There's been a flood of stories anticipating the 44th president's new reign, and Howie Kurtz at the Washington Post tapped me for his story today on what awaits Barack Obama from the media.

To be honest, the most interesting element of the story to me was his info on how Obama ratcheted down his media consumption as the campaign wore on. No wonder he was able to stay so calm; he wasn't subjecting himself to the barrage of inane commentary and flawed journalism that so often showed itself this past year.

My contributions here were modest. I expect Obama's relationship with the media to grow more strained for several reasons: he hasn't been as open with reporters as some politicians, the conservative media structure will go on an aggressive scandal hunt in the same way they dogged Clinton and there is so much anticipation for his presidency that mistakes are bound to get serious scrutiny.

Some other lessons: If white folks can be too naïve about race, perhaps black folks can be too cynical – One of the constant themes I heard from my friends who are black, is that it took us all a while to believe Obama had a snowball’s chance. One friend talked about relatives who hesitated to vote for Obama for fear he would be killed – after all, in their generation, that’s what happened to uppity negroes who reached beyond their place.

One of the overlooked race dynamics of this election may be that some white folks believed in Obama before many black folks did. Skittish as our tangled racial history may make us on the subject, perhaps this electoral victory can show the value of for all of lowering our guard a bit.

Obama succeeded by refusing to be a spokesman on race – This thought came courtesy of an expert on Terri Gross’ National Public Radio show Fresh Air last week. Old school black leaders rose to prominence by tackling the issues most pressing to black people at the time, which alienated some non-black people. But Obama drew together a diverse coalition of supporters by avoiding that position. Ironically, it makes it tougher for him as president to initiate the dialogue on race he called for during his moving speech on the topic back in March.

Obama is called black because he says he is and the world agrees -- I did a piece last year noting that racial identity is an odd combination of what you call yourself and how the world sees you. It's been interesting to see the letters from people reminding us in the media that Obama is half white; while that is true biologically, Obama himself has chosen culturally to live as a black man in America. So calling him the first black president refers to his cultural choice more than his biology. Confused yet?

In the end, Obama's candidacy forced all of us to look at each other in new ways, just by virtue of how we reacted to what he was doing. And there may be no greater legacy for an American leader in an changing, multicultural world.