Reply #10: What you're describing is "eloquence"

[beaconess]

not articulateness.

Webster's defines "articulate" as: "expressing oneself readily, clearly, or effectively"

Webster's defines "eloquent" as: "marked by forceful and fluent expression" or "vividly or movingly expressive or revealing"

Most educated people are articulate. Most politicians are articulate. While some may not be, that is the exception, not the rule. Yet educated black people are frequently referred to as "articulate" when similarly well-spoken educated white people are not, since it is assumed that they are capable of "expressing themselves readily, clearlym or effectively."

Eloquence is a different category. If Obama were described as "eloquent" I'd have no problem since eloquence is a rare enough quality in even the most educated people of any ethnicity that it's worthy of comment.