When Democrats allege racial bias in conservative criticisms of the president, it makes Mr. Obama seem thin-skinned, like a petulant Black seeking affirmative action in his press coverage.

 When Republicans use race-inflected messages to attack Democratic policies, and the president himself, they potentially appear all the more extremist, like a desperate opposition party whose rhetoric grows shrill in proportion to its declining numbers.

 President Obama refuses to attribute any racial bias to his virulent immigration- and heathcare-reform critics.  Meanwhile, GOP Chair Michael Steele scolds the President for “playing the race card.”

Obama and Steele are ideologically and temperamentally worlds apart.  But the two party chiefs share canny similarities. Their race symbolizes a sense of inclusion and diversity, while their career ascent is predicated on a widespread perception: Neither has a racia