As the race for 2012 heats up, and as showcase “debates” proliferate to select the Republican challenger to President Obama, countless questions on race linger unspoken by media interlocutors and pundits.  Here are a few for consideration.

To Mitt Romney: You have expressed untold times that job creation is the primary issue before the nation.  Black unemployment stands at an unconscionable level of 17%, double the rate for whites, and Black teenage unemployment is at 38%.  What would you do as President to address this crisis?

To Tim Pawlenty:  The high school graduation rate for Black students in Minnesota is 32% compared with the white graduation rate at 74%, and during your tenure as Governor only 12% of African American children in the state were reading at grade level.  What would you do as President to address this grim reality that affects the entire nation?

To Newt Gingrich: In 2004 when you were Speaker of the House the Black poverty rate stood at 24%, twice that of whites. In 2009 the Black poverty rate was over 25%. You have suggested that corporate tax cuts would result in the creation of more jobs for poor people.  Given that tax cuts have not reduced Black poverty, what would you do as President to turn this situation around in 2012 and beyond?

To Michelle Bachman: Racial discrimination in the St. Cloud, Minnesota school system has prompted a federal investigation into violation of civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination.  As a Member of Congress representing St. Cloud, what have you done about that situation, and what would you do as President to assure that the civil rights of all Black students are assured?

To Herman Cain: As President of the National Restaurant Association you were credited with defeating the Clinton health care plan.  The restaurant industry is known for employing vast numbers of low-wage workers of color, few of whom enjoy job benefits, including sick pay.  What would you do as President to address this situation, especially as it impacts Black workers in this and other industries?

To Ron Paul: You have been dogged by old articles in The Ron Paul Political Report that were blatantly racist.  You have denied these articles were written by you. On CNN you said that “Libertarians are incapable of being a racist, because racism is a collectivist idea.”  Could you share how you would tackle the very real challenges of racism in America if you were to serve as President?

To Rick Santorum:  You have disdained public education, home-schooled your own children, and called the Head Start program “a Democratic conspiracy” to “socialize” children. As President, how would you address the challenge of early childhood education among Black children, aside from school voucher programs?

To John Huntsman: The U.S. has the largest prison population in the world—larger than China’s.  Some 50% of the U.S. jail and prison population is Black, One of every nine Black men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars.  What would you do as President to address this devastating reality?

Gotcha questions?  Hardly.  Ask the President the same questions, but know that his responses will, in and of themselves, inflame charges of “favoritism.”  Race is still the intractable challenge before the nation.  Ask the questions.  Just ask.