I'm terminally behind in my reading of Newsweek to which my mother's friend Debbie so thoughtfully subscribed me. So if you read that mag, you might recognize this quote from the Last Word essay of the Aug 18/25 issue:

If people make assumptions about you simply on the basis of your appearance all your life, assumptions ranging from criminality to sloth to unearned opportunity, it can make you bitter and hard and cynical. That none of those things is part of the Obama character means that he has turned his particular version of the race card into an ace and is using it to play with the full deck. That is not a deficit. It is an advantage.

(source: Anna Quindlen's "The Caucasian Card")

It just resonated with me. Earlier in the article she talks about how Obama's race is indivisible from his campaign. He *is* black, he can't help mentioning his experiences from that circumstance. But he isn't a stereotype, thank goodness.

I don't like getting too political in public. I think it's probably obvious that I'm a liberal. Honestly, if someone feels differently and can articulate it, then more power to them. But please, please think first before you make a decision.