I think this video of Obama answering hecklers' questions in FL really illustrates my point about his wanting to run as a post-racial candidate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sARnrGPlzDg&feature=related

If you stick with it, you'll see that the protesters were essentially accusing him of not running as a "black candidate." Issue by issue, BO showed them that he had in fact addressed predatory lending, the Jena Six, police brutality, and so on. It's clear, though, that he doesn't frame them as black issues, and that's what the AA hecklers were upset about.

Situations like this make clear how dicey the waters are for BO, and yet his answers consistently make clear that he does not want to make race the issue. He wants to address AAs as people, as families, not as blacks.

There was nothing to be gained politically for Barack Obama, ever, by injecting race into this campaign. It has only harmed him. He was sailing along until the race thing creeped in last February. And then it took off, completely against his interests.

I agree with doloresflower who simply cannot abide by these allegations that BO somehow is responsible for the narrative about the Clintons' being racist. The media? Sure. The Clintons themselves, intentionally or not? Maybe. But Obama has only lost ground the minute race became an issue. He has become the black candidate.

is a no-brainer, for all the reasons Joan mentions. When my own family is in the midst of interpersonal conflict and we suddenly find ourselves thrust into public, there's an automatic tendency to "act natural." Amazingly, after socializing with others, we ourselves find we've forgotten or at least forgiven the family for the slights. I assume that a smooth convention with the Clintons and the Obamas together may serve to ameliorate the relationship.

As for HRC for VP, I just don't see how it could work in terms of personality. I honestly think BC shows way too much bitterness for a healthy working relationship. It's like he's jumped the shark. I can only say that I feel for him. I think much of the baggage against him is unjustified, but a niggling idea stays with me: this kind of "misunderstanding" seems to follow him. Even if I genuinely think he's a victim of an overzealous press (AGAIN), I can't help but worry that whatever he does to get himself into that position isn't going away soon. That's no good for an Obama presidency.

OK, sorry for the name-calling, but, really, you're all missing the point. Joan, when you say...

I'm not sure demonizing the Clintons as racist was necessary to elect Barack Obama, or to turn back Hillary Clinton.

there's an underlying assumption that (1) it was the Obama camp that did the demonizing and (2) that this was calculated strategy.

I'm disappointed you aren't accurately fingering the culprit, which is the press, who went orgasmic over the Clintons as racist. Many, many of us Obama supporters defended Clinton on these charges, at least at the beginning, mostly because most of us were diehard (Bill) Clinton fans in the nineties. The rest of your paragraph attests to the reason that the Obama camp did not want race injected into the campaign for any reason:

Maybe it will turn out that it was. But it came at a huge cost, one that is still being paid, as you can see in polls showing Obama has less support from self-stated Democrats than the apostate John McCain has from Republicans.

It has been crystal clear to me all along that Obama had only to lose when race was brought up, even slyly, even supposedly to be defended against racism. The unexpected results in NH, where the so-called Bradley Effect was pushed by the media was among the first instances where he had to step out of his preferred "post-racial" position, and the "shuck and jive" comments by BC, followed by the Jesse Jackson and other stuff, all did nothing but harm Obama. HE HAD NOTHING TO GAIN. Many of us have been screaming this all along.

The media love this story, and you are part of it. This particular column of yours will get hundreds of responses, and the cable programs are no different. Pushing the Clintons-as- racist meme is sexy and unexpected and ripe with potential (an exploding, pink-faced Bill?) I have sympathy for him. I don't believe he is racist, although I think the Clintons are capable of using race (as any other demographic) in the game of realpolitik. My take is that the comments were innocent at the beginning but the whole storyline took on a life of its own and each camp adjusted, flexibly, to each new charge and media blast.

I have great sympathy for Bill Clinton, whose image has been tarnished yet again for something that was just out of his grasp in terms of responsibility. By that I mean, he wasn't entirely in control of the consequences that rocked his world after making a move that indeed was in his control. By now he should know that he is a giant in the media whose every move and word is magnified for all.

I genuinely feel bad for him, but his frustration at the charges and his desire to right the perception has him making things worse. It was pure tragedy, seeing him protest, "I am not a racist." Surely I am not the only one who thought of Nixon, hang-dog defensive, proclaiming, "I am not a crook."