Race, race, race — this is getting boring. The tedious term “playing the race card”, will not leave the media coverage surrounding the Democratic dialogue in the race for the nomination, even though Obama and Clinton unofficially called a truce back in January. Clinton supporter Geraldine Ferraro’s racially charged remarks were denounced this week by Senator Clinton after Mrs Ferraro announced she was resigning from her honorary position on Clinton’s campaign finance committee, but without revoking or regretting her remarks. In fact Ferraro pointed the finger back at the Barack camp, saying it was his campaign who were making a big deal out of her remarks and thus playing the race card.

Now, Obama’s pastor and mentor Revered Jeremiah Wright Jr., senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, is under the spotlight for making his own racially charged remarks in a recent sermon. As for the black man in question, Obama is publically attempting to hover above it all, telling reporters that he was puzzled at how, after more than a year of campaigning, race and s-x are at the forefront as never before.  “I don’t want to deny the role of race and gender in our society,” he said. “They’re there, and they’re powerful. But I don’t think it’s productive.”

Race has nothing to do with it: But to say that Obama got to where he is because of his race like saying that Halle Berry got to where she is because of hers. First, he is, without question, the best public speaker the Democratic Party has produced since John F. Kennedy. Second, he has shown an ability to remain cool and quick and very smart under pressure–his more recent performances in debates attest to that. Third, he is offering a less obnoxious sort of politics, an attempt to transcend the witless hyperpartisanship of the past twenty or so years while holding onto his basic principles. Obama’s age and sensibility–and talent–have a lot more to do with his success than his race. — Joe Klein, Time

Why were they investigating Spitzer?: The story emerging around the fall of Eliot Spitzer suggests that the case did not start with the report of a crime. Rather it started with a decision to look into Spitzer and his financial dealings. In the course of an open-ended investigation, information about a prostitution circle surfaced. That looks abusive. An investigation like that provides no basis to acquit Spitzer. But it suggests that when his case is done, the public should be pressing some tough questions about why this investigation was launched and pushed forward. — The New Republic

Washington’s still randy: One might expect D.C.’s top players to have cooled their libidos—still roiling from the Larry Craig embarrassment and the release of high-class “D.C. Madam” Deborah Palfrey’s little black book—but it turns out that Washington’s K Street is randier than ever. Home to many of the country’s top lobbying firms, the fabled PR power corridor is also the hub of a $250 million-a-year sex industry that provides Beltway bigwigs with “rub and tugs” at full-service massage parlors. Feds shuttered five such storefronts in August 2006, but they were soon back in business. On a recent Tuesday, we visited one such establishment—the 14K Spa at 1413 K Street—to scope out the scene. — Neel Shah, Radar Online

Psst! Ferraro was right: If Obama were white, he wouldn’t embody hopes of a post-racial future. Duh! That’s part of his appeal. It seems obvious. Why does Obama dispute it? Why isn’t Ferraro allowed to acknowledge it? Is it OK for Obama’s “face” to appeal to egghead Atlantic subscribers but not ordinary Wyoming caucusers? Or was Sullivan being “offensive”” and “ridiculous” too? — Micky Kaus, Slate

Ferraro insulted Democrats: To hear so-called progressive politicians such as Geraldine Ferraro complain that Obama is only ahead in the Democratic primary race because of his race, sounds to these ears like hearing news that cats have been found on the moon. You mean, somebody thinks being a black man with the name Barack Hussein Obama is a bigger advantage than being the wife of the most successful Democratic president since John F. Kennedy? Then Politico.com blogger Ben Smith on Tuesday highlighted a compelling nugget: Ferraro said the same thing back in 1988 about Jesse Jackson. And back then, her views were echoed by that great paragon of racial equality, Ronald Reagan.b– Eric Deggans, The Huffington Post

Obama’s pastor: The controversial pastor who inspired the title of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s autobiography has been videotaped invoking racial slurs while discussing Hillary Clinton.

In the video, available on YouTube, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, a fierce Obama supporter, delivers a sermon about how Clinton cannot relate to American black culture like Obama does. “Hillary ain’t never been called a [n-expletive]!” Wright fumes. — Townhall