Barack Obama's wife implies that black Americans are the only victims of violence in America

While I haven't yet (and likely won't for some time) officially picked a candidate to support in the 2008 Presidential election, Barack Obama's wife made a statement to CBS' Katie Couric last night that did him no favors in my book. In an interview Couric did with Obama and his wife, Barack mentioned that he and his wife had discussed together thoroughly what a run for President would mean for their family, including their safety concerns. Couric followed up by asking Michelle Obama if she is worried about the safety of her husband, to which Michelle replied:

"The reality is that as a black man, Barack could be shot just going to the gas station..."

Am I the only one that sees something wrong with this? While I'm certainly not saying that racism doesn't exist, I think her statement was quite ridiculous. The reality is that in the free society we live in, any American could be the unlucky victim of a shooting or random act of violence, not just black Americans.

I don't know if Michelle Obama really believes that members of her race are the only victims of violence, or if she just used poor wording, but it really rubbed me the wrong way. Anyone else feel the same? Anyone disagree?

UPDATE: I also meant to give mention to a ridiculous question Couric asked last night that many reporters have been asking lately:

"Do you think America is ready for a female and/or black President?"

Are you kidding? While I'm neither black nor female, I find this question to be extremely offensive. It's as if they are implying that if you're not an old, white male, then you must be some sort of extremist that America simply may not be ready for. Thoughts?