As the worm turns.

A poll out today in Massachusetts is disastrous for Governor Patrick. 56% percent disapproval of his job performance. A subset of that number: 56% of Blacks disapprove as well. I know little of why Patrick has sunk in his state. Still, the fact that both blacks and whites disapprove at the same rate I take as a good sign. It implies he is being rated on performance - as he should be. It also betrays the meme that black Americans are monolithic politically and universally defensive about other black Americans. Let's put that one to bed.

Rasmussen has Obama below 50% approval for the first time at 49%. His RCP average is 54.7%. Obama's downward trend has been on going for months now. I expect it to continue for a bit and land in the 40s by September and stay there for a while - baring a surprise outside event, of course.

When a President goes under 50% for a month or so the gloves tend to come off in the media. I find this to be true with either party. Questions about Bush were surfacing at this point in 2001. But after 9-11 the media gave him a pass for years and did not rescind the free pass until his Social Security and Shiavo debacles sank him numbers in 2005. Katrina did him in later that year.

Obama has embedded media outlets in MSNBC, NBC, and the New York Times, and to a lesser degree ABC. But they will not hesitate to go negative if Obama becomes unpopular. I have no doubt that much of the thus far Obama apologist media and blog-o-sphere will have a season of harsh questioning of Obama soon enough. It is way - WAY - past time for it.

Here's my concern. It must never take on the sick texture that the Obots threw at Clinton and Palin. Which is to say- it must not come from a place of bigotry. Some of it will - though none will own it. Conversely, false accusations of racism will certainly reemerge from some quarters. This must be fiercely slapped down. In the long run crying wolf promotes racism.

Because we have the history we have - the potential to lilt over into unacceptable ugliness will be present. I tried - and think I succeeded - in only discussing Obama's race on this blog within certain parameters: The media's and his use of it to shame or shun anyone who questioned him, to insist that many whites were voting for him because he was black and did not look past that one fact - his race was a bobble and this often unconscious attitude was condescending and gross - look we got ourselves a black president! - and less often to say that the advent of a non- white President does have symbolic and healing value. There was a time when I said honestly that the only thing I did like about Obama was his race.

I've thought for a while that Obama could land harder than most modern Presidents. All of whom went through nasty patches in the polls. This is mostly because he implied too much and was always going to be able to deliver too little. Hope's mean flip side is a sense of betrayal. Americans will suffer disappointment in their leaders, but not betrayal. Obama's brand of hope was over the top. It had no relationship to our real lives and a deep sense betrayal may well be "Obamahope's" natural evolution. It is already very evident on much of the Left and with many Independents.

I am still on conscientious white liberal at heart - that is to say that bringing the outsider to the table to give them a chance is still the goal.

(If the outsider is a female conservative - respect that - even when you disagree. It is no small feat to be a female Governor in this country.)

Something I learned last year that most women already know is this: White women have to give 200% without error to be given 70% credit. Black men in this country are too often either held to a lower standard or a higher standard than their analogous white counterparts. Neither is okay. Professor Gates was held to a lower standard the moment the charges were dismissed. Far to many poorer black men are held to a higher standard. As Obama gets into the meat of his presidency those of us critical of him must hold him to THE SAME standard as all we would any other President. Most people will. Some will not be able to get past an ugly cultural reflex that is still present.

When I taught the "bad" kids at a high school in the Valley I learned a lot about them and myself. I tripped over assumptions I did not know I had. Indeed, the institution itself carried these assumptions. "Bad" white kids were often seen as wayward and troubled. "Bad" black and brown kids were viewed as dangerous. This was not spoken, of course. But it was clear.

So as the worm turns on Obama I am going to take the good people of Massachusetts as my guide. Performance counts. Integrity counts. Character counts. Race does not.

With Obama I doubt I'll have a lack of things to criticize.