SHELBY STEELE: Obama’s Unspoken Re-Election Edge: This presidency flatters America to a degree that no white Republican can hope to match. “There have really always been two Barack Obamas: the mortal man and the cultural icon. If the actual man is distinctly ordinary, even a little flat and humorless, the cultural icon is quite extraordinary. The problem for Republicans is that they must run against both the man and the myth. In 2008, few knew the man and Republicans were walloped by the myth. Today the man is much clearer, and yet the myth remains compelling.” See, I think that effect is much weaker the second time around. Much, much weaker. On the other hand, Shelby Steele is a lot smarter than me.

UPDATE: Reader George Lukes emails: “What Mr. Steele is missing is the ‘Been there, done that, got the T-shirt’ attitude of modern Americans. They’ve already proved they’re not racists by voting for a black man in 2008. Why do they need to do it again?”

Yes, I think that’s how it plays now.