Silver Linings, 3

Obama’s election shuffles up the politics of race not only in the obvious ways but in subtle ways. He got to the Presidency without moving through the post-civil rights black establishment – witness the tense relationship he had with Jesse Jackson. He got to the Presidency without playing the victimhood-and-entitlement game that the black establishment has plied for several decades. That’s a good thing.

Obama’s election also highlights one of the most important social developments of the past half-century, the rise of a black middle and professional class that is part of the fabric of American life, a development that has risen to the top of the top.