My letter is probably full of typos but I haven't time to check. Meaning matters more.

Joan, I can see that the Obamamaniacs have finally gotten to you. Obama used the race card. Period. And your attempt to give him a pass will not make them not attack you. As far as they are concerned, you were a Hillary supporter (though they have no evidence for that), and as such a fair game to be insulted and villified whether you write a pro-Obama or neutral article!

I am black, and I don't see any racism or tones of that in McCain's ad. What I saw was McCain making fun of Obama : that like Britney and Paris, Obama is famous for being famous, and not for having done anything to earn that status. In short, a media creation á la American Idol and the two ladies featured in the ad.

That even those comedians scared stiff of making fun of Obama are now using the ad to make fun of him shows McCain and the GOP have succeeded in defining Obama, as they did with Kerry and Gore. That's not good, and should get the Obama camp worried; because if the voters start to laugh at Obama as they do Britney and Paris (everytime they see Obama or an image of him, they would see these two), he's toast! If I were Obama's campaign, to dispell that image, I would have him engage McCain in some serious town hall-style debates between now and the election.

Racism is too serious an issue that deserves much more serious debates and discussions than talking heads spewing partisan opinions. My fear is, by directly or indirectly playing the race cards for personal political gains, Obama, Rachel Maddows and the Keith Olbermanns of this world are doing a great disservice to the victims of real racism and belittling their terrible experiences.

As for the race card, Obama has a history of using it to boost his campaign or whenever he's challenged or criticized by his opponents, as he did in the primaries against the Clinton to win AA support. With the help of the media and the likes of Keith Olbermann, of course. Unless he's bought into hos own game, he should know that general elections are not primaries or caucuses and attempt at using the race card would backfire. People have caught on to his game, as such crying wolf will not work this time around.

When the Republicans call Obama arrogant they are using a euphemism for the word used in the past: uppity. And that is the subliminal message for focusing on arrogant. And it is racist.

I listened and read his speaches during the primary campaign and he has played the race card the entire time. He is the only one who has brought up the fact that he is black. Sad but true.

Was debating with myself whether or not to post, since there have been about 100 letters, and the insults start at around 80 to 90...

But here is the thing: Obama was referring to race, no doubt about it. And he was absolutely correct: anybody remember the clown that introduced McCain during a rally earlier this year? The "Tiger Woods" comment he made?

And even though he was being flippant (but if it's part of your stump, it's no longer flippant), he should stop saying it if for no other reason than the reaction he ought to know is coming.

I gotta confess I've never read any of the juevenile fantasy fiction of Harry Potter, much less the magical tales of Emmet the Otter. Thank you for that insightful contributuion, I'm sure whatever it was, it will contribute greatly to the No Bama revolution.

to give the world the benefit of your wisdom. You're sort of like the Komodo Dragon the way you go on but actually you have no bite. You seem to be stalking me but I've no interest in that twaddle that you continue to foist on "the enemy". In those old black-and-white gangster films, James Cagney or someone like that would tell you to "Beat it". On the other hand, I must take the good advice to simply ignore you. You never deal with any facts because you don't have any so "Peace be to you" and "Adieu".

Anyone who doesn't think Obama's race isn't a major factor in this election isn't living in the real world. I hear it all the time - someone who thinks McCain's a zero (which he is) on top of his connections to the Bush disaster, but will probably have to grit their teeth to vote for a black man. Maybe in the more racially diverse big cities of America having a black president isn't such a big deal, but much of this country is rural and for many people quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) racist. I wish is wasn't so, but it is. IMO that's the only reason polls don't show this election to be a blowout for Obama. Electing Barack Obama president could possibly be the best thing that has happened to America on many different levels.

It's obvious that there are those on the right that have made Obama's race a factor. I haven't seen any smoking gun that John McCain has, and considering what I've learned about his character over the decades, he probably wouldn't.

It would have diffused the whole issue if Obama had made clear that the "they" he referred to were some opponents on the right - an obviously true statement - not John McCain himself.

I don't believe that McCain is a racist, but his campaign staff has walked too close to this issue in its references to 60's and 70's radicals with whom Obama and many of us have been, via several degrees of separation, associated.

Be sure to read Harry Potter versus Barack Obama, Dark Practitioner of the Black Arts. It's bound to be a best seller, especially with all of those sad, emotinally stunted adults who like junkie juevy fiction, especially those who like to coddle and encourage their inner infant terrible at any given oppurtunity.

Masalam Madame, and an AbaKadabRa good day to you too.