The tendencies of black folk

The Economist had me going along pretty good in its endorsement for Barack Obama. Then, seemingly from nowhere, came this sentence:

At home he would salve, if not close, the ugly racial wound left by America's history and lessen the tendency of American blacks to blame all their problems on racism.

From way over in London, editorialists at The Economist came up with that gem about "the tendency of American blacks." Where'd they ever get that idea? That stereotype made it all the way across the Atlantic? How many of us could they possibly know?

Though I read The Economist about as regularly as Sarah Palin, I understand that it's generally a conservative-leaning publication. And, as such, I'm not expecting a progressive view of race relations in our country.

But, as the First Lady smartly pointed out last night, to accept that dim view of black people, you essentially have to believe that racism is a relic of the past, a figment of overactive imaginations. Is that really where The Economist is going here?

I don't want to be accusative here. You all know my tendencies.