I'd like to think that racism is not the case in this scenario - but I am not completely naive either. Obama did inherit a tough nut to crack in 2009; but that reality is tempered with the knowledge that he knew this when he ran for office.
My beef with Obama and the Democrats has nothing to do with where they lie (no pun intended) on the political spectrum, but rather the policies that are forwarded... My opinion is that he's zigging when he should be zagging and he runs the very real risk of pushing his economy further into the hole at a time when they can least afford that.