"I felt good about myself"

The five people who read this blog seem pretty smart, so maybe you all can explain this Washington Post op-ed from Sally Quinn about Obama. Quinn is a kind of queen of mainstream, inside-the-beltway political journalism, and statements like this represents that worldview in all its smallness and obliviousness:

I was reminded of [the time I went to Brazil 30 years ago and talked to someone who may or may not have been black] the other day watching Barack Obama. I realized that when I look at him, I don't see a person of color. I see a really smart, appealing, thoughtful person. There is something about his manner that seems to demand that he be seen for who he is and not for what color he is.

Apparently this is why Obama is doing so well, when the arbiters of political culture see him, they don't see a man of color, they see someone smart (and clean!). This resulting feeling by (white) establishment of noticing themselves noticing themselves not noticing his race makes them feel all warm inside. "Look at me not noticing this black man running for President isn't black". No, seriously, it goes on like that:

In every country, when people learned I was American, the questions were the same: Could a black man possibly be elected president of the United States? More important, would Americans actually elect someone like him to represent their country? In almost every case the reaction at the possibility was admiration.

What really worries Quinn is "who are [Obama's] people". She's okay with Hillary because she knows the bad boys she's bringing to the table, like Harold Ickes and Terry "I couldn't beat a drunken Grant" McAuliffe. And besides Hillary, we know who everyone else running might bring with them to Washington (obviously!). But just who will this smart PERSON Barak Obama bring, WHO ARE HIS PEOPLE?!?! Once we know we can decide....

This is all fairly ridiculous, but what is amazing to me is Quinn doesn't seem to think a column like this is unflattering to whatever cosmopolitian image of herself she is trying to present. There seems to be no real point to the entire piece than to say she's down with (well-spoken) black people, doesn't even notice they are black, but secretly (and still open-mindedly) worries about the kind of people this black person will take into power with him. Smush's statements make more sense than this.

I guess Quinn should feel good about not seeing Obama as a person of color, what with all the evil hippiedy-hoppiedy culture destroying our youth and our very best talk radio hosts. As AH pointed out to me the other day with the video below, they are even going back and destroying the greatest American movie of all time. What will we "normal" people do with this destruction of our cultural landmarks???

I personally won't vote for Obama till he goes through every Public Enemy song lyric and denounces it line by line. And when he tells us who is people are.