Race Fades to Black

Remember when Barack Obama wasn't black enough?

Judging by the worldwide celebrations, that no longer seems to be a problem. Judging by what journalists such as Juan Williams and Roland Martin and Bob Schieffer told me about the emotional jolt of realizing that an African American had made it to the highest office in the land, I'd say that is no longer an issue.

But I don't believe the cultural impact of an Obama administration has fully hit home. We are still in the euphoria stage. We are still processing the symbolism of a black president. We are still thinking about Theodore Roosevelt stirring a fuss by inviting Booker T. Washington to the White House in 1901. The reality has yet to come.

Michelle Obama's role, after two centuries of white first ladies, may rival that of her husband's when it comes to altering the way the majority views black families. So will the prospect of watching their very cute daughters grow up, though they should be shielded from unwanted media attention.

As for the president-elect, we're already heavily into transition speculation. Soon he will be making decisions on budgets and programs, and the coverage will shift to relations with Congress and the inevitable stutter-steps of incremental progress. And at some point, before we realize it, Barack Obama will be just another president.

And that will be a good thing. It will mean that we are treating him like any other politician. It will mean he is not being judged on some racial scale. It will mean we are viewing him like Tiger Woods, based on his swing and his results, and forgetting about the color of his skin.

His election does not eliminate racial prejudice in this country with a single stroke. Nor does it instantly improve the lot of many minorities. But it changes the way America views itself, somewhat to our collective surprise, and that is no small accomplishment.

Obama did not run as a racial candidate, in the manner of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, although occasionally he had to address race. A two-year campaign enabled America to get to know him and to judge him, against the competition, on the content of his character. He was right, though it brought accusations from the McCain campaign, that he does not look like the other presidents on dollar bills. But with a financial crisis looming, it's worth remembering that the color of those bills is green.

In the short term, at least, the country is feeling pretty good about itself:

"Barack Obama's election has inspired a wave of optimism about the future of race relations in the United States, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll taken the day after the first African American won the White House.

"Confidence that the nation will resolve its racial problems rose to a historic level. Two-thirds of Americans predict that relations between blacks and whites "will eventually be worked out" in the United States, by far the highest number since Gallup first asked the question in the midst of the civil rights struggle in 1963.

"Optimism jumped most among blacks. Five months ago, half of African Americans predicted the nation eventually would solve its racial problems. Now, two-thirds do."