the media got hold of the news, there would be a lot of explaining to do. At the very least, it would remind white voters that despite the Coleman name, he was adopted, the illegitimate son of a junkie. It was the weirdest thing—despite his complexion, his kinky hair, poll after poll showed that voters in his state didn’t think of him as black, per se. They knew he was biracial, of course—but it was as if Pappy and Dad cast a shadow so deep, it hid his blackness.
