Obama makes late push for black voters

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 16: U.S. Sen Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) speaks to attendees during a memorial service for the U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens at San Francisco City Hall on October 16, 2012 in San Francisco, California. Stevens, who served as ambassador from June 2012, was killed in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya September 11, 2012. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) less SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 16: U.S. Sen Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) speaks to attendees during a memorial service for the U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens at San Francisco City Hall on October 16, ... more Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Obama makes late push for black voters 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

As we roll into the final presidential debate, the polls show a very tight race. One thing they don't show, however, is how race is a factor in the election.

By my estimate, you have to build in a three- to five-point slip from the poll numbers for any black candidate on election day. To overcome the slip, you need to pump up the black vote by equal measure.

And that's not easy, because brothers and sisters aren't among the top turnout groups.

In 2008, Barack Obama was able to compensate for the slip and then some. You would have thought it was Nelson Mandela coming out of jail. This time it's not going to be that easy.

If Obama looks as if he's going black, he could turn off white people. So he's largely been lying low on the race issues - visibly pushing for the Latino vote, the gay vote, the women's vote, but not the black vote.

But last weekend, he held a conference call with a collection of black preachers that included his old pastor, Jeremiah Wright. He wanted to talk to them about getting out the vote.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein picked up more than $400,000 in campaign donations Tuesday night at the fundraiser put on by Clint and Janet Reilly in the Julia Morgan Ballroom.

Some tables went for $25,000 for a group of 10.

The musical entertainment was provided by Tim Hockenberry, whose rendition of "You Are So Beautiful" was fabulous.

The comedic entertainment came from Gov. Jerry Brown, who got up and said, "I once was Gov. Moonbeam. But I reinvented myself. More recently, people say that I'm from the past. Well, I want you to know that Dianne is from a more distant past."

When Feinstein got up, she said, "Up until Jerry made that egregious comment, I was going to tell everybody this my last campaign. But after that egregious comment, I may have to run one more time."

Eileen Feinstein Mariano handled the introduction, telling stories about what's like to be the granddaughter of a famous politician.

When she was born, she said, one of Feinstein's first questions to daughter Katherine was, "Do you have a name?"

Katherine said, "No, I don't."

"What about Dianne?"

In other dynasty news, there was a gathering of the great Hearst media clan at the Palace of the Legion of Honor the other night for a screening of the documentary "Citizen Hearst."

I never knew there were so many Hearsts out there, or so many people trying to curry their favor.

They had Tony Bennett entertain. He entertained for the 100th anniversary of Hearst Corp. as well, and at the same place.

I don't know how I got invited. The Hearsts never endorsed me, and as far as I know they never voted for me. Apparently, however, they do like the column.

The new Weill Hall concert venue at Sonoma State University opened with a performance by pianist Lang Lang. After four encores, half the audience was sound asleep. Still, not a bad way to launch a fabulous venue.

Movie Time: "Taken 2." Liam Neeson is on the job again in this action movie in search of a story.

Critics panned it but I enjoyed it, particularly because I paid just 6 bucks to get into the before-noon showing.

"Argo," Ben Affleck's thriller that catalogs the CIA's attempt to use a fake movie to rescue six Iranian Embassy hostages, has Oscar nomination written all over it. John Goodman and Alan Arkin steal the show.

I would love to see those two in a sequel.

I hear that San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera is about to be elevated to the board of the Olympic Club. You may remember that Herrera's predecessor as city attorney, Louise Renne, sued the club to force it to admit women.

No sooner did Mitt Romney say he'd been given binders full of women when he was looking for Cabinet members as Massachusetts governor than my telephone rang.

It was my wife, Blanche.

"So that's your explanation," she said. "A binder full of women."