Ward Connerly, chairman of the American Civil Rights Institute, took some questions on this Inauguration Day today.

Q: How is the historic aspect of today affecting you?

A: When Barack Obama was born, in 1961, his parents were social outcasts–race “mixers”–in nearly every corner of American life. They were ostracized even more because of their “interracial” marriage than a black couple was. I know, because that was what my wife and I endured when we married in California in 1962. So, for me, this is like my son, who was the subject of curiosity stares when my wife and I would take him with us to dinner, now ascending to the highest level of social acceptance in America. This reality, I am certain, affects every interracial couple of my age–the Sowells, the Steeles, the Thomases, and countless others–in a very profound way.

I am also extremely pleased that my belief in the capacity of the American people to be “colorblind” has been vindicated. Being colorblind doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t see color; it means that you discard its influence when you see it. I have been roundly criticized by blacks for over a decade as being naive about this, as they assert the inherent racism of Americans. I gloat, in this instance, to say that they were wrong.

Q: Is George W. Bush due any credit on race?

A: Absolutely! He broke from the political mold that even Bill Clinton followed by appointing blacks to second-tier Cabinet positions like HUD. Bush’s appointment of Powell was not especially significant because of Powell’s stature, but his appointment of Condi Rice was truly historic. The Bush-Rice bond is equally noteworthy, from a racial perspective. Bush advanced equal treatment and racial competence without tokenism. I say this as one who was very disappointed by his inclusion of race in NCLB.

Q: What’s your wildest dream about Barack Obama?

A: That he will say, “My fellow Americans, Ward Connerly is right about race preferences being a violation of all that is good about our beloved nation. Therefore, today, I am issuing an Executive Order that will require all federal agencies and all of those who receive federal funds to obey the law of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.”

Q: What’s your more realistic hope for Obama?

A: That he will move about 90 degrees to the right on issues such as race and the value of the free economic market, and that if he doesn’t issue that Executive Order of which I dream, at least he won’t use his power to interfere with our efforts to effect change through the initiative process.