The Race Factor: A Wash?

The 60 Minutes interview which aired last night on CBS reinforced a certain truth about Barack Obama – he’s no ordinary politician. Reporter Steve Kroft asked Obama about how his race impacts his campaign, and asked him to comment on those who will not vote for him because he is black.
This question isn’t necessarily a new one, and numerous media outlets have taken it further. The Associated Press/Yahoo News claims that Obama “could lose six percentage points on election day for being black.” Such studies are popular fodder, and we’ll no doubt be hearing more about them in the coming weeks. Following Kroft’s question on 60 Minutes, Obama could have done what most other politicians in his position would do. He could have agreed that, yes, he faces obstacles for his race and agreed that he would likely lose some votes over it. In short, Obama could have very easily played the victim, all while still giving some sort of lip service to the alleged wisdom of the American people.
But that’s the old Clinton-esque answer of a politician. Instead Obama was forthright and disarmingly honest. He stated quite eloquently that while he will lose some votes over it, he is likely to gain just as many for the same reason. Here’s the quote in full:

Well, look there is a historic aspect to this candidacy. There’s no doubt about it. We haven’t had an African-American nominee, much less president, before. So, you know, this is something new for America. But what I know is this: after the toughest primary in history, against one of the best fields in history, I emerged as the nominee. Going up against a very formidable Republican machine, and having been subject to constant attack and millions of dollars spent trying to scare people over the last two months, I’m still tied or in the lead with John McCain.
That tells me that the American people are good. That they are judging me on my ideas and my vision my values, and not my skin color. Now are there gonna be some people who don’t vote for me because I’m black? Of course. There are probably some African-Americans who are voting for me because I’m black. Or maybe others who are just inspired by the idea of breaking new ground. And so I think all that’s a wash.

Of course, he still needed to pay lip service to the alleged wisdom of the American people (which is largely overstated). But the important point here is that Obama rejected victimhood when it was offered to him on a plate. It’s a shame that such an act in politics is rare enough to be noteworthy.