Last year, when Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama was fending off silliness about his not being black enough, I wrote that any lessons he might have missed about the black condition in his 46 years on this earth, he’d learn them by the time his campaign was over.

And boy, is he ever.

It seems that Obama’s lawmaking record, his platform, his stable family or his character -- the stuff that so many Americans claimed to care about after former president Bill Clinton got caught up in his peccadilloes -- won’t be dealmakers or deal-breakers when it comes to whether many white people will vote for him. They’d rather judge Obama by what a black person who isn’t running for president says.

Of course, I’m talking about the media feast being cooked up by Obama’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. During the past few weeks, the media has been gorging at that feast -- and feeding scraps of it to a public that doesn’t require much to be sated when it comes to confirming deep-seated fears about black people.

Even half-black ones like Obama.

This past week, Obama, whose poll numbers seem to sink each time Wright tries to express or explain black liberation theology or his "goddamn America" remarks, was forced to repudiate him.

Obama had to do that -- because if he didn’t, he’d never clear the way to talk about what he’ll do about gas or food prices or the war in Iraq. Even so, it looks as if he will still struggle to get his message out because the media -- led by Fox News bullies like Sean Hannity -- is bent on unraveling some angry-black-man mystery about Obama that they believe his association with Wright offers clues to.

They ain’t gonna let it go. And as much as I hate to say it, this turn of events doesn’t surprise me.

I’ve been black too long for that to happen.

When Obama first announced his candidacy, it was clear that he was going to be saddled with burdens that no other candidate would be saddled with -- the biggest one being that he was viewed as an enigma.

Because he didn’t have a civil rights pedigree, Obama first had to settle the question as to whether he was black enough to command the loyalty of black people who are the Democratic party’s most loyal supporters.

Then he had to deal with the confusion that comes from a society that tends to be schizophrenic and denial-ridden when it comes to race. He had to persuade people that the “rock star” label that the media decided to affix to him wasn’t an indicator of shallowness, that he was a Christian and not a Muslim, and that his articulateness wasn’t a tool for slickness, but one for inspiration.
 
No white person with Obama’s qualities would be treated as suspect simply because he or she could speak the King’s English.

Then came the "gotcha" -- in the form of Rev. Wright. And suddenly, nothing Obama says can diffuse the image of him being a closet revolutionary, as a black man who is waiting to unleash some radical, Wright-inspired agenda upon unsuspecting Americans.

Suddenly, he’s not as “safe” as some whites would like to believe. And sadly enough, when it comes to black people in this society, safe usually goes over better than strong.

Think about it. How many of us have been asked questions on job interviews that seem to be designed to gauge our propensity to comply, rather than to question or demand? How many of us get judged or questioned about our views on other outspoken or incendiary black people before being considered for roles in organizations that demand our assimilation?

It’s happened to me. As it is happening to Obama.

Of course, there are hopeful patterns here that can’t be ignored. Polls show that of college-educated whites, the ones who know a little about the black experience and who are capable of separating issues, the Wright controversy hasn’t impacted their view of Obama.

But to non-college educated whites, many of whom are bent on seeing all black people through stereotypical lenses -- i.e., we’re all angry and want something that we don’t deserve -- Obama’s past association with Wright just gives them an excuse to vote against him.

Throughout his candidacy, Obama has tried to represent what he calls the audacity of hope.

It’s too bad that now, that hope is being obscured by the politics of racial fears.