The long view on this is that, although Obama has refrained from campaigning as the BLACK Candidate, that's how the media has treated him (remember the guy in one of the first debates who shouted out for the moderator to quit focusing on race?) and that's how the Clintons treat him.

This has backfired, and will continue to do so as long as OTHER people keep making the race about race. Obama winds up looking like the candidate for everybody, and Clinton looks like somebody with an unhealthy focus on race. I'm afraid that's how Ferraro comes off, and Hillary got some of it on her.

I don't know if Obama would be doing as well if he were white. The Clintons wouldn't have had the opportunity to make the fight about race and alienated quite a number of people. The Jesse Jackson comment pissed people off because Clinton used him because he's black, he was the Black Candidate. With that comparison, Clinton showed race was what he cared about. It was the political version of 'some of my best friends are...'

When you think about whether race is a factor in this primary fight, think about who drew first blood, and you can't find Obama at fault.