[BackInBlack]

“Think of it this way: how much more remarkable would Obama be if he truly understood economics and the Constitution instead of mouthing leftist platitudes.”

I’d certainly like him a lot more. But remember where this back-and-forth started: with the assumption that he must be some kind of affirmative action case just because he’s a black liberal. That’s a racist assumption. Plenty of white liberals are elected despite being wrong; Obama is by all appearances smarter and more talented than the vast majority of them, yet he’s the one with the AA tag. That’s what’s ridiculous.

[pierrem15]

I don't think that I was making that argument: I was trying to say (perhaps poorly) that both Obamas were undoubtedly the victims of a certain condescension I have seen in a both the corporate and academic environment where nothing any lberal black says gets questioned, no matter how nonsensical or extreme. Someone treated this way is robbed of any opportunity to understand thoroughly the positions they hold.

I think we will find out if this is true by seeing how well Obama deals with genuine challenges to his most cherished theoretical and moral presuppositions.