Obama's comment about Trayvon Martin rings true

"If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," the president said this morning, and the line is likely to resonate for months to come, maybe even years. James Fallows, who posted this juxtaposed shot of Martin and Obama, has an early take:

I don't know anything about Trayvon Martin's real character or potential, and I am not meaning to romanticize him. On the other hand, he was only 17 -- who knows what he might have become? The truth is that virtually no one in the United States actually does "grow up to be president." But a similarly important truth in America is the ideal that almost anyone could realize that dream. (And boy have we seen the "anyone" category broaden out in this latest primary season -- just a little joke.) As a conceptual and symbolic matter, Obama's election has forever opened a realm of possibilities for people who could "grow up to be president" -- and whose potential for such a future you can see in a photo like this.

Meanwhile LeBron James has posted this picture of himself and his Miami Heat teammates in support of Trayvon. Sometimes, moments like this take on a life of their own - and sometimes not, as in the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Who knows where this horrible story will lead, but there's no denying its resonance.