Governor Dumb

Barack had a couple of tough weeks after his convention ended. He got a four point bounce from his convention, but McCain's bounce about doubled that, putting McCain into a small lead.

Mature Democrats would realize the numbers will be doing a lot of moving around over the next several weeks. Normal Democrats will blame rrrrrraaaaaaaccccccceeee!!!, their favorite demon, when things aren't going Barack's way.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius publicly considered the possibility that Sen. Barack Obama’s race might be a factor in this year’s presidential election during an appearance here Tuesday.

Of course it will be a factor.

“Have any of you noticed that Barack Obama is part African-American?” Sebelius asked in response to a question about why the election is so close. “That may be a factor. All the code language, all that doesn’t show up in the polls. And that may be a factor for some people.”

I suspect that race plays the same role for Barack that religion did for Romney, being a bald, Italian New Yorker did for Rudy, or being old does for McCain. People are biased.

The remark, delivered in the governor’s low key, folksy, out-from-behind-the-podium style, raised a couple chuckles but few eyebrows in the downtown Iowa City crowd, but Republicans took offense and responded in short order.

The impact of these biases can be minimized, or exaggerated, by the behavior of the candidate. Having partnerships with people like the Reverends Pfleger and Wright is the sort of thing that exacerbates concerns over whether one's otherness is a signal of a candidate whose views aren't mainstream.

“Governor Sebelius’s remarks in Iowa City today are hurtful and divisive at best,” said Republican Party of Iowa Executive Director Caleb Hunter in a press release. “With less than 50 days to go, Democrats will continue to try and change the focus away from the issues that will decide this election.”

One of the problems Democrats have is they've been sucking on the teet of the racial divide for so long that they can't separate fact from fiction any more.

The rest of Sebelius’ remarks in Iowa City stuck closely to the Obama campaign’s talking points.

The more Dems talk about race, the more Americans will grow concerned that being black might be Barack's most important attribute. In which case, race really will be a factor. Which is why Democrats with any brains never mention race.