Also in that Washington Post-ABC News poll...

...was the question that I find most revealing but is often buried near the bottom:

10. Please tell me whether the following statement applies to President Obama, or not: He understands the problems of people like you.

Yes: 58
No: 40
No opinion: 2

I always thought that people really hear this question as, Does this guy look out for people like me?

In other words, in a world of scarce resources, will this guy protect me? Does he have my back? Can I trust him to make sure I don't get trampled in the scrum?

Most importantly, is he one of us? Or is he one of them?

(As a friend of mine once told me, it's all about fear.)

I think that's the only reason that George W. Bush still had the approval of about 30% of his fellow citizens even at the end of his presidency. (It couldn't possibly be because of his successes, foreign or domestic; there weren't any.) The only answer I can think of is that, at the end of the day, white Christians felt that W. was one of them and would always look out for them.

And Obama? I think that as time goes on, the more people will realize that he isn't the racist, Marxist Kenyan that the right has portrayed him to be. In fact, despite his funny name, Ivy League education, and community organizer background, Obama's really not that scary, actually.