As the debate over jobs turns into the latest political tug-of-war, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri walks a careful but candid line.

As chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, he has been at odds with President Barack Obama over the administration's response to soaring unemployment in the African-American community.

Nearing 17 percent, joblessness among blacks is at a three-decade high and almost twice the overall unemployment rate. The black caucus wants the president to do more.

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"He is a not a fire-breather, that's not his style, and I don't think he is, or for that matter, the caucus is genuinely angry at Obama," said David Bositis, an expert on voting rights and black politics at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. "I think they know that Obama is doing everything he can."

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It was formerly available at The Miami Herald, macon.com, and kansascity.com.

Robin Carnahan, a Democrat, and Roy Blunt, a Republican, have been meeting with members of the black clergy lately, not to save their souls, but to win one of the top political contests in the country, a U.S. Senate seat from Missouri.

Both candidates see African-American voters as important to their chances of becoming Missouri's next senator, and that road runs through the pulpits of black churches in Kansas City and St. Louis.
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More importantly, the black share of the overall voter turnout in Missouri rose to 13 percent in 2006, up from 8 percent two years before, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a research center devoted to issues that affect African-Americans and other minorities.

This article was previously available at The Kansas City Star and Yahoo! News.