Washington Post opinion columnist Eugene Robinson was online Tuesday, June 24 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss his recent columns and the latest news.

Discussion Group: Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood

The transcript follows.

Archive: Eugene Robinson discussion transcripts

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Eugene Robinson: Hello everyone, and welcome to our regular get-together. There's lots to talk about, as usual, but no one mega-story that's dominating the news cycle -- I guess it'll be more of a smorgasbord today. For reference, today's column is about Barack Obama and race as an election issue, or circumstance, or whatever it turns out to be. This past Friday, I wrote about Tiger Woods and his win at the U.S. Open -- on one leg. What have you been thinking about?

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Bethesda, Md.: Mr. Robinson, thank you for your column today. It is sort of sad that Obama has to play up his white mother and grandparents in order to appease lingering white racism in this country. Seriously, how white does a black man have to be to not be considered alien or unacceptable?

Eugene Robinson: Thanks, but I don't know if you really can say that Obama is "playing up" his mother's side of the family -- that's part of who he is. He was basically raised by his mother and his grandparents. Is there a political impact, especially on white voters? I don't know, but maybe we'll be able to draw some conclusions later in the election cycle.

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Riverside, Calif.: What is your opinion of Sen. Obama's opting out of the government election campaign funds? Do you think this represents a "winning at all cost" direction? Thank you.

Eugene Robinson: I think Obama's decision to opt out of using public funds was inevitable, given his proven ability to raise vast sums of money. The decision was obviously (to me) a matter of expediency, not principle -- but politically it was obviously the right thing to do. I don't see how anyone could surrender willingly the kind of financial advantage Obama is likely to enjoy.

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Racial Bias Study: Mr. Robinson, wonderful piece today, especially the concluding sentence ... what a sentiment! I wanted to ask you about the recent study that found 3 out of 10 Americans report a racial bias. First off, what constitutes racial bias? Not having acquaintances of another race? Locking your doors and rolling up your windows when driving through bad neighborhood? Racial bias can represent so many behaviors that might not have race at its source. I understand that the point of the study was to show that racial bias still does indeed exist in this country, and ostensibly, how that affects the upcoming presidential race, but who is naive enough to think that racial bias doesn't exist?

Eugene Robinson: Good question -- but of course in a survey like this one there's no way to spell out all the attitudes and behaviors that constitute an agreed definition of "racial bias." It has to be in the eye of the beholder, or the respondent -- which means a certain inevitable vagueness. I think, though, that even with the inherent imprecision, it's possible to chart trends over time. What would the answers have been 60 years ago?

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New York: Do you see Obama's framing everything through the prism of race a winning strategy? There is a recurring theme by many Obama supporters and media -- even by Obama -- that states or suggests that opposition to Obama must be racist and that short of that everyone would support him. Personally I find this offensive and while it might win some immediate confrontations and put his opposition on the defense, I cannot see how this won't be a damaging and losing strategy in the long run. Can "white guilt" and fear of being called racist build a winning coalition?

Eugene Robinson: I don't know what you're talking about. Who said it was racist not to support Obama? There were editorials in just about all the major papers slamming him for his decision not to take public campaign funds, for example, and there wasn't anything racist about the criticism. Nor is it racist to disagree with him on the war, or to say he doesn't have enough experience, or whatever. Right?

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Baltimore: Thank you for taking my question. You wrote "Obama made what can only be described as a preemptive strike" when he said that the GOP is: "going to try to make you afraid of me. 'He's young and inexperienced, and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black?' " I disagree. There's another way to describe this: "dealing the Race Card from the bottom of the deck."

No one in the McCain campaign, no conservative 527, no prominent conservative columnist or blogger has made an issue of Obama's race -- yet Obama assures us that Republicans are racists. Essentially he's telling us that any attack on him or his wife is coded racist language. In other words, if you don't vote for Obama, you're a racist. That's a better explanation of his statement.

Eugene Robinson: See my previous response -- and let me add that of course it's possible to attack Obama, or even his wife, without being racist. But coded racist language does exist. I hope it's not employed.

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Strong, Black Women: Do you think all of the fuss over Michelle Obama has more to do with the fact that she is a strong, black woman who doesn't play second fiddle to her husband like most first ladies and potential first ladies are suppose to? Do you think most Americans just haven't been exposed to a black woman like Michelle outside of what you see on TV and movies, and just aren't use to seeing it? As a black man, I actually find her candor refreshing, down to earth and real.

Eugene Robinson: An interesting and provocative question. I don't have the time or space right now to try to work out my thoughts about how black women are perceived in American culture. I do recall, though, the furor about Hillary Clinton -- a strong, white woman -- when she suggested long ago that she didn't want to sit home and bake cookies. So it's possible that the bigger factor is the way this society sees strong, capable women in general. But I'll give your question some thought.

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Alexandria, Va.: I ask this question as a white person who seriously wants to understand. You mention that Senator Obama considers himself African American. He also attended, for many years, a predominantly black church whose leader does not speak kindly of whites. Yet Obama was raised by his white mother as a single parent. So why does Obama identify more with being black than with being white? It would seem that with a single white mother, Obama would have just as much exposure to his white roots as his black. So why does he consider himself more black than white?

Eugene Robinson: In his first book, Obama wrote about these questions of identity. My short answer is that society thought of him as black.

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Los Angeles: Thank you for providing these forums. I'm an Obama supporter, though I find my support getting a bit shaky since he backed off his pledge to use public financing for the GE. I get that it's a strategic decision, but his videotaped explanation was disingenuous at best. And, since he would've been able to spend donations received during the primary season until the convention, why risk the blow back? I also see more and more stagecraft in his campaign, which I find disturbing. His most recent town hall meeting shows him speaking to all white females, clearly a deliberate move on his campaign. He has turned into a conventional politician whereas many of us supported him for his unconventional persona. Your thoughts?

Eugene Robinson: His explanation sounded disingenuous to me -- but as I said earlier, I think it was the correct thing to do, at least politically. Part of the narrative of the Democratic primary battle was that the party wanted a candidate who wouldn't back down from the Republicans -- who wouldn't be bullied. Agreeing to take public funds -- and surrender a potentially huge financial advantage -- would have been a gift to John McCain. It just wasn't going to happen.

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Columbus: Recently in a number of forums, including a recent New York Times campaign blog as well as yesterday's Politics chat at washingtonpost.com, it was suggested that Obama 'chose' his racial identity.

As someone of mixed ethnicity myself, I find the notion both simplistic and preposterous. But I do think it reflects a certain difficulty among the mainstream media, and society in general, to discuss the idea of mixed ethnicity. What are your thoughts, particularly having just written about Tiger Woods?

Eugene Robinson: Remember that as recently as 1967, interracial marriage was illegal in many states. I think a nation that long has seen race as a black/white issue has yet to fully come to terms with a growing cohort of biracial Americans.

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Anonymous: I have a question Mr. Robinson. In today's column you point to a survey that shows three out of 10 people have "some feelings of racial prejudice." That number may very well be correct, but without more of a breakdown of the numbers it is misleading at best, because it is assumed the three out of ten are white. You pointed out that eight out of ten whites have black friends, but how about more of a breakdown -- i.e. blacks toward whites, whites toward Latinos, blacks toward Latinos?

As a 58-year-old white male, you and I grew up through the same time in American history -- and though not perfect, today is dramatically different from the '50s and '60s. My gut feeling is that it's a less percentage of white to black and black to white prejudice and more black and white prejudice toward Latino, given that illegal immigration has become such a big issue recently. Your comment or feelings on this?

Eugene Robinson: The poll didn't really shed any light on attitudes toward Latinos, at least as I read the data. There was a question asking what issues are most important, though, and immigration has fallen way down the list behind the economy, the war and quite a few others.

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Arlington, Va.: Another day, another fatuous comment from James Dobson -- how Barack Obama is distorting the Bible. Dobson said that the coming of Jesus negated all the pesky dietary and clothing rules in Leviticus. So, does that mean that Dobson is now "cool" with homosexuality? Frankly, how do you keep your head exploding after hearing this twaddle?

Eugene Robinson: If fatuous twaddle made my head explode, I'd be nothing more than splatter at this point. I think we all should just pray for the Rev. Dobson.

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Rockville, Md.: Mr. Robinson, It is sad that we do not agree on more topics, but I liked your comments on Tiger Woods and think the best part of many Sundays was to watch him smile after a good shot. My wife and I will miss that. Best wishes.

Eugene Robinson: Thanks. Tiger will be back next year. In the meantime, maybe somebody else will step up and give us a reason to watch golf.

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San Diego: With the very middle class, white, upbringing depicted in the Obama biographical ad, why did he choose a black church that was so far removed from the mainstream? Who is the real Barrack? The man with Kansas values or the man with Trinity Church of Christ values? There is a disconnect that needs to be explained.

Eugene Robinson: White and black are both essential elements of the American mainstream. Without either, there would be no America as we know it.

And with that, my time is up. Thanks for dropping by, and see you again next week.

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