Like his politics and policies or not, its easy to see that Obama is a masterful speech maker. And he's not afraid to create some controversy and break new ground. As the first black president, he addressed the race issue early, in 2008, when he defended, then disowned, Reverend Wright.

You may have heard about the recent online Mountain Dew ad, the minute-long spot, which has been removed from Odd Future’s YouTube channel and Mountain Dew’s website, depicting a police officer goading a severely wounded white woman into picking out her attacker from a lineup of four black men and a goat. It was created by Tyler The Creator, a hip hop artist. Who's edgy.

One year ago , Trayvon Martin — an unarmed 17-year-old boy on his way home from 7-11 — was shot and killed by George Zimmerman. The murder trial is scheduled to begin this June. A separate hearing may be held in April to determine whether Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law gives Zimmerman immunity.