I liked the piece but I don't think your points really undermine those made by Rich, et al. about the decline of a certain brand of racism. As I was reading the various anecdotes you start the piece off with, it sounded like most of those racist comments were coming from people who were middle aged or older (with the exception of the drunk college kids). In my experience, the kind of racism those anecdotes capture is just considered _tacky_ amongst the younger set (the same could be said for homophobia -- but more so).
For those of us white people who grew up watching The Cosby Show, etc., the hip brand of racism is the kind satirized on sites like http://www.blackpeopleloveus.com/. This is a brand of racism that makes a lot of young whites feel good about, say, voting for BHO and simultaneously care nothing about structural racism reflected in black incarceration and unemployment rates.
-WD