Choose a Grammy winning Politician and sample a spoken Word!Obama or Clinton? Grammys go for ObamaFresh from their feud on the campaign trail, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama beat Bill Clinton in a contest almost as closely watched as the primaries being waged across the United States -- the music industry's Grammy Awards.
The Illinois senator, who is engaged in a neck-and-neck race with Clinton's wife, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, for the Democratic presidential nomination, was not present at the awards ceremony in downtown Los Angeles. He was scheduled to attend a rally in Virginia later in the day. Bill Clinton was seeking his third Award with "Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World," a call to public service. Another former Democratic president, Jimmy Carter, also was in the running, with "Sunday Morning in Plains: Bringing Peace to a Changing World," a collection of Bible lessons. Carter won the award last year.
Actor Alan Alda and poet Maya Angelou, a three-time winner, rounded out this year's nominees in the category. Not to be outdone by Obama, Hillary Clinton won the spoken word prize in 1997, while she was still first lady, for her book; "It Takes a Village."
No Republican politician has won the category since Everett Dirksen, an Illinois congressman and senator, in 1968. Published in October 2006, Obama's latest book posited that Americans have more in common than their polarizing politics suggest. It included personal anecdotes about his struggles to balance public service and family life. His appearances to promote the bestseller generated a rock-star atmosphere, helping to stoke his presidential ambitions.
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