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I disagree. I remember back in the 70’s when Nixon resigned because of Watergate and all of us up in Massachusetts had “Don’t blame me. I’m from Massachusetts.” bumper stickers (referencing the fact that the only state to go for McGovern, the democrat, in 1972 was Massachusetts).

Concurrent with that, we had Gov. Sargent, a patrician Republican as our governor. These things are possible. However, what has to happen is that those who were motivated by novelty, pride or guilt have to have time to let those feelings subside so they can return to using more objective and rational evaluations of performance. Obama really is the national version of the statewide Patrick candidacy. Axelrod test drove the concept with Patrick and used the same bag of tricks and yes, phrases to get Obama elected to national office. Axelrod really is the Joseph Goebbels of the movement.

In the 80’s we had an innovative string of black mayors in many of America’s larger cities. The first really was Mayor Bradley in Los Angeles but he was different in that he was elected with widespread support and the black community really couldn’t lay claim to the idea that they “made him”. However, the wave that brought Harold Washington to Chicago, Marion Barry to DC, David Dinkens to New York and Wilson Goode to Philadelphia was different. These mayors were empowerment mayors that portended a real arrival of power by the black community...power they intended to use. At the same time, white guilt provided just enough to close the gap and allow the progressives to move away from patrician white men.

Everybody celebrated their progressive advancement. That is until Chicago’s projects got worse instead of better. New York’s trash became worse instead of better. Marion Barry’s exploits with women and drugs were video taped at seedy motels and broadcast worldwide and Mayor Goode dropped a bomb on the MOVE house and lit up a whole block of old homes in historic West Philadelphia.

Eventually, folks opened their eyes and returned to judging politicians on objective criteria. Of these four cities, only one, Philadelphia, can claim a black mayor today. This is largely because Mayor Street was the only high profile politician who could fill the void after the very likeable Ed Rendell became Governor. Street benefitted from the success that Rendell had running the city after the fiasco years of Wilson Goode. Today, Street is in real trouble as much of the advances Rendell brought backslide into the pre-Rendell era.

Washington DC’s Adrian Malik Fenty is an enigma really. He is the youngest mayor of DC being born in 1970. His father is Panamanian and African and his mother is Italian American which makes him at best, 1/4 black which means he is tan but not really black. That combined with his ages makes him more of a cosmopolitan candidate than a black candidate.

All this points out that like what was done in progressive cities in the 1980’s, we may see a similar pattern in the Governor’s office and the White House over the next few years. As the accomplishment of progressiveness losses its sheen, real criteria will return to the electorate’s decision making and candidates elected largely through affirmative action will once again suffer greatly.