Paranoid. Schizophrenic. Obsessive. Compulsive. Those are words normally used to describe mental health disorders. But just last year they were used disparagingly to describe Illinois parents who wanted to be notified before their children underwent mental health screenings at school.

Barack Obama has a color identity problem. No, it's not the issue of whether he's racially black or white. It's whether he's as liberally blue as he appeared during the Democratic presidential primary, or whether he's a more American mainstream-tolerable shade of purple.