It was the same bus route on the University Ave this afternoon, and I had a gentle pat on my shoulder. "Are you a local," a girl who sat behind me asked and, learning that I was from Europe, went on with what sounded like a tinge of disbelief: "and you simply got on this bus?"
I am not sure she was referring to the fact that we were the only white people on the bus but it instantly made me recall a couple of articles about race that I had read this morning.
"'We just disagree' that race will be a factor in the election", Obama campaign spokesman Nick Shapiro is quoted by the USA Today.
Numbers published by the New York Times might account for this confidence: among Democratic delegates at the Denver convention, 23 per cent were black, almost double the national share of the black population. They were surely cheering the first African-American candidate on a major party ticket, but is this sentiment shared by those "bitter" white working-class Democratic voters?
Thus for all this professed confidence from the Obama campaign, race in this election still is what Donald Rumsfeld would call an "unknown unknown," along with some "known unknowns" such as Hillary Clinton supporters' vote and, to somewhat lesser extent, conservative vote.
That is why the Democrats might not be totally sincere about the race issue even if their candidate does everything to skirt it. They must know that while the country might have moved forward, ignoring race would be at their peril. But they might also feel somewhat helpless to foster enough "change" before November 4.
And that is why election surprises might be in store.
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