Race and Politics: see the video below

At yesterday's meeting of the state Senate Finance Committee Mark O'Luck -- an African American businessman -- was in attendence to take questions from senators about his pending nomination to the state Power Authority.

Republican Senator John DeFrancisco took huge exception with a 2009 blog post bearing O'Luck's name that suggests the dolling out of state contracts are bias towards businesses owned by well-connected whites.

After about 15 minutes of peppering O'Luck with questions more about policy than personal stances, DeFrancisco suggests that many whites are also not well connected and that O'Luck -- a friend of Governor David Paterson's -- is an example of blacks "making it" in New York State.