Will they spend the next few years arguing that Obama isn't "their president" and working to convince whites that they've been disenfranchised simply by virtue of a black man being in the White House?

Since the wingnuts were sporting "my President is Charlton Heston" bumper stickers ten years ago, I'm sure they'll do their best to discredit any Dem President.

I doubt they'll say that because Obama's black, that whites are somehow not represented - that would backfire, so they'll do it more indirectly. Kinda like Lee Atwater said.

But you'll know it when it happens. They'll say they didn't mean anything racial, and there'll be a patina of deniability, but it'll be BS.

If Obama can't win -- a nonthreatening, basically moderate, inclusive, mixed-race male in a year that should be disastrous for the Republican (whites-only) party -- then NO black man can win, ever. Unless he's an Uncle Tom Republican, who would represent the beliefs of about 5% of African Americans.

Think of the contrast with 1992. Again, we have a sour economy, a Republican administration, an elderly, nonarticulate Republican nominee, and a young, knowledgeable, articulate Democrat. Yet at this point in 1992 Bill Clinton was ahead of George H.W. Bush almost 2 - 1 in the polls.

From Andrew Tobias:

This letter to the editor recently appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review? What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?

What if McCain were still married to the first woman he said “I do” to? What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after she no longer measured up to his standards?

What if Michelle Obama were a wife who not only became addicted to painkillers, but acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?

What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard? What if Obama were a member of the “Keating 5”?

What if McCain were a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

— Kelvin LaFond, Fort Worth

If Obama wins, it will almost certainly be without the majority of the white vote. But then, that's the same way Gore or Kerry would have won, too. Winning the majority of the white vote would be an electoral landslide for Dems, given the high polling numbers among blacks and Hispanics, and a landslide just isn't gonna happen.

I think it will prove what black people already feel--that they will never be a true part of the American family.

Obama has given them hope to believe that maybe they have been wrong. If he loses they will think, "Nope, I guess I was right. Only someone not descended from slaves would have been so optimistic."

But OTOH, Obama has shown such excellence that he has raised the bar for all who come after him. More will reach higher.

And maybe, as I type, there is a young black mother who will name her son John Smith. He will go to West Point instead of Hampton or Harvard. He will be raised in a predominantly white mainstream church. He will marry an elementary teacher with light skin. He will fight in the war against Venezuela. He will someday become governor and later Senator. He will snow board, bowl, play tennis and fish. He will write a highly regarded essay on the pathologies and limitations of his fellow African Americans. He may even execute a few. He will be smart but not too smart, folksy but not "common".

By the time he runs, he will be the establishment candidate. He will be a Republican, anti-tax, pro war and tolerant or even open to creationism in the classroom.

I don't think a Democrat has won the majority of the White vote since LBJ.

When McInsane loses, all the white f@cks will riot like hell. Pity the poor person born black or brown on that day. I'll be heading for Canada to get away from the militia skinhead neonazi freaks, that is about half the white population.

My elderly mother said she thought black people would riot if Obama lost. I reminded her that white republicans rioted in Florida in 2000 when they were afraid a recount would show Gore had won. Then I told her she should play it safe and vote for Obama.

Color me optimist. I have a strong feeling that Obama will win this election.

He is a brilliant candidate, a better orator and a bigger visionary than Bill Clinton. He truly inspires many people. It is not a joke to raise 66 million dollars in a month.

"He is a brilliant candidate, a better orator and a bigger visionary than Bill Clinton. He truly inspires many people. It is not a joke to raise 66 million dollars in a month."

I disagree with all these things. Part of Obama's appeal is his race but he lacks the accomplishments to back it up.
I don't think race will be a major factor in his lost. If Colin Powell had run he would easily beat McCain. I don't see Obama is bigger visionary when his Senate career seem to suggest otherwise and his skills orator seem to melt away when he talks about policy (unlike Bill Clinton).

So far Obama has inspired a little less than half the Democratic electorate and the other half mostly voted for him because they are Democrats and because of the "lesser of two evils" argument.

I think if Obama loses it will because he didn't have Hillary Clinton on the ticket. A grand coalition of blacks, whites, women, working class people, independents and moderate republicans who would have crossed over to support a ground breaking ticket. But without you have dreams deferred and the rise of Sarah Palin. We might have lost some white male votes and some detractors of both Clinton and Obama but the benefits looking at how much they brought out would have lasted us for at least 12 years of electoral wins. Bill Clinton could have introduced Michelle to Georgia, North Carolina and advocated hard for why his wife and Obama are the future. But that is a lost opportunity.

Barack Obama is the kindest, bravest, warmest, smartest most wonderful human being and the best political candidate of our lifetime.

"Black folks"?? Are you serious?

Sounds like a condescending white boy trying to relate to the "black folks".

Get real.

oh please...if Obama loses it is because he was a weak candidate that was overhyped from the start...a candidate that due to the insane Democratic delegate and caucus system got almost as many or more delegates because of urban districting than the candidate that won the state and because his delegate count went up in winning republican states he has no chance of winning in the general election...and on top of that, the DNC took delegates he did not earn and pressured other delegates to select Obama for the sake of 'party unity'...

Obama's selection was based on a frail 'house of cards' and a wing and a prayer...Obama will lose because people were voting for other candidates and did not want the most inexperienced candidate in the race, despite his charisma...

Obama's career would have been better served to have gotten more experience in the senate and run on the Clinton/Obama winning ticket...

...as it is, even his supporters are complaining his campaign will not listen to anyone, must control everything from Chicago and pride and arrogance will be their downfall

...the DNC and the Obama camp will be the cause of his loss...they will have blown a sure thing...

Clinton/Obama was the winning combination

oh please...if Obama loses it is because he was a weak candidate that was overhyped from the start...a candidate that due to the insane Democratic delegate and caucus system got almost as many or more delegates because of urban districting than the candidate that won the state and because his delegate count went up in winning republican states he has no chance of winning in the general election...and on top of that, the DNC took delegates he did not earn and pressured other delegates to select Obama for the sake of 'party unity'...

Obama's selection was based on a frail 'house of cards' and a wing and a prayer...Obama will lose because people were voting for other candidates and did not want the most inexperienced candidate in the race, despite his charisma...

Obama's career would have been better served to have gotten more experience in the senate and run on the Clinton/Obama winning ticket...

...as it is, even his supporters are complaining his campaign will not listen to anyone, must control everything from Chicago and pride and arrogance will be their downfall

...the DNC and the Obama camp will be the cause of his loss...they will have blown a sure thing...

Clinton/Obama was the winning combination

What if Americans are finally waking up to the fact that Obama would destroy this country if he were elected. Just because you believe this does not make one racist. As a matter of fact all of this racial BS is turning off some obama supporters.

Let's see. In this comment thread, we have someone who believes Obama will destroy the country, and that same person is also comfortable stating what Obama supporters are thinking. We have a Clinton dead-ender. An inexplicable "Manchurian Candidate" reference. And a muddled argument about gender politics in the VP selections, including this gem - "[...] Obama has inspired a little less than half the Democratic electorate and the other half mostly voted for him [...]" Check your math, please.

Better trolls, please.

Having a black President would be great - Michael Steele, J.C. Watts, Condoleezza Rice - I would be very glad about those leaders in the Oval Offcice. But Sen. Obama, with his miserable voting record, and his plans to use government as an instrument of wealth redistribution, rather than a means to secure life and liberty, is unacceptable regardless of his ethnicity. Anyone, of any color, of any gender, who favors the "progressive" agenda, will have a hard time getting my vote.

yolo wins the prize for "wackiest comment on the Interwebs" for this week.

No more submissions, please.

We have a winner.