There was the following statement in the article written by Michel Norris in Time magazine (August 26 issue) under the title “One Dream.”
“Trayvon Martin case, Obama said, “I think it’s important to recognize that the African-American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and history that doesn’t go away.” With that statement, the distance between the preacher and the President was much like an image in an automobile’s side view mirror: Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”
I don’t get a clear idea of the latter half of the above statement. I know objects in the side mirror are closer than they appear from my driving experience. But what does the analogy of an image in the mirror with “the distance” between Dr. King and President Obama account for?
Is there the distance (of equality claim / stance) between Dr. King and President Obama? If there is, what is the distance between them in short?
Does it mean the racial segregation issue was much immediate and pressing for Dr. King that time than to President Obama today, i.e., President Obama can look segregation issues more 'objectively' than Dr. King did in the time stage of 1963?
Could you parse the meaning of the last line following “With that statement ...”?