Legal Commentary

While at AALS (sitting through rather familiar papers), I read Kenji Yoshino's Covering.  Reviews of the book abound -- and since I'm late to the party, I don't have much to add.  Except this: I think the book's insights about the demand to cover and the demand to "flaunt" one's non-white-male identity in public is perfectly on display in Hillary Clinton's campaign for the presidency.  She is required both to prove she is a "real" woman and that she is "manly" enough to take the job.  It is a hard position for her to navigate -- and does, perhaps, suggest that we still may have much to do in guaranteeing civil rights for women.  In light of the whole recent crying episode and its reception, it struck an even deeper chord. 

I'm wondering, though, is Obama is under a similar set of demands in light of his similarly non-white-male identity?  If he isn't, does that tell us anything?  And does their ascendency to head of the pack suggest that covering is pehaps too nuanced a worry for civil rights advocates?