Geraldine Ferraro famously said: "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman of any color, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

Was that racist? Not according to the Mirriam-Webster dictionary, which primarily defines the term as "a belief that race is the primary determinant of human...