Hamilton paves the way for Obama to defy the odds

TO ACHIEVE pole position at the rarified Formula One level you have to graft like hell. You have to make split-second decisions all the way.

You have to risk your life and your ambitions and balance those risks against the possible or probable gains. You have to be ice cool and red hot at the same time. You have to be ego-driven yet a team player too. You have to be daredevil sometimes, cautious often, calculating always. You have to have a natural talent above the ordinary and yet that is not enough alone. You have to be outstanding in several areas above and beyond that.

Especially if you are a black man trying to win at a level where no black man has ever won before.