Is Racism impacting Obama presidency?

While we would all like to be color blind, the reality is that President Obama is the first African American (or African and American in his case) to hold the nation's highest office. It is an achievement for a portion of our population as large as or perhaps larger than another young president, John F. Kennedy overcoming strong prejudice against both Catholics and the Irish nearly a half century earlier.

The issue being discussed in the media, social meetings, across kitchen tables in in living rooms across the nation more than most of us would like to admit. This past weekends mostly caucasian faces at the FOX encourged "tea party" rally in Washington DC has raised the issue of how much of an issue any racial divide in our country may be for the still new president (not yet 8 months in office) and how his programs are being received.



This link is to a story on NPR this morning;



http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112839248&sc=nl&cc=ph-20090915



Another aspect of the race issue lie in the open hatred in posters, slogans and e-mail exhanges about the new president equating him with Hitler, Stalin, referring to President Obama by his race and the rise of the "tree of liberty" slogan and movement.


The assuming that an African-American president would be more likely to support extend government supported services to illegal immigrants is also obvious in the rhetoric (including visual rhetoric) of those protesting.



How has this impacted votes in the actual Congress, the nature of the Town Hall Meetings, the bias in reporting of both and the overall perception of Obama as president?


Or, do you feel that this is a dated fear and no longer an issue in the United States?

Could it vary by geography? By age? By income level?