Reading the opening of David Remnick’s book The Bridge
last night, I was struck by how small a role race has played in Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and time in office relative to what we might have expected a few years ago. His popular vote total in 2008 was very close to what the leading models forecast, and his approval trajectory in office is very similar to his predecessors. Obama’s status as the first black president has of course manifested itself in all sorts of ways, but the basic electoral mechanics of presidential voting and approval are operating seemingly unchanged. That normalcy is itself a triumph for our democracy.