Another way to look at it is that America is racist, at least in the sense that Americans learn to be aware of racial categories. No broad social phenomenon can be independent of that fact.

There’s also the issue of “race” as a historical process (as you alluded to)– America was broadly and officially racist until just 40-60 years ago. During that period, the “races” were forcibly separated. Now that “we” (by which I mean, the dominant groups in society) have abandoned that ideology, we are still dealing with the process of integration. When people complain about reverse racism, I think one of three things about them: they are playing the race card for personal advantage, they fetishize anti-racial ideals and ignore the historical process de-racializing America, or they are trying to whip up racial resentment for political advantage. I attribute that last (damnable) motive to the likes of Limbaugh and Buchanan–and many others.

Finally, as you point out, there’s that false ideal of what elections are about — elections are not about personal merit, they are about the group. They are fundamentally about group identity, whether that identity be based on nationality, party affiliation, locality, ideology, or ethnicity. Group identity is intimately tied up with symbolism. Furthermore, the voters don’t really “decide” who will be President, they just make collection of symbolic acts (such as marking a ballot).

Voting in fundamentally a symbolic act, so we would be wiser to vote based on considerations of “how will this be perceived” rather than viewing our vote as the path to making a (poorly informed) decision about who is the best person for “the job”.

As I wrote at the time: Symbolism for President!

Olbermann has proven himself not be the reincarnation of Edward R. Murrow; maybe Edward R. Murrow’s sock puppet.

Both of these guys get paid to delegitimize political enemies, and we are informed by their collective entertainment that American political legitimacy is a struggle to the death between subversive socialists and subversive racists. Hooray for Democracy. Give them each a megaphone, they are allies of radical libertarianism.

Don’t misconstrue the fact of the 50% bad comedy and 50% bad drama that each bring to the table with a 50% right narrative. It’s a 100% wrong farce.