Call Him Black, Negro Or Light Skinned ... Just Call Him Leader

"I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived," Blagojevich said.  "I saw it all growing up."

Reid and Rod have apologized, but they had already said what they believe and used specific words to express themselves.

But should they have apologized for telling the truth as they see it?

If you believe two  polished, experienced public speakers misspoke and simply couldn't find the words to express themselves, then you're dumb and obtuse. Both said what they believed and in the way they believe it ... with a bit of drama and hyperbole and anachronistic attitudes tossed in. But what they said was real - to them.

But as African Americans know, the color of a black person's skin easily - and historically - can have very little or absolutely nothing to do with their attitude and sensibilities toward their race, their own being and their place in the world. Black skin speaks to the amount of melanin in your skin, your genealogical  background but not necessarily your outlook and life experience.

But here's what I know: The same guy who has been the subject of unflattering racial characterizations is the same history-making guy who, in his first year in office, has done better than President Lyndon Johnson in winning congressional votes on issues where Obama took a clear position.

The Congressional Quarterly gives Obama a higher mark than any president since it began scoring presidential success rates in Congress 50 plus years ago. Consider that record unemployment, Afghan and Iraqi wars, an economy in the toilet and healthcare reform drama have dogged Obama from Day One. Nevertheless, when you look at the votes of 2009 in which he clearly stated his position, this light-skinned Negro's success rate was unprecedented at 96.7% on all the votes where he marked a clear position in the House and the Senate.

The previous highs were held by Lyndon Johnson (93%) and Dwight Eisenhower (89%). George W. Bush's managed in the high 80s in 2001, the year of 9/11.

So ... call him whatever. Just call him a history-making president who's acting like one just when we need a president to make history.