Just a few thoughts on the eve of Barack Obama's inauguration.

During the campaign, I can't remember how many times I heard everybody, not just the candidate, talk about how, "It's not about race." In this enlightened day and age, we're supposed to see everybody as the same shade of brown, regardless of their ancestry. But what was all the coverage about the day after the election? "OMG! We elected a black president! Eleventy!!!!11!!!1!" And it's still going on today. Every other interview on the news is about how people want to watch this historic event. Isn't every inauguration historic? But this one is EXTRA special because it's a black guy. And yet it still isn't about race.

In a similar vein, we weren't ever suppose to refer to Obama's middle name. We couldn't utter the name Hussein because to do so meant that you were claiming the man is Muslim. I even remember one clip from the Mark Davis radio show that referred to a man who was visited by the Secret Service when he used Obama's full name at a rally. But since the election, I've heard on more than one occasion, "We elected a guy whose middle name is Hussein! Zoinks!"

So is it about race, or isn't it? Are we allowed to use the man's full name or not? Why is it not okay while he's running, but is suddenly okay because he won? Are we going to have to forget his full name in four years when he runs for re-election? If he runs for re-election and loses, will it be because America has suddenly become racist again?