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I never expected Obama to come out as any kind of progressive candidate. In some areas, possibly. But first, he presented himself as the centrist candidate. You couldn't really miss it. Then he went and identified himself with Hillary, just in case you weren't paying attention.
Finally, let's set aside any no-more-racism bullshit. That's the new Santa claus myth of the national media---throw it in the same pile as "9/11 changed everything" and wash your hands afterward.
Minorities have always had to present as---yes---cleaner and more articulate than whites to achieve the same positions as whites. The president-elect has not escaped this dictum. Regardless of how Obama might act, there is simply no way America would let a black man near the White House who has not proven himself to be sufficiently respectful of all the "values" American liberals have ceded to the Right. And he's going to have to continue to prove that over and over as long as he stays there.
Bin Laden nailed it as usual with his extremely blunt language. I disagree with the general intent of his remark, but it holds a large grain of truth. Don't expect any kind of revolution from this president. If it turns out he uses the master's tools to take apart the master's house (in which he lives), he will have to be (and will have had to have been) extremely crafty.
