[A]lthough everyone makes fun of political correctness, I'd argue that decades of pressure on public figures and the media have helped drive both overt and strongly implied racism out of our national discourse.

[. . .]

Unfortunately, the campaign against misogyny hasn't been equally successful.

By the way, it was during the heyday of the baby boom generation that crude racism became unacceptable. Mr. Obama, who has been dismissive of the boomers' "psychodrama," might want to give the generation that brought about this change, fought for civil rights and protested the Vietnam War a bit more credit.

[. . .]

Moreover, despite Hillary Clinton's gracious, eloquent concession speech, some of her supporters may yet refuse to support the Democratic nominee.

But if Mr. Obama does win, it will symbolize the great change that has taken place in America. Racial polarization used to be a dominating force in our politics -- but we're now a different, and better, country.

-Worked as a Community organizer
-Was Director of the Developing Communities Project
-Worked with low-income residents seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment
-Represented community organizers
-Worked with both Democrats & Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families over a 3 year period
-Pushed for an expansion of early childhood education after some inmates on death row had been found innocent
-Worked with law enforcement officials to require videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.
-Negotiated welfare reform
-Member of the Congressional Black Caucus
-Spoke before the national Press Club, defending the `New Deal' social welfare policies of F.D.R.
-Spoke out against the government indifference to growing economic class divisions, following Hurricane Katrina

As to racism and sexism in the U.S.? I believe that we have made tremendous strides. I also believe there is a large segment of this population that will not vote for Obama, not because he played the race card, not because the MSM loves him, nor because the DNC loves him, not because he's not Hillary, there will be millions voting against him because he's a Black man. That's it. And I'm sure that we could say the same thing, only in regards to gender, if Clinton were the nominee.