“White America tends to see some black people as white. Its [sic] an escape hatch for racism that prevents the racist from seeing himself as racist. Barack Obama is one of those black people.”

That’s a reader response to a New York Times piece in the wake of the Obamamania of late. It’s the kind of thing that leaves me numb to the notion that Mr. Obama would be a good president by being some symbol of unity. Rooted in emotional needs, oppositional politics can be impervious to experience. This includes shoring up an exaggerated vision of racism and its significance — including when one is white. Nothing Mr. Obama was, did, or said could reach these people.