The NY Times is reporting that academics have officially recorded the supernatural effects of the Obamessiah.

Now researchers have documented what they call an Obama effect, showing that a performance gap between African-Americans and whites on a 20-question test administered before Mr. Obama’s nomination all but disappeared when the exam was administered after his acceptance speech and again after the presidential election.

The inspiring role model that Mr. Obama projected helped blacks overcome anxieties about racial stereotypes that had been shown, in earlier research, to lower the test-taking proficiency of African-Americans, the researchers conclude in a report summarizing their results.

“Obama is obviously inspirational, but we wondered whether he would contribute to an improvement in something as important as black test-taking,” said Ray Friedman, a management professor at Vanderbilt University, one of the study’s three authors. “We were skeptical that we would find any effect, but our results surprised us.” 

(Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/education/23gap.html?_r=1)

Oh ye doubters and people of little faith, know that the far reaching political grace of the One is real! So sayeth higher education!

All snark aside, the religious fervor surrounding this guy is astounding . . . and more than a little disconcerting. The study cited by the NY Times, I greatly suspect, will not hold up under repetition. But fear not, the academics will have a ready explanation for why the magic Obama effect has been mitigated to undetectable levels. These priests in the religion of Obama will say that it was Republicans and their demonization of Obama that quashed the Obama grace and dashed the spirits of African American students. And, the NY Times will be more than happy to cooperate with the academics by reporting in detail on the Obama buzz-killing transgressions of Republicans.

Barack Obama is the golden calf of the 21^st century. Worse, though, than the original golden calf of Moses’ time, this golden calf can talk, occupies the most powerful bully pulpit in the world, and has millions upon millions of cool aide drinking, glassy eyed disciples.