Offhand

I get the impression that Obama thinks he's sort of a Jackie Robinson character in American history, because he's a First Black Something.  That he might actually be a Tom Yawkey, impeding progress because of his prejudices, does not seem to occur to him.

Well, I don't know what occurs to him, so that's not quite fair.  His statements suggest an amazing narcissism, but I suspect I'm really thinking about his supporters' attitudes and projecting those onto him.  But there you have it:  it would never occur to anyone to switch races in that myth.  Obama has to be the black guy because he's a black guy, deeper analogies be damned.