@wookielover: Reread my post. That's exactly what I said.

@noelegy: Language is fluid. The meanings of words change as their use in pop culture changes. Going to a dictionary to debate semantics is not all that weighty.

@DebraHamel: Again, I repeat: Obama calling McCain "John" is not the same thing as McCain calling Obama "that one." It's apples to oranges. Obama was surely using "John" as a way to casualize the conversation, while "that one" places Obama in the realm of "the Other" and that's dangerous. And it's ridiculous to think that anyone would call McCain a racist for simply calling Obama "Barack." That's the most insane thing I've heard all day.

Obama calling McCain "John" is nothing like McCain calling Obama "that one." Whether McCain meant his comment as dismissive or racist, I don't know, but my father was born the same year as McCain and you better believe the context of McCain's adolescence doesn't exclude the possibility of the man disliking the color of Obama's skin.

No matter how far he moves and how good he is, there's an element of social conditioning present that he'll probably always struggle with. It's something my father struggles with, as well, and he's not intentionally racist, either.

But he does sometimes still think of the world as "us" versus "them," and even a small remark like "that one" can show us some precious insight into the place where McCain comes from. Sometimes it's the unintentional things, the stuff that seems like it was just a throwaway line, that can reveal a whole different kind of truth.

It's the unintentional stuff we should be worried about.