• Joeff Davis
• Because of security requirements the crowd at the Morehouse graduation waited for hours in the pouring rain, huddled together wrapped in ponchos, for the commencement program to begin.

More photographs from the Morehouse graduation ceremony

The Marines' special umbrella brigade would've come in handy at Sunday's Morehouse College commencement. Not for President Obama, who remained dry onstage during his 30-minute address to the graduating class of 2013, but for more than 500 graduates with drooping graduation caps, hundreds of alumni, family members, and others lucky enough to procure tickets to the historic event.

The White House circulated word two days in advance of the event that no umbrellas would be allowed in the case of rain. Instead, transparent ponchos were passed out to the sea of onlookers that came hours in advance to get through security lines. Drenched but undaunted, they attempted to Ziploc themselves against the elements while waiting for the ceremony to begin.

The president apologized to the mothers and grandmothers forced to endure the rainy commencement at the cost of their hair. "Michelle would not be sitting in the rain" he said to knowing laughter. "She's taught me a lot about hair."

For Obama, it was a brief respite from the seemingly perfect storm of scandal that hit the White House last week. Unlike the past 14 commencement addresses he's given since becoming president, however, he chose to forego his typical State of the Union-style graduation speech for something much more focused on the State of Black America. And it wasn't just "Morehouse Men" he encouraged to be an example and forego excuses, but black men in general.

"I have to confess, sometimes I wrote off my own failings as just another example of the world trying to keep a black man down," he said, using his youthful outlook as a personal example. "But one of the things you've learned over the last four years is that there's no longer any room for excuses."

• Handel for Senate
• Nothing says small government like neon-green campaign branding!

The former Fulton County Commission chairman, Georgia secretary of state, and gubernatorial candidate made her campaign official this morning, hours before the state's Republican convention kicked off today in Athens.

"Georgians want a conservative with the courage to take on the status quo, to fight for them and our constitutional ideals, to be accountable to them - and not Washington," Handel said in a statement.

Handel's name had been tossed around for months as a possible candidate, even long before Chambliss decided to call it quits in January. She's now the fourth official challenger vying for the Senate seat and will face off against U.S. Reps. Paul Broun of Athens, Phil Gingrey of Marietta, and Jack Kingston of Savannah, who have already entered the race.

As the AJC's Jim Galloway notes, Handel's campaign this week indicated that an official announcement wasn't imminent. But she likely decided it was time to enter the race with a 2014 Senate bid after former Dollar General CEO David Perdue decided he would explore a possible run and U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Alpharetta, bowed out of the contest.

Handel resigned from the Susan G. Komen Foundation in February 2012 after insisting that the nonprofit corporation pull its grant to Planned Parenthood. Last December, she went on the offensive and called Planned Parenthood "a bunch of schoolyard thugs" that wrapped themselves in a pink "cloak of legitimacy."

In addition to her pro-life stance, her platform will also focus on small business and smaller government. "Businesses, especially our small businesses, need government to get off their backs and out of the way, so that they can do what they do best: innovate and create jobs," said Handel.

Meanwhile, Georgia Democrats anxiously await HandsOn Atlanta co-founder and Points of Light CEO Michelle Nunn's decision as to whether she'll take on her Republican foes.

• Joeff Davis/CL File
• 'Can y'all spare at least several hundred dollars?'

The Home Depot co-founder and Atlanta Falcons owner will host President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., at a "special brunch reception" for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee at the Arthur M. Blank Family Office on Howell Mill Road. The president will be in town to give the commencement speech at Morehouse College.

Mayor Kasim Reed, one of the president's most ardent supporters, and former Gov. Roy Barnes will also serve as the event's main hosts. Other hosts whose names you might recognize: airport concessionaires Dan Halpern and Mack Wilbourn, both of whom emerged victorious from a recent dispute with the Federal Aviation Administration over their firms' "disadvantaged" status; attorney and former Democratic Congressman Buddy Darden of Marietta; prominent Democratic fundraiser and consulant Kristin Oblander; Justin Tanner, a member of Reed's governmental affairs team; and local defense attorney Ken Canfield.

No word yet on how much a ticket to the fete will cost. Or the exact time it starts. (It's "TBA," the announcement says.) But the good news? It's on a Sunday, which means the traffic nightmare that's unleashed upon metro Atlanta every time the president visits might not be as bad this time.

UPDATE, 1:12 p.m. The mayor on Twitter says our post was a "cheapshot" because the main purpose of Obama's visit to Atlanta next month is to speak at Morehouse College. I had forgotten about that event and based my reporting on the fundraiser invitation, which makes no mention of the speech. Reed adds that "it is not a bad thing to raise money to help retain and elect more Democrats to the United States Senate."

UPDATE, 3:13 p.m.Penny McPhee, president of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, tells CL that the event will be held in the Arthur M. Blank Family Office, not the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, which is listed on the invitation we saw. That version was a draft, she says, which they've asked to be corrected. "While the Foundation resides in the building, we do not own it and are not the host of the luncheon," she says.

• Joeff Davis/CL File
• Gov. Nathan Deal

At first, Deal remained silent on the issue. When progressive advocacy group Better Georgia asked Deal and state lawmakers to "publicly support the students of Wilcox," Deal's spokesman Brian Robinson responded in an email to WMAZ-TV, "This is a leftist front group for the state Democratic party and we're not going to lend a hand to their silly publicity stunt." The comments caused an uproar.

On Monday, Deal's office released a statement to the AJC that the governor was "focused on reviewing ... legislation that was passed in the legislative session and bringing jobs to Georgia." It also said that Deal "trusts that local leaders will find a long-term solution that protects the equal rights of all students."

Today, Deal elaborated. The AJC's Greg Bluestein passed along these comments to his colleague Jim Galloway:

"I believe that anything that's associated with a school should not have the distinction or discrimination made based on race or gender or any other separation," he said. "But it appears to me that the parents and students have worked that out on their own, as they should."

When asked if there was anything he could do as the state's top leader to help prevent this issue from surfacing again, here's what he said:

"Probably stay out of their way. We've come a long way in the state of Georgia. We don't need things like this being divisive. We think we have put most of those issues behind us. None of us condone things that would send the wrong message about where we are with regard to race relations. But by the same token, I think that people understand that some of these are just local issues and private issues, and not something that the state government needs to have its finger involved in."

The integrated Wilcox County High School prom, which is funded by local families and contributors, is scheduled for April 27. The county's school board says it will explore the option of hosting a prom next year.

• Atlanta City Council
• Atlanta City Councilman H. Lamar Willis says 'emotional tumult' from recent divorce, and other duties led to mistakes

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Willis was accused by the State Bar of Georgia of several ethical violations, including allegedly depositing $30,000 meant for a client in a personal injury case into his own bank account. The bar said Willis violated rules against "dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation." The AJC also notes that Willis failed to respond to the Georgia bar's formal complaint on Nov. 4.

According to the report written by Joseph Szczecko, the lawyer who investigated for the bar, that meant the facts alleged and the violations charged were treated as if Willis admitted them.

"There are no mitigating factors in this case," Szczecko wrote.

Willis did not get an extension of time to respond, and did not provide an explanation or evidence of mitigating circumstances, according to the report.

Several factors made the case even more serious, according to Szczecko's eight-page report. Szczecko, a Decatur attorney, said aggravating factors included multiple offenses, obstruction of the disciplinary process by not answering the formal complaint, and "indifference to making restitution."

Willis, who has not been charged with any crime, told CL yesterday that his duties as an elected official, attorney, and a father, combined with the "emotional tumult" from his divorce caused him "to miss that and a lot of things that pertain to me personally."

"Unfortunately, those administrative things that should not have fallen through the cracks, did," he said.

The complaint obtained by the AJC claims that Willis represented a minor in a 2009 personal injury lawsuit, which was filed after a fence "fell on and injured the young child." The lawsuit was reportedly settled for $30,000. But contrary to the standard practice of depositing settlement funds in an "attorney trust fund," Willis deposited them in his own bank account in July 2011.

Everything was "transparent to the client," Willis told CL. "I'm human, and we're just working to correct everything the best we can."

He added that "the insurance company that paid out the $30,000 has received its full $30,000 back, including what they paid me for my legal fees," Willis said. "That doesn't remove the violations as it relates to having made mistakes along the way. "

The recommendation must be approved by the Georgia Supreme Court.

• Courtesy of Matt Rinker for Atlanta
• Matt Rinker

Rinker, who moved to Atlanta in 2004 and has never run for public office before, made the announcement yesterday. From his announcement:

"I'm proud and honored today to officially announce my candidacy for Atlanta City Council, District 5. As the son of a Steamfitters Union worker and public school teacher, and as someone who has called Atlanta home the last 10 years, I can no longer stand by and watch from the sidelines as our families and businesses face the same challenges of the last 10 years for another 10 years," Rinker said today. "It is not too much to ask of City Council that our streets be safe, our children have parks to play in, and that we create a business friendly atmosphere that brings more good jobs with good pay to our city - but that's not what we've been getting from our incumbent politicians on City Council. It's time to make a change, and I hope over the next few months to earn the support, the prayers and the vote of the families and business owners in East Atlanta and South Atlanta.

District 5 includes East Atlanta, Reynoldstown, and Cabbagetown, among other neighborhoods. The Georgia Voice's Dyana Bagby, who chatted with Rinker, notes that the 35-year-old real estate professional would be the second openly gay City Councilmember if he's elected to office. In his spare time, Rinker says, he "volunteers and raises money for Hosea Feed The Hungry, Project Open Hand, CHRIS Kids, Georgia Safe Schools Coalition, and other groups." He's also active in kickball, dodgeball, and softball leagues.

• Scott Henry/CL File
• Peter Aman, photographed in 2011 with Department of Watershed Management Commissioner Jo Ann Macrina, took a break from Bain and Co. to help Reed administration

Reed did take the opportunity to promote two others for the job: Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) and former Atlanta chief operating officer Peter Aman.

Aman's name hasn't been mentioned much, but given he was Reed's right-hand man, it seems pretty clear that he's interested in running.

Aman took leave from his job as a partner at Bain and Co. to be Reed's COO for two years. Bain and Co. is separate from Bain Capital, but Mitt Romney also worked at the former for a period.

Aman's City Hall days go back further than helping the Reed administration overhaul Atlanta's pension program and toy with the idea of selling the city jail (the deal never happened). When former Mayor Shirley Franklin took office in 2001, Aman volunteered to help streamline City Hall and ended up playing a key role in the so-called Bain Report, an often referenced guide to making Atlanta government more efficient.

It's safe to assume Aman would argue that his dual experience of reorganizing corporations and helping craft policy in City Hall could benefit Washington, D.C. And that he wouldn't have a problem raising cash. Plus, he'd probably have the support of the state's most well-connected Democrat.

Whether Aman could best one of the many Republicans eyeing the seat - especially Congressman Paul Broun, R-Darwin, a favorite of the GOP fringe - is another question.