Going back to the original debate, I'd like to point out that, while all politicians are subjected to over-the-top attacks and that none of them should be beyond criticism, it's extraordinarily difficult to believe that some (not all) of the attacks on Obama (the birther movement moving into the mainstream, people whining about his name being foreign-sounding, etc.) aren't racial in nature. Does that mean that every single person who criticizes Obama is racist? Of course not. What is does mean is that his race has almost certainly influenced the perception a significant number of people hold of him, which should be viewed as a very, very bad thing regardless of whether or not you actually like the guy.