Listen, I am no Barack Obama fan.  He just hasn't proven to me that he is anything more than a talented orator.  Yesterday,  I saw a news report regarding some guy selling a Curious George shirt with Obama '08 written across the front.  The person stated he wasn't being racist but only that he thought Barack Obama and Curious George looked similar, "especially the ears and the hairline".  This is the ugly part of this Presidential race.  There are many people who aren't shy about expressing their beliefs about African Americans.  I'm not naive, I know many people feel this way, but it doesn't say much about the state of race relations in the U.S.

Unfortunately, this is a real problem for Obama.  It's why I believe that we still have a long way to go before this country will elect an African American as  President.  The Monkey Shirt crosses the line when it comes to this battle between Hillary and Barack.  It crosses the line because it has nothing to do with the real arguments being made about what should really matter in this country.  That being said, we can't ignore the fact that these feelings exist.  So, I guess the question is how much do we factor racism into Obama's ability to win? Or in other words, is it a legitmate argument to make that Obama can't win simply because he is African American?

I don't believe these issues of racism lie just with white americans, I know there are similar feelings in the Asian and Latino communities.  This is clearly evidenced when  you look at how those communities voted in the primaries.   Does this give John McCain an advantage?  I think it does.  I'm not happy about it, but to ignore the reality is to lose in November.  Maybe, as one friend recently told me, the Democrats should be willing to lose on this basis.

By the way, I understand the shirt was soldout.