Video

It's been an undercurrent of Barack Obama's historic run for the White House. But in the past week , race has once again become a very open part of his presidential campaign. First there was Jesse Jackson's off-air remarks on Fox News about the Illinois Senator. SOUNDBITE: Reverend Jesse Jackson saying (English): "See, Barack been, um, talking down to black people on this faith base - I want to cut his n**s off. "Barack he's talking down to black people." Over the weekend, it was the satirical cover of the New Yorker magazine featuring a cartoon of Barack Obama in a turban and Michelle Obama with an afro, a machine gun, and combat boots that focused attention once again on Obama's position as America's first black presidential nominee. The Brookings Institution's Darrell West. SOUNDBITE: Darrell West, senior research fellow, the Brookings Institution, saying (English): "I think when you nominate someone from an unconventional background, you're going to inject a new kind of issue into the campaign. And so in having an African-American, race is going to enter." Obama's campaign in a statement called the New Yorker cover "tasteless and offensive."...a position reiterated by the McCain campaign. While the provocative cartoon - entitled "The Politics of Fear" may only have a limited shelf life in terms of news value, analysts say it underscores the difficulty that Obama has often faced in trying to be a transcendent political figure. SOUNDBITE: Darrell West, senior research fellow, the Brookings Institution, saying (English): "Obama wants to transcend race and religion but those issues keep coming back into the campaign because it's obvious he is different from other presidential candidates. Opponents sometimes interject that issue into the campaign and he's going to confront it. He cannot run away from who he is." But the issue of race is not going away. In a previously-scheduled speech Barack Obama - as well as presumptive Republican nominee John McCain - will address the black-focused NAACP's annual convention in Ohio...once again confronting an issue that never before has played such a prominent part in an American presidential campaign. Jon Decker, Reuters.