CNN’s Henderson: Obama Has Become His Own ‘Race-Man’

COSTELLO: “Nia, tell me how you feel about this.” 

HENDERSON: “I don't think I can top that in calling the president gangster. But I do think this is a different side of the president that we're seeing. It's come in, I think, waves. I think last summer for instance there was this whole theme of the bear on the loose, Obama getting out more. And so I think you have it in two ways. And on one hand there is a policy shift in terms of the president doing things like signing an executive order on immigration reform, being more bold on Cuba, this Iran policy. And then there is just sort of a personality looseness as well that we see from this president, singing from the pulpit of that Baptist funeral down in South Carolina. And so I think we have seen it. But I do think just more broadly in terms of race. If you look at what his rhetoric was on race in his first term, he talks about race far less than any other president going back to 1961. And you see in his second term he's addressed it much more and partly that's because of them have demanded that he talk about it. Now he's getting down to talking about policy as well. I do think there's another thing here going on. Eric holder used to be Obama's race man, right? Eric Holder is no longer there. He sent, for instance, Eric Holder to Ferguson. He didn't go himself. Eric Holder was always more strident on race. And in some ways I think Obama is becoming his own race man on this administration.”