This will probably be used along with Bill Cosby quotes for white people to post on their Facebook pages so they can criticize black America without looking racist.

Perhaps; but I know what I'll be linking to the next time we get a raft of excuses out of the Whitehouse about how "we can't put them in jail, they're too big to fail, etc etc"....

Now I need to watch the clip again so I can remember his exact words.

Agreed. He's certainly not saying that hard work guarantees success, nor that blacks have a level playing field with whites or anyone else, nor that success is impossible if you're black. But he IS saying that, if you don't give it your best shot, you can be pretty sure of failing.

Which is true for just about everyone whose father wasn't President Reagan's VP, I suppose. But it's still worth saying at graduation, tailored to the audience in question.

Nothing Obama says is tailored to the group of people he's talking to, at least not beyond a very superficial level. He knows anything he says publicly, regardless of the context, will be put under intense, national, scrutiny; especially a stinger like, "nobody cares about racism." This isn't Bill Cosby. It's the president. By reminding blacks that their fate rests squarely on their own shoulders, he assuages the guilt of the white middle-class, and expands his constituency.

These comments aren't going to be used against him by the rightwing; they're specifically intended to win over conservatives.

....not that you've exaggerated and conflated race with class by making white equal rich city folk and black equal poor city folk 100% of the time or anything

A poor white person still has a better shot at getting a leg up than a poor black person has because people in charge of hiring or admissions have conscious or unconscious biases towards people who are like themselves. That being said, however, if given a choice between two complete strangers, a middle-class white person would choose another middle-class white person over a poor white person.

A lot of times, though, they usually don't have to choose between complete strangers because the "stranger" is introduced to them by a friend, associate or acquaintance giving them another bias in favor of the person introduced.

"My son just graduated college and he's looking for a job."

"Hey, I know a guy who's looking to hire someone with your son's skills, I'll ask if he's interested in interviewing him."

"Thanks!"

(later)

"Hey, my golf partner has a son that just graduated and is looking for a job. I've known the family for a long time and think he'd be great for that position you're trying to fill."

"Send him in, I'll give him a shot."

As I said, social networks contribute more to opportunities than any other factor and in this country there are way more connected white people than black.