Who's Playing the "Race Card"?

The debate continues. Terry Neal, who was at the Washington Post when the two of us covered the 2000 campaign, has an interesting piece over at TheRoot.com accusing McCain and the Republicans of exploiting resentment of "uppity" African-Americans. Note: Before you assume you've heard this argument already, you should know that Neal declares unequivocally that McCain is not a racist and says Obama probably is "snobbish, arrogant and presumptuous" -- i.e., the dictionary definition of "uppity". Neal writes:

Is he? Probably, yes. Then again, what politician isn't a little bit of all three? It takes a special kind of gall to suggest that you should be the leader of the free world. John McCain, who has run for president twice, should know that as well as anyone.