Obama sees his race as opportunity - Washington Post

President-elect Barack Obama, who avoided calling attention to race during the campaign, sees his race as an opportunity to bridge differences, The Washington Post reported yesterday.

Mr Obama spoke in an interview last week about how his racial identity can unify and transform the US, the newspaper said.

"There is an entire generation that will grow up taking for granted that the highest office in the land is filled by an African American," Mr Obama said in the interview.

"I mean, that's a radical thing. It changes how black children look at themselves. It also changes how white children look at black children. And I wouldn't underestimate the force of that," Mr Obama told the Post.

Beyond the historic symbolism of his inauguration, Mr Obama hopes to use his presidency as an example of how people can bridge differences, the Post reported. "What I hope to model is a way of interacting with people who aren't like you and don't agree with you that changes the temper of our politics," he was quoted as saying.