[Ghoulish Delight]

The fact that he's black should not be an issue one way or the other.

But it's ignorance to imagine that in 2010 that that's the case. YOU may be color-blind. But to deny that there is still an issue of race in this country is to be far more blind than that. And to deny that the fact that he's black is often part of the subtext of what Obama says and how people react to him is equally blind.

You brought up Ried and Biden's comments. That's exactly the point. Between those, the beer summit, constant questions about his birth, etc., it sometimes seems literally impossible to go an hour without his race being brought up as an issue. So yes, when such an a hour does happen and it suddenly occurs to you, "Holy crap, between his speech, the reaction of the people in the crowd, and the Republican rebuttal afterwards, there was nothing that was wrapped up in the fact that he's black," it's noteworthy. It's not the norm. It's refreshing and surprising.