The most under appreciated story emerging this week is that states with 90+% white voters have lifted Barack Obama to front runner status on the basis of his personality, campaign and message. In short, on the merits and nothing else. He’s not the front runner because he’s black. His race seems to be a complete irrelevency. This is a great thing for the country. That’s not to say that race isn’t an issue, but it does say something great about where we are.

There are people alive today who couldn’t eat or be educated in integrated communities. Now, one of their own is front runner to become president, largely because two of the more lilly white states in the Union have lifted his campaign to a new level.

Obama deserves as much credit as anyone for making race an irrelevant issue in this campaign. And the country as a whole should be grateful to him for FINALLY moving to the sidelines those so-called leaders whose every move was calculated around keeping race an issue. In addition to burying the Clinton’s, Obama is also taking out Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. What a great trifecta for America.

As for Hillary, she’s toast, as this clip demonstrates. She is behind and will have to attack, which will only turn off more people. Let me be clear, this is as much a repudiation of her husband as it is of Hillary. Bill has hurt her campaign and hurt it badly. At a visceral level, I don’t think people want this duo back as residents at the White House. It is Obama’s race to lose.

UPDATE: Today’s Herald nails it: “She’s so yesterday”. Howie piles on too: “Dems over the Hill