I love it...

By LEONARD PITTS JR.

Sen. Barack Obama was scheduled to address the National Association of Black Journalists, but he was late. A hum of conversation hung over the standing-room-only crowd waiting for him in a ballroom at Bally's Las Vegas.

Then, maybe 15 minutes after the appointed starting time, the would-be president was introduced. "I want to apologize for being a little bit late," he said. "But you guys keep on asking whether I'm black enough" -- and here he had to pause for the roar of laughter that ensued -- "so I figured I'd stroll in about 10 minutes after deadline."

As the laughter subsided, he murmured, "I've been holding that in my pocket for awhile."