I'd like to point out that affirmative action directly leads to more racism. I've heard many racists assume that affirmative action is the sole reason someone (is in college|has that government job|got that scholarship).
Agreed. This is the Achilles Heel of affirmative action. It actually undermines the achievements of the favored group. For instance, many people believe that Obama would not be president if he were not half black. How accurate that belief is is certainly open to question, but it's not racist to think so.
In any case, according to this research, Obama's first term didn't improve racist attitudes in America.