i think people accuse one another of "playing the race card" because no one seems to be comfortable talking honestly about racial issues.

Examples of playing race card:
1) totally unwarranted "it's because I'm black, isn't it?"
2) accusing someone of playing the race card out of nowhere because you've got nothing else to work with

one of the few parts I liked about BiA was Whoopi's celeb interview [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnsMX-pIeug] where she says that we don't play the race card, but rather it is pinned to us - every day.

straight up. that's it in a nutshell.

so Barack was supposed to pretend that he's not brown the whole time that McCain and Co. are busy playing up the fact that he is?

whatev.

"so Barack was supposed to pretend that he’s not brown the whole time that McCain and Co. are busy playing up the fact that he is?"
Politically? Yes.
I'll use a baseball analogy.
A great hitter waits for the perfect pitch so he can knock the ball out the park. Obama, if he wanted to play the so-called "race card", could have waited a bit longer for the GOP to make some obvious racial statement and he would have had the folks who are wavering jump on his side ASAP.
Instead he's got a bunch of fools saying he played the race card now. Add to the fact that Ludacris called Hillary a bitch and the stuff about Mccain being in a wheelchair, not a good move for BO.

Don't people like Ludacris understand that they are hurting Barack's chances not helping? He has to know what a firestorm would happen when he dissed Hillary and made the statement about McCain being paralyzed!

I agree with the first three comments

In my life, I think people think I am 'playing the race card' any time I choose to bring up my race. That's funny since I go through all these mental contortions first as to whether or not it's necessary or worth it to even go there, and yes, all that stress is extremely annoying but you better do your mental workout *first* before opening your mouth with all that I'm-Black stuff because folk will slap your stuff down QUICK if they think youre using race as an excuse. Like when I have to contact Sephora (everyday) about some bonehead fake cop and/or idiot clerk, I first have to decide whether or not it's worth it to throw "Im Black" in there. Does my Blackness add to the context of my complaint (that I was followed around the store or asked for my ID?) Does this happen to everyone? I have to ask my*self* that question first before I go there and ask them. If I am reasonably comfortable believing it doesn't happen to everyone, I go there. (And no, BO is not playing the race card, imo. Race is the elephant in the living room– a subtext for many JM jabs.)

I said this in another post, I actually think McCain plays the age card more trying to depict Barack as young and inexperienced like Britney and Paris. I think Hillary folks played the race card more. IMO

The NY Times did a series on race a couple of years ago, and they failed IMO, but they did define how whites consider race. 'Race' apparently happens to them as soon as a person who isn't white walks into the room. They bring race with them. Before that happens, there is no 'race'.

With that in mind, I totally agree with Molecularshyness' point via Whoopi. Except the whatevs part. Resistance is not futile. The younger generations have significantly less racist perspectives than mine. Go youngs!

This was a pretty good strategy on McCain's part. HE dropped it at a time when people are associating BO with the likes of Luda and his misogyny and rap as a whole. And he beat him to the punch.

Agree with the first post - the fact of the matter is BO is brown and that is a factor. However if he stresses this the other side will say he is using race as an excuse -it is called white privilege done consciously or not.

I totally agree with Di-My-E: If you think about it, even Obama was reluctant to talk directly about race - he said, "they're saying I have a funny name and I don't look like the other presidents on the money." Race is this huge thing that most white people (and more than a few black people) are uncomfortable discussing, so if someone even glancingly brings it up, other people say "you played the race card," which really means, "Hey! I thought we had an understanding that race was off-limits because it's too hard to deal with, but you broke the rules! I can't say substantive stuff about race, so I am going to call you a divisive crybaby."

The race card accusation is something that used to deflect from the real issue at hand.
To me, the most important part of Obama's statement came prior to his statement about his appearance. Obama stated that the McCain campaign was trying to make America fear him (Obama). By painting Castro as an Obama supporter as well as questioning Obama's patriotism, McCain camp wants America to think of Obama as foreign or an outsider or even worse-a Communist!
By accusing Obama of playing the race card, McCain doesn't have to deal with all the crazy accusations his campaign has been lobbing at Obama. It's both a dismissive and foolish tactic.

Was it just me, or wasn't it McCain who actually played the race card by accusing Obama of playing it?

Obama isn't trying to "transcend" race. He's talked about his "race card" throughout the campaign. McCain saying he "played the race card" is a way for his campaign to tap into fears that Obama would only be a "black" president, not a president who can get us out of Iraq, give us universal health care and fix the economy. Even if race factors into people's support for him, there are other reasons to vote for Obama than the fact his dad is from Kenya.

Playing the race card is giving me a different measuring stick from others. For example, telling me I speak very well when I'm yet to hear someone say that to a white person is playing the race card.

I would not accuse you for playing the race card in the aforementioned scenario but don't expect me to say "thank you" for the back-handed compliment.