equal opportunity

Back in March, Barack Obama gave, what I admit, was an excellent (but imperfect) speech on race relations, declaring that "working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds." The media then annointed him as the "post-racial" candidate. (By the way, I still have no working definition of "post-racial".) Then came this a few days ago from the Democrat's nominee at a Florida fundraiser:

Obama on GOP: "And did I mention he's black?"

This is disturbing on two levels: first, not surprisingly, Obama is trying to saddle both sides of this issue. While trying to speak to the heartland about moving beyond race, he attempts to take sole ownership of "the race factor" to a different audience.

Furthermore, it shows how the Republican Party of the past decade has failed to tailor a message of "equal opportunity" tethered to long-term prosperity to attract voters aged 18-30. Obama's elitist/futuristic rhetoric has attracted educated youth yearning for someone, or something, to look up to. I believe that most people of my generation have moved beyond, or have been ready to move beyond, the issue of race. Any thoughts on how the next conservative movement can attract and galvanize this generation, and the next generation, of young voters?

BOTTOM LINE: Obama's straddling of "race" shows more than his hypocrisy; it shows that those who are right-of-center need a brainstorming session on using "equal opportunity" to broaden our base.