okay. so the truth here is pretty simple. this is about more than just rap. it's about race. >> when kanye came out very strongly a number of months ago, something happened. my polls went up like 25%. nobody's ever seen it like -- he's got a big following in the african-american community. >> so when the president parades kanye in front of the cameras, that is just a cynical attempt to manipulate black voters with less than a month to go until the mid-terms. don't fall for the okey-doke. there's a lot to talk about tonight with frank bruni, chris cillizza and april ryan. we'll get to it, next. >> announcer: "cnn tonight" is responsible fo sponsored by "first man."