I couldnt have asked for a better example
Example of what? Grampa is hardly a racist.
As to the OP, no I think people tend to take candidates on their individual merits.
At least we've gotten the "first black president" bullshit out of the way.
I thought it was a monumentally historic step in the maturation of America. Follow the trail from the very beginning when Blacks had less that human status, through slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights era just a short 50 years ago. Honestly, did you ever think you would see a black President in your lifetime? I didn't.
And 200 years from now when historians judge and people are polled I think Obama will be regarded as a "better" President than many of his predecessors and maybe not as "good" as others. I can live with that and still be thankful for America's courage to take that step.