The NAACP held its Presidential Forum in Detroit yesterday, inviting all of the 2008 candidates to attend. While all of the Democratic candidates attended, only one Republican candidate accepted the invitation.Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo from Colorado spoke to the convention and received a standing ovation from the crowd. The Detroit Free Press reports that the ovation was mainly because he took the time to attend. Tancredo is a leader in the virulent anti-immigration movement in the Congress, and he previously posed with homophobic television star Isaiah Washington in an attempt to establish his anti-racist credentials.

In other news from the NAACP Convention, all of the Democratic presidential candidates attended. Senator Barack Obama was clearly the headliner, but according to the Free Press, Senators Hillary Clinton and John Edwards also received warm welcomes. So did Chris Dodd, who got a hearty cheer after he started his speech by saying, “I’d like to thank the NAACP for allowing me to follow Barack Obama.” The candidates all discussed ways to stop racism. Obama noted that “…despite all the progress that’s been made, there’s still more to do…. There’s more to do when more young black men languish in prison than who go to college in America.” Apparently, Rep. Tancredo is the only the Republican candidate concerned with such problems involving racism.

In a related story, sneaky folks over at ABCNews noted that Senator Clinton was caught whispering to Senator Edwards during the convention — talking about having their campaigns collaborate. “Our guys should talk,” Clinton reportedly said to Edwards, unaware that an open microphone could hear her. The two leading Democrats appeared to agree to some collaboration. Is this an early sign of a Clinton/Edwards ticket?