Owllwoman ever ride as a passenger in a car with one of your friends and you enter a black area. You may still be carrying on a conversation but you notice your friend hit the door locks. I  have seen this many times  and I am sure you have too. Maybe you have done it yourself.

Be honest, have you ever seen it or have you done it yourself. If so this is the behavior of a typical white person. So please spare me your indignation.

that taken by itself "typical white person" is an unfortunate phrase.

But it is only through ignoring the message of what Obama was saying that the hurtful implications of that phrase can be seen.

It requires special pleading to claim that this reflects what Obama feels, especially since you have to ignore everything else he was saying in that response.

It isn't Obama who is dividing us--It is his critics who are consciously and cynically distorting his message to play upon our nation's racial tensions.

I would never advise a politician or any individual to use the word "typical" followed by an ethnic group/religious affiliation/skin color/nationality/gender/or sexual orientation.

There really is no such thing as a typical woman, typical gay, typical Latino, typical Catholic, or a typical Asian. I know our minds compartmentalize this way, but I'd highly suggest avoiding such langauge. Besides, it's not smart politics for Obama (not that I think he said it this way on purpose mind you) as it will only fuel wingnut fires.

...rather than nitpick the on-the-fly choice of a single word.