"P. Merle Black" (born 1942) is the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Political Science at Emory University. He is a frequent media source on Southern politics,

as is his twin brother, Earl Black, a professor at Rice University. The two brothers are sometime co-authors, and have written several important books about politics in the Southern US, including Politics and Society in the South. Black was President of the Southern Political Science Association, 2002-2003.

Black has a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

More Merle Black on Wikipedia.

Most voters don't judge a governor on one decision.

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Carter's approach is to try to decide what was best for the nation.

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Blacks have been migrating into the South in the last decade or so, ... There are more jobs here. After the 60's, and civil rights, this is where the job growth has been. Because of the lack of unionization, industries have moved back to the South.

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The split in the Alabama Republican Party has been so pronounced for so long. It looks like one more round in an unending battle.

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Gore is much better known among black politicians for a much longer period of time. I don't know how Bradley breaks that.

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He wouldn't be seen as a Dukakis or a Kennedy, but it doesn't go that far. They've never heard of him, ... So, he'd have to spend a lot of time cultivating political leaders and trying to develop support as a long-shot contender.

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You can imagine him on the ticket, either as the presidential candidate or the vice president, and Virginia automatically becomes a competitive state.

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When they win, they mix it up, ... They're liberal on some issues and conservative on other issues. They can't be liberal on everything because there aren't enough liberals in the South.

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Carter's approach is to try to decide what was best for the nation, ... He was trained as an engineer _ his approach was to study a problem and reach his own conclusions and proceed. It's Carter being Carter.

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