trap, there was definitely some identity politics involved, no question. I do remember, though, hearing him on the radio years ago (I'm an Illinoisian) for the first time, not knowing who he was, and thinking "Wow. This guy gets it" and also "He is committing political suicide" because he happened to be denouncing the reliance on race as a catch-all excuse. Being on the radio, I couldn't discern his color from his voice, but liked his very frank, timely, articulately expressed message.

What I think you have with Obama is a lot of projection onto a relatively unknown quantity (much like Palin receieved from the right). He shows thoughtfulness but not much bully-pulpit style leadership. As far as "liking" the guy, I haven't met him. Maybe he is an ass. I know most of us would be called an ass if the camera were trained on us 24/7. I also know I hate when smart people pretend to be "jes' folks," but lots of people seem to eat that shit up. So I have no problem with his professorial ("pompous") demeanor.