Jonathan Alter on Barack Obama:

"Opposition to him is not so much old-fashioned racism as fear of the 'other,' with the subtext not just our tortured racial history, but tangled views of class and patriotism."

Hmm. Maybe opposition to Obama is not so much any of the above as it is opposition to Obama's politics? Opposition to a policy program that calls for higher taxes to pay for bigger government, more regulation, and a less assertive foreign policy?

Nah, that couldn't be it.