Over the years Rev. Jesse Jackson's largely effective---albeit ethnically tailored--- protest politics had far-reaching impact on a sectarian level however, and his self-styled "Black leadership" had elevated the political aura of his persona to near legitimate dimensions in American politics. Nonetheless, lately his prominence had considerably receded from the national media headlines since the presidential politics ushered Barack Obama onto the national stage. Hence in the foregoing context, then, the recent headline-making epithets tagged on Obama by Jackson seem to have achieved just what they clearly were intended to accomplish: the elevation of Jackson into the limelight once again for the sole purpose of reducing Obama to narrow black nationalist politics Jackson has long consigned himself to. In that kind of politics he has thrived and gained some measure of national recognition as a black leader. But the emergence of Obama as a legitimate major-party presidential candidate in mainstream American politics has essentially scuttled from Jackson, what the Reverend never acually acquired: mainstream legitimacy. Thus we have'nt seen the last of Jackson's controversies against Obama designed to ingratiate himself with the black community at Obama's expense. Never mind that he has apologized or purports to.

Although a full-fledged reconciliation between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton remains in progress, and their normal relations could well be restored in short order, quiete a huge segment of Hillary's supporters ( women especially ) remain adamant that they would vote for McCain or stay home rather than vote for Obama.

Since Hillary and Obama converge almost indistinguishably on policy and ideology it makes one wonder why these women would vote for McCain whose policy prescriptions and ideological orientation fly in the face of what would even remotely be an acceptable compromise to Hillary under the most relaxed of conditionalities and in her most receptive moods. It then becomes unequivocally clear that since these women don't seem concerned one bit about huge policy differences between Hillary and McCain, what drives them, quite unmistakably, are racial motives they seem to harbor and have internalized them to the extent as to regard the preclusion of a vote for Obama a foregone conclusion. To these women true Democrats should state without any equivocation that racism has no place in the Democratic Party, period.