Obama Talks Race, Finally

Imagine having an African-American president who talks openly and bluntly about race in America and the experience of being black -- a president who explains what it's like to get on an elevator with a white woman or concedes the ease with which he could be shot dead in another life just because of the color of his skin. 

That's something a lot of us have been waiting to see. We've wanted to see Barack Obama address the raw realities of race in personal terms -- not deliver one of his finely crafted speeches on the topic, as did during the 2008 campaign.

And, today, on a broiling Friday afternoon in July -- hardly a peak news moment -- we finally saw it. 

This was pretty gripping television, and you can watch it here.