… Research by a Brown University political scientist, Michael Tesler, shows that the mere mention of Mr. Obama, the first African-American president, polarizes the public along racial lines on issues ranging from health care to how people feel about his dog, Bo.
The Ferguson controversy may end up being as divisive as the Trayvon Martin case and the arrest of the Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates – two racially charged controversies that became more prominent and arguably more polarized after Mr. Obama addressed them. CONT.
Brendan Nyhan (Dartmouth), New York Times