Acknowledging that his presidential campaign has opened a racial debate,
Sen. Barack Obama, who has a white mother and an African father, says if you
look African-American, you are treated like one. Obama and his wife,
Michelle, who also addresses the race issue, appear in an interview with
Steve Kroft to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES, Sunday Feb. 11 (7:00-8:00 PM,
ET/PT) on the CBS television Network. If, as expected, Obama declares his
formal candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination tomorrow, it
will be his first interview to be broadcast after that event.

  When asked by Kroft if growing up in a white household had caused him to
make a decision to be black, Obama replies, "I'm not sure I decided it. I
think... if you look African American in this society, you're treated as an
African-American.Ó "It's interesting though, that now I feel very
comfortable and confident in terms of who I am and where I stake my ground.
But I notice that... I've become a focal point for a racial debate," says
Obama.

  Obama's wife also addresses the race issue when asked by Kroft whether she
fears for her husband's life as a black candidate. "I don't lose sleep over
it because the realities are that... as a black man... Barack can get shot
going to the gas station," says Michelle Obama. "You can't make decisions
based on fear and the possibility of what might happen."

This is Obama trying to inoculate himself from any criticism. The so-called
"racial debate" nonsense is just a little preview of what's to come. As long
as Obama keeps his race an issue, then he can use it as a shield from
criticism.

Be prepared. As long as Obama is running, his race will be made an issue.
Not by his opponents, but by himself.

--
Clinton's Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, was so sure Saddam had
stockpiles of WMD that he remained "absolutely convinced" of it even after
our failure to find them in the wake of the invasion in March 2003.