The Obama's are both obviously quite bright and very articulate (a trait sorely lacking in most politicians of any ethnicity these days). But I would not say they are "brilliant," because "brilliance" requires some knowledge of the real truth and not just the ability to speak the same old cliches more dramatically.
If you are insisting that one can only be brilliant if he or she agrees with you, that’s obviously a silly argument. Heck, Karl Marx was brilliant; Proudhon was brilliant; Comte was brilliant. Heck, Bill Clinton was probably one of the naturally smartest guys to hold the presidency. That doesn’t mean they were right.
Obama is an exceptional writer, a gifted speaker, and displays an unusual amount of self-knowledge. Call it brilliant or not, but crying affirmative action is ridiculous. Obama should be opposed not because every black liberal is somehow by definition an AA baby, but because his liberal policies will lead to increased dependence on government, a perpetuation of the abortion holocaust, and a weak foreign policy.