Does former Bill Clinton put it down on the dance floor? For now, it seems we’ll never know.

According to the former President, he’s turned down ABC’s invitation to join the cast of ‘Dancing With The Stars.’ Making an appearance on The Rachel Ray Show” Clinton was asked by a fan if he had ever considered doing the show. He answered:

“This is interesting — actually they contacted me once about this,…And I told them I didn’t have the time to train for it. You know you actually go out there and train — you really work at it.”

Apparently, Cheryl Burke had made a remark to USA Today saying she would love to be Clinton’s partner and so the DWTS folks reached out.  And while he’s turned down this invitation, it seems the former President may be putting on his dancing shoes sooner than you think.

“Just last night Hillary said to me, ‘You know, when I’m not Secretary of State anymore, we should go take dancing lessons.’ So we’ll start with the tango,” the former president said.

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For the first few weeks writing these, I really wondered if the words I was writing, the experiences I was sharing were resonating with anyone. Posting these pieces almost felt like a black hole. Every once in a while someone would say they wished they had hair like the woman in the stock photo and I’d think, “Well, at least they clicked on it.” And so I wrote into the black hole for months.

But during that time something changed. Waking up I had to fight for my head to be clear and my thoughts to be coherent. And that process changed the way that I approached each day. So did the why- it wasn’t about setting the tone, but disrupting it. Writing became about asking “Are you growing” everyday.

If there is one thing I’ve learned from doing this is it takes discipline to ask yourself that everyday. It takes time to sit down with yourself and reflect that much. It takes a lot from yourself to ask that everyday.

Growing can feel exhilarating but often it doesn’t feel like change at all. It feels like a slight stretch, a strain, a small difference but it begins to work something inside us all. Most days growing can feel exhausting. No one really tells you that. But growing can just feel like a constant struggle where you leave parts of you behind.

Thinking of the things I’ve lost in the months since I’ve started this journey has made me realized the amazing life I’ve gained. I wouldn’t trade a single part because I know I’ve gotten what I should. And that, I think, is the blessing: that often the things we no longer carry show us how far we’ve come.

This will be the last one of these for a while. And I am so grateful that I was able to add this to my experience. To use it to learn from all of you, to share and to grow. And I hope that even when it’s hard you’ll just everyday wake up and choose to keep doing so.  I pray that you will do the work it takes to come into the lives we’re created to have.  I think when we find that we make each other better.  I think when we find what we’re here for only then we can have and give love.

I though about leaving you with a quote from my grandma or from Jhumpa but decided to go with this instead.

She did not tell them to clean up their lives or go and sin no more. She did not tell them they were the blessed of the earth, its inheriting meek or its glorybound pure.

She told them that the only grace they could have was the grace they could imagine. That if they could not see it, they would not have it.

Here,’ she said, ‘in this here place, we flesh; flesh that weeps, laughs; flesh that dances on bare feet in grass. Love it. Love it hard…” - Toni Morrison, Beloved

Well those questions remain unanswered after the first episode but a new one has arisen following the performance of Anika Rose as a hotel maid who reports being raped by an Italian diplomat in SVU’s take on the Dominique Strauss Kahn saga. While I thought Rose’s performance was a moving one- throughout the twitterverse many seemed to take issue with her portrayal of a Sudanese refugee claiming that her accent was not authentic. Still, it should be pointed out that acting is the craft of emulating a character. Accents are part of that job and are often criticized for authenticity- not only in actors of color. Just ask Anne Hathaway about the reviews for “One Day.”

That said, the case of “twitter protests too much” did bring up an interesting question one asked throughout the night: why don’t networks use African actresses to portray African characters? While the diasporas are certainly in and of itself diverse, finding rising African actresses isn’t impossible. There’s Uche Jombo, Mona Lisa Chinda, Chika Ike, Genevieve Nnaji, Oge Okoye, and Jackie Appiah just to name a few.

On the other hand one could argue that even then critics would argue that the role of a Sudanese hotel maid required a Sudanese actress, not just an African one. Remember the days when the struggle was just to get black women time on the small screen?

What did you think of Anika Rose’ performance on last night’s SVU season premier? Is there a need to see more African actresses playing roles scripted as such or are we just never satisfied? Let’s discuss!

Were the first years of Obama’s White House hell for the women who worked there? According to Ron Suskind’s new book, “Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington and the Education of a President”, the early days were tough times for female staffers.

Suskind’s book alleges that women working in the White House were not pleased with the testosterone driven culture of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.- a culture lead mainly by strong male personalities like Rahm Emmanuel. “Confidence Men” claims staffers felt alienated and left out in meetings where at one point, footballs being tossed around during briefings was a regular occurrence.

Ruth Graham of The Grindstone writes that though the initial quotes from the book made Obama’s White House seem like a hostile environment for women, that the quotes needed to be put in further context. She writes:

First, it’s important to note the full text of Dunn’s widely quoted accusation that the White House was a “genuinely hostile workplace to women.” That certainly got my attention — it became the headline of the post I wrote yesterday about this. But today Dunn’s full quote emerges, and it makes clear that Obama himself was not the problem: “I remember once I told Valerie [Jarrett] that, I said if it weren’t for the president, this place would be in court for a hostile workplace,” Dunn says in Suskind’s recording of their interview. “Because it actually fit all of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace to women.” [Emphasis added.]

At first, the president dismissed the complaints on the grounds that the White House was a naturally competitive, intense environment. In other words, the women would just have to deal with it if they wanted to thrive.

That’s when senior advisor Valerie Jarrett came to the rescue. As she relays it, “I said, ‘Look, I think that we have some issues with making people, particularly the new women, a part of the team and giving them a better sense of you and how you value their opinion.’ ”

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Indeed Valerie Jarrett’s roles seems to be the true high point of the story as the Washington Post reports she was the first to address the tension directly with the President.  After hearing similar concerns from several female staffers, Jarrett raised them with President Obama and changes were made.

Those tensions prompted Obama, urged on by senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, to elevate more women into senior White House positions, recognize them more during staff meetings and increase the female presence in the upper ranks of the reelection campaign. “There were some issues early on with women feeling as though they hadn’t figured out what their role was going to be on the senior team at the White House,” Jarrett said in an interview Monday. “Most of the women hadn’t worked on the campaign, and so they didn’t have a personal relationship with the president.”

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The situation in Obama’s White House seems to show that sexism can surface in even the most enlightened environments if the fraternity culture is left unchecked. Still, it seems without a female senior advisor close enough in the ear of President Obama that other female staffers could have seen the frat environment continue.

What do you think about the tension for female staffers in the White House? Expected for high-pressure environment or unacceptable anywhere? Tell us what you think Clutchettes and gents- weigh in!

TIME Techland reported on the growing gap between online behavior and in person behavior as it applies to offensive slurs and found that the internet has made many go numb to seeing hurtful words on their cellphone, tablet and computer screens.

Some slurs like “slut” and “retard” vary in their perceived offensiveness to those polled, but also include some incredibly offensive words like the “N-word.” Curiously, when the respondents were surveyed broadly about offensive terms, half said they wouldn’t use them. However, 54% said they would be okay using such terms around friends.

There’s also something about the Internet providing a crutch for others. About 61% of those polled said that they wouldn’t be bothered very much or at all if they saw someone using the “N-word” online or in a text message. That doesn’t change the fact that about 60% of African-American kids included in the survey would still be offended if they saw that word used against someone, according to the poll results.

So what gives? Why are people more likely to see slurs on the internet as less harmful than ones in person? According to The Associated Press:

“Those surveyed are twice as likely to say biased slurs are used to be funny as they are to think that the user is expressing hateful feelings toward a group of people. Another popular reason: to sound cool.”

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What do you think Clutchettes- does the internet desensitize us to racial slurs? Weigh in and let’s discuss!

There will always be those creases that won’t lie down flat. Those people who are out to do you wrong, those situations where you can’t win. There will always be these things because this is life and without these things there’d be no conflict in our stories.

And I’ve been tempted to give into those reasons now more and more. As the days get shorter and tempers do too, it’s easy to run out of patience for the universe to do its thing. I mean how long can we sit and wait on karma to manifested on those who’ve hurt us? How long can we sit in hope’s waiting room praying that our time our moment will finally come?

When you’ve been doing it for a while, you can put it in perspective. You can say the wait is just a set up for something better. But what happens in that period of doubt? When it slowly begins to creep up on you that you might have been sitting all that time for nothing. When your head fills with questions, “Am I doing what I should be?” “Do I even belong where I am dreaming?” “What could I have done differently on my way here?”

The truth is every time we go to utter a complaint we should think about an old saying I once heard my aunt say: If you can tell it, be grateful for it.

There are very few things that knock us on our back and leave us unable to speak. While life can throw us for a loop, we often don’t realize our very ability to complain is proof that we’re not done yet. Instead of settling for bemoaning our situation, it’s time we tap into the strength it took us to get this far. After all, if we can tell it, it means we’re still here, still able to accomplish even more than we have thus far.

Today, remember to be grateful for the experiences of the past. Instead of complaining be filled with praise and let the words from your mouth speak into your future.

The argument, compelling as it is, helped the Obama administration at a time when Republicans have insisted on no new taxes. But Buffet’s point has raised an interesting question: just who is Warren Buffet’s secretary.

The Atlantic reports:

Not surprisingly, the billionaire Obama-backer has more than one executive assistant, individuals who are not secretaries per se in duties any more than in titles. Indeed, they help with media and other calls and are sometimes quoted in the press as company spokesmen. Asked point blank if she were Buffett’s secretary, she said, “I am not.”

Debra Ray, who passed me on to Kizer, took more ownership of the new secretarial role she’s been cast in. “I am one of them, yes,” she said, though her actual title is also executive assistant, not secretary. You’re famous, I told her. She laughed. “Oh, Mr. Buffett is the famous one.”

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Though tracking down Warren Buffet’s secretary is easier said than done, the folks at MoveOn.org have used the icon to capitalize on their campaign to support President Obama’s proposed Millionaire Tax. In the video below, several Americans declare “I am Warren Buffet’s secretary.” Check it out and tell us what you think!

While promoting his memoir, former Vice President Dick Cheney threw out the suggestion that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would make a great opposition candidate for President Obama.  It seems while selling his book, Cheney thought it’d be a good idea to stir up some liberal banter as well.

While Hillary did not comment on Cheney’s comments, her husband did and he had a mouthful to say. The always humorous ex-president responded to Cheney’s suggestion on CBS’ Face the Nation, saying that his wife has no intention of running against President Obama in 2012:

“I also have a high regard for Vice President Cheney’s political skills, and I think one of those great skills is sowing discord among the opposition…I think he’s right that she’s done a heck of a job…But she is a member of this administration, and committed to doing it.”

Still, Clinton says he doesn’t mind sparring with Cheney every once in a while.

“…I think he, by saying something nice about her in the way that he did, knew that it might cause a little trouble. I don’t want to help him succeed in his political strategy. But I admire that he’s still out there hitting the ball.”

That was the reaction of Rep. Charlie Rangel, when the Democrat congressman “stumbled upon” a Rick Perry fundraiser in Harlem last night.

The Texas Governor’s team got a surprise guest when Rangel arrived outside of Papasito’s Bar in Harlem. The spot was selected for Perry’s meeting with local business leaders but home turf is home turf and Rangel insisted he was just seeing what was going on.

The National Journal reports:

As to whether Perry’s overture would be effective in a district that Obama won in 2008 with 93 percent of the vote: “Aren’t you here to figure out what the governor is doing here? Aren’t you?” he asked reporters. “I’m here for the same reason.”

Rangel arrived just a few moments before Perry, who was quickly whisked inside after telling reporters only that he was there to “see more supporters here.” The event lasted about 30 minutes. Lenin Lopez, who runs a café on the same block as Papasito’s, said he was one of about 50 people in attendance. Lopez said Perry largely spoke about taxes and employment, as opposed other issues facing the community, such as lack of health care. Lopez added that while it was nice to hear Perry speak, most of his listeners were Democrats.

So what did Rangel think of Perry?

Rangel left the event, where he kept unlikely company with New York’s Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox, and Charles Glazer, a top fundraiser for former President George W. Bush, before it was over. When asked what he thought of meeting Perry for the first time, he laughed, “He’s tall and he’s from Texas, that’s clear.”

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While I am not buying Rangel’s “I tripped and stumbled into the frontrunner of the GOP race,” I do respect his political saavy. By showing up, he stole the headlines away from Perry who otherwise might have had a few fluff pieces and one happy public relations team.

What do you think of Rangel turning up at Perry’s event in Harlem? Let’s discuss Clutchettes and gents!

As it turns out, the Vouge editor prefers the silence of the countryside over the hustle and bustle of Manhattan. In an interview with New York Times’ Magazine, ALT explained his affinity for the quieter Westchester village he calls home.

Now I live in Worthington, in a house built in the late 1800s, with four white columns and a circular porch painted a pale pearl gray that I imagined Pauline de Rothschild might have used. It’s from the porch where I can see the yard (I don’t call it a garden), which has become my sanctuary….The happiest moments of my childhood were spent on my grandmother’s front porch in Durham, N.C., or at her sister’s farmhouse in Orange County, where chickens paraded outside the kitchen’s screen door and hams were cured in the smokehouse. Up here at night, all is quiet, and you never hear a sound after 10 p.m.

Though suburb living comes with a certain peace, it also comes with certain cons. Namely, bats.

The downside of being around all this nature is that twice I have had a bat fly into my bedroom, having slipped in through the cracks of the screened window. I do not wish this experience on anyone. Nothing is more unpleasant than running screaming down the stairs, lying awake until dawn on the sofa, waiting for pest control to show up, only to hear, “Oh, it could be in your blanket or sheets, or behind a mirror.” (Once, a bat was found snoozing in the bathtub.) I’ve spent a small fortune on trying to deter bats from nesting in the cracks of the chimney or setting up house in the attic, and a great deal of time having the arborvitae and holly bushes framing the porch covered with burlap so deer don’t treat them like a buffet. But these are small prices to pay for peace.

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While I had to laugh at the visual of ALT huddled on a couch covered with one of his fabulous capes, I have to admit I see why he chose to live outside of the city. Growing up in a suburb then moving into Manhattan, I appreciate the quiet so much more. Still, there’s a time for everything and right now I’m enjoying city living. Maybe the crickets and bats will come later in life.

What do you think Clutchettes- burb or city life? Weigh in and tell us what you think!