people or the white culture. >> and the lesson that barack obama has learned that truly everyone in america is watching has learned is an old one. you cannot dissipate conflict through a sheer act of will. no matter how rare and historic a political talent you are. history has a saying. the other side has a saying. the roiling, simmering id of american political consciousness will not quiet just because you speak in low term. blue states, red states, these may be, indeed, constructs of pundits that obscure the real human connections and affinities that us citizens have for each other. the right-wing uncle, the lesbian cousin we adore. but it is also equally true we are fighting with each other in this country because you disagree about what our past means and about what our future should mean. and there's nothing wrong with recognizing that and joining the battle. if there's one thing we've seen in the obama era, it's that even if you're not interested in