Brown man in the White house

It would be hard for a blog that is often about the politics of identity not to mention what is a momentous event in identity politics. On the face of it, a country with so many relatively high profile non-whites should be able to throw up a suitable candidate. But Barack Obama did not vote himself into office, so his accession is really about the people who did. And what they think they have done.

One question that is worth asking; why did the same electorate that chose a right wing Texan four years ago, suddenly switch to his polar opposite now? Was the election of the now unlamented George W. Bush an early indication that people wanted to break racial barriers?

Without intending to, people tend to view president elect Obama as a transformative character. Not from any known abilities, but purely through his existence. Indeed, much of the world also views him in this way. Given that what he says isn't that much different from any previous Ivy league liberal academic leader of the Democratic party, it might well be down to his "dual heritage". Especially the African part, of course.

Racism is strange that way. The human mind's inability to override the primal fear of the other, has caused quite a few hardships. That a mixed race guy is now deemed as a solution to a complex abstract problem, Americas loss of power and popularity, partly because he represents the joining of two races... maybe Freud could sort it out.

Feared one minute, leader of the free world the next - quite a journey, and all in the mind of white America. To be fair, Mr Obama didn't milk his "advantage". He did an excellent job in invigorating the Democratic base; McCain seemed unwilling to communicate with the Republican hardcore. It is unlikely the temporary increase in the youth vote will last - the world wide trend is against it. But the black community have seen the civil war finally end in Virginia, and that is permanent.

Any bridge building Mr Obama manages will be of his own making, not a melanin driven ability. There is no reason why he should not make an excellent U.S. President, and his campaign was certainly impressive - if tightly controlled and very high spending. But I don't think it will take long for America's enemies to work out that his skin colour and wider cultural experience does not drive his very American mind.