So, remember how, a few days ago, Encyclopedia Rush cracked the case of the mysterious Colin Powell endorsement of Barack Obama? (I don't want to spoil it for you, but it's because he's black.)

"Secretary Powell says his endorsement is not about race… OK, fine. I am now researching his past endorsements to see if I can find all the inexperienced, very liberal, white candidates he has endorsed. I'll let you know what I come up with."

Well, Jimmy Crackcorn (I don't think that's his real name), over at Daily Kos, decided to pitch in and help Rush Limbaugh root out all the other identifying conservatives who are voting for Barack Obama over John McCain… because he's black. The list includes such notable blackophiles as Christopher Buckley, Susan Eisenhower, Christopher Hitchens and Michael Smerconish.

And here's some file footage of a bunch of other conservative African American activists who are voting for Barack Obama…

Now, this all got me thinking. Why are all these people voting for Barack Obama solely because he's black. I puzzled and puzzled and puzzled…

And then it hit! Maybe — just maybe — they're not really voting for Barack Obama because he's black. Maybe they're voting for Barack Obama… because they're using their brains… to think about which candidate they… prefer. Maybe Barack Obama's blackosity is nothing more than a red herring. That's just crazy enough to be possible.

Okay, so, if that's the case, what does it mean? Could it mean that all those very intelligent people actually used their intelligence to weigh the options and came to the decision that Obama would be a better choice because of his temperament, economic policies and foreign relations positions? That seems unlikely, but I suppose it could be.

And, if that's true, is it possible that lots of other intelligent people have come to the same conclusion? Maybe intelligent people who can't come out and say that they're voting for Barack Obama, because maybe their job is to go on the radio and rationalize blatant Republican partisanship to millions of blatant Republican partisans every day. Intelligent people who actually dropped their guard on air and gave America a look behind the curtain two years ago, vowing not to "carry the water" for the Republicans anymore if they couldn't get their act together. Intelligent people whose rating would drop to nil if they ever said a kind word about the Democratic nominee but know in the heart of hearts that John McCain is a good man and a war hero and all but really not a 21st Century president. And that his choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate is a sign of desperation and an ill-omen on how he would govern. Not to mention an idiot.

I wonder if there are people like that out there. I'm not saying that there are. I'm just hypotenusing with my mind grapes.

Anyway, we'll never know. So, let's move onto a more solvable puzzle, like The Mystery of Why Joe Lieberman is Voting for John McCain Just Because He's White.