Will Wright Hurt Obama?

I think the short answer is "yes". For those (white) Americans who liked Obama simply because he was a non-threatening black man, it will hurt. Obama could not keep those voters through the general election, though--not because he is threatening to white people--but because sooner or later, someone was going to find something that resonated with those people and told them, "Well, he is a black person who has some awareness of the racial history of injustice and understands that it applies to him, after all."

Those people are not ready for a black President; any black President short of an Uncle Tom.
Even Clarence Thomas has this understanding; it's just that Thomas's response to it has been intensely perverse. For that matter, those people are not ready for a President who doesn't treat them like children or gulls.

So, let it rage now and pass. Some people--and I hope it includes some who were not already in Obama's camp--appreciate him and The Speech for what he and it represent: wisdom, grace, and maturity.