Obama on Letterman: I Was Black Before the Election

President Barack Obama sat down with late night TV talk show host David Letterman on Monday, wrapping up a blitz of television appearances as he tries to build support for his top domestic priority, an ambitious health care overhaul plan. Obama, America's first black president, also had his most irreverent answer yet on the question of whether some of the reaction to his health care plan is driven at least partly by racism. "Was Jimmy Carter onto something ... was this unease or poor decorum rooted in racism, or is that just something to talk about?" Letterman asked. "First of all, I think it's important to realize that I was actually black before the election," Obama said to huge laughs from Letterman and the audience. See it by clicking on the pic.