@JLeslie – I don’t disagree that some people say he’s not black because he doesn’t fit black stereotypes, but of course to my way of thinking that is just as bad. In fact, I think we may be talking about the same people. People like you and I don’t really see colors first and individuals second, we see it the other way around. So, we know (and have seen) that there are plenty of stupid, lazy white people and plenty of articulate, highly educated blacks. Those who are stupid enough to believe the stereotype into which a guy like Obama would not fit are probably also the same ones who said in the campaign “I ain’t votin’ for no nigger,” because they saw him as B-L-A-C-K, and who NOW say, “well, he isn’t REALLY black because his mom was white.” THESE are the people who have traditionally felt that one drop of black paint in a bucket of white makes you black. I never harbored that sterotype. As for government classification, I think for most purposes there aren’t hard and fast rules (like those self identification forms you are asked to fill out anonymously when you apply for a job), but if you want to apply to a scholarship that is for a minority group, or some sort of protected classification, to give you some special rights (such as native Americans and casinos), various affirmative action preferences and what not, yes, I believe it is 1/8. But I’m saying Joe Sixpack (or perhaps Joe the Plumber is more accurate), would see a person with enough African heritage to have “black” features as being “black”, even if that is only a very small percentage of their makeup. Race is more about self-identity in this culture…in fact I was listening to this story several months back about this new genetic testing they can do to see where your ancestry hails from. This person, who considered herself at least 97% black, that’s what her parents were, that’s what their parents were, etc., had 0% African heritage…her ancestors were from the middle east but somewhere along the way they began to self identify as African in heritage. And re that 1/8, let’s say your great grandfather was a black man, but maybe, to borrow and flip a phrase from the racists, he had a slaveowner in the woodpile somewhere. Your Great Grandpappy wasn’t 100% black, but you thought he was, his kids though he was, and his grandkids thought he was, and you’re not going to get turned down for special preference on your application forms. Anyway, I’m sure there are some who like him who say ‘he’s not black’, but I’ve seen those who hate him show their hypocrisy first hand and flip from not liking him because he’s black to not acknowledging him as being black. Trust me, racists are stupid, consistency means NOTHING to them.