YES, ANN, TALKING ABOUT RACE IS UGLY (INHERENTLY):  But ask yourself this:  Which side of this political debate is talking about race in a way that suggests that there is an “us” and a “them” that are inherently at odds?  And which side is talking out it in a way that suggests there should be no “us” versus “them”?

The reason the recently released Obama speech video has caused such an outcry is because it has shocked a lot of people (mostly independents) who, in good faith, believed the President would usher in a post-racial era of color blindness.  Not only have the President’s policies over the last 3.75 years failed to fulfill this “hope,” but the new video reveals a man who is far, far from color blindness and an ability to view all Americans equally.

If pointing this fact out is “ugly,” then we simply cannot criticize anything the President ever does or says on the issue of race.  That, to me, is a much greater ugliness, and a dangerous one at that.