East Cleveland Councilman Charles E. Bibb Sr., Cuyahoga County Councilman Julian Rogers (D-10), former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Mary Boyle, Meryl Johnson, and Edwina Moss, the wife of retired Olivet Institutional Baptist Church senior pastor the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr.

Michelle Obama talked jobs, education, domestic policy, health care, women’s rights, and getting out the vote in Ohio.

“If we win in Ohio, we will be well on our way to putting Barack Obama back in the White House for four more years,” the first lady said.  “When it comes to standing up for our rights or opportunities we know that my husband will always have your back.”

Mrs. Obama said that her husband has done an excellent job as a president,  even though former president George W. Bush and the Republicans handed him "an economy in rapid decline.”

She said that Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is promoting Republican-centered tax policies to help the rich get richer on the backs of the middle class and the working poor, and that “teachers and firefighters should not pay more taxes than millionaires and billionaires.”

Others that came to hear the first lady include Congresswomen Marsha L. Fudge (D-11) and Marcie Kaptur (D-9), state Sen. Nina Turner (D-25), Cleveland Ward 6 Councilwoman Mamie Mitchell, and the Reverends Jimmy Gates and Larry Harris.

Turner, who is one of three state senators representing the Cleveland metropolitan area and its eastern suburbs, said that Ohio can make a difference in the election and that who better to promote the president than the first lady herself.

“She knows the measure of a man,” said Turner, before leaving the rally to appear for a segment on the Rev. Al Sharpton's nightly talk show on MSNBC. “It’s great to have the first lady in the heart of Cleveland speaking to the American people.”

Reach Johnette Jernigan@jernigan@clevelandurbannews.com

Reach Cleveland Urban News.Com by telephone at 216-659-0473 and by email at editor@clevelandurbannews.com.

By Kathy Wray Coleman, Executive Publisher, Editor, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog(www.clevelandurbannews.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio-The Cleveland Chapter NAACP will take nominations for branch offices and executive committee members at its meeting tonight Tues, Oct 16 and the Obama for America Campaign and state Rep. Nickie Antonio (D-13) (pictured) will host a presidential debate watch party at a private home in  Lakewood, Oh., a suburb of Cleveland. (Editor's note: The debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney will begin at 9 pm at New York's Hofstra University and can be seen on CNN and C-Span)

Cleveland NAACP Executive Director Arlene Anderson sent letters to Cleveland NAACP members urging them to attend tonight's meeting and to volunteer for the local chapter of the nations' most renowned Civil Rights organization.

The data for the Cleveland NAACP meeting are as follows:

Cleveland NAACP general membership meeting at 6 pm today, Oct 15, at Cathedral Church of God in Christ, 2940 Martin Luther King Blvd. in Cleveland, will take nominations for branch officers and executive committee members, including president, for the upcoming November 11 election. for more information contact the Cleveland NAACP at 216-231-6260.

Reach Cleveland Urban News.Com by telephone at 216-659-0473 and by email at editor@clevelandurbannews.com.

By Johnette Jernigan and Kathy Wray Coleman, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog

Less than a week after nearly 10,000 people weathered the rain at Krenzler Field at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Oh. to listen to a speech by President Obama (pictured), the majority Black major metropolitan city continues to be a draw in a key presidential election year, and the vice presidential debate is no different.

Obama supporters, national senior campaign strategist Broderick Johnson (pictured), and London Sunday Times USA editor, best selling author and prize winning war correspondent Christina Lamb attended a spirited vice presidential debate watch party at Frederick’s Wine and Dine in the Cleveland area Thursday evening. (Editor's note: The debate was shown live on television from Centre College in Danville, Ky).

“The president continues to fight for issues that are important to all Americans, including women and the middle class,” said Johnson, a Black lawyer who also lectures on government relations and public policy at the University of Michigan. “We have to reelect this president and we are working to get the electoral votes in Ohio.”

Johnson has been a top adviser in the last two Democratic presidential campaigns and he said that while driving from Cleveland Hopkins Airport to Cleveland on Thursday morning he could not help but notice the controversial voter suppression billboards in Cleveland that threaten poor people and minorities with a felony, prison and a 10,000 fine if they vote this year.

Community activists and Black elected officials, including state Sen. Nina Turner (D-25) and Cleveland Councilwomen  Phyllis Cleveland and Mamie Mitchell, all Democrats, rallied earlier that day under a voter suppression billboard at E. 35th Street and Community College Ave. in Cleveland, one of several throughout Ohio.

And the billboard in question is down the street from Cuyahoga County Community College where First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to a cheering crowd on Oct. 15.

“I was startled by the signs and believe they are designed to intimidate,” said Johnson of the billboards.

Spearheaded by the Obama for America Campaign, media consultant and construction entrepreneur Ariane Kirkpatrick, and retired Cleveland schools elementary principal Anna Smith, last week’s vice presidential debate watch party, where Democratic Vice President Joe Biden and Republican Vice-Presidential nominee and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan squared off, drew practically every major local news television channel, including 3, 5, 19 and 8.