I’m a fan of Obama and am pleased he’s doing well. If nothing else, it’s pleasing to finally have a candidate in the race who’s thoughtful and intelligent. If the nation could elect Bush twice because they felt they could comfortably watch NASCAR with him, I’m glad that there’s a possibility that we might elect a president with whom I could watch The Wire.

That said, I loved Hitchens’ latest deflation of the national craze. The final sentence of the essay summarizes exquisitely:

The Iowa caucuses of 2008 were not the end of our long national nightmare about race, but another stage in our protracted national nightmare of piety, “uplift,” and deceptive optimistic windbaggery.

Ouch. It hurts because it’s true. Read the whole thing.