In the year since President Obama smashed barriers to become the country’s first black president, his tenure at the top has been punctuated by racial taunts and innuendos that have slyly, or sometimes blatantly, been circulated on the Internet, in e-mails and cartoons.

President Obama’s first year in office has been punctuated by a steady stream of racist insults and innuendos despite poll numbers that show voters do not judge him by race.

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The offenses have ranged from crude to subtle, and offenders have ranged from the unknown to elected officials. Even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, an Obama ally, had to apologize for what many considered to be insensitive, denigrating language while referring to Obama.

Poll numbers suggest most voters are not judging Obama’s presidency based on the color of his skin, but the issue has continued to surface in Obama’s presidency with disheartening regularity.

The president’s image has been altered to look like an African witch doctor, his wife’s to look like a gorilla. The idea of having a black family in the White House was initially so sensitive to some that even simple acts like a fist bump or a pat on the behind between husband and wife, were analyzed for possible racial undertones.

Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, said he has seen evidence, albeit anecdotally, that Obama’s race has become significantly less of a factor for most Americans since he took office, “in spite of an increase in vicious, mean comments from a small minority.”

Poking fun at the president is an inevitable tradition, almost a national pastime. President George W. Bush was skewered by opponents who believed him to be unintelligent and inarticulate. And for years, President Clinton’s libido was the prime target for late-night comedians.

But for many, criticism based solely on the color of Obama’s skin crosses a line.

“Some of the attacks the president has taken have been unusually harsh for an American president,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson told ABCNews.com.

Stu Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report told ABCNews.com that he expects the vicious and racially charged insults to grow among the small minority who will always use the president’s skin color as a way to lash out against his policies.

“You’ve always had the kooks. You’re always going to have the kooks. I don’t think that changes,” Rothenberg said. “I think the people who focus on race and express animosity and antagonism toward him based on race won’t go away.”

Despite any inroads made in regard to Obama’s own racial identity, poll numbers show a slipping confidence in progress for blacks overall.

A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found fewer Americans believe Obama has helped race relations than when he took office, dropping from 58 percent to 41 percent. That confidence fell 15 percentage points among whites, but more sharply — 24 percent — among blacks.

ABC News.com took a look back at some of the examples of racially charged incidents which made the public record over the last 18 months. We reached out to those who made the offending statements to see what they had to say about them now. Some answered us, some didn’t:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

Then, Jan. 2010: One of several high-profile politicians to merit a mention in the controversial book “Game Change,” Reid, a Democrat and longtime Obama ally, was cited in the book for describing the president before his election as a “‘light-skinned’ African American, ‘with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.’”

Now: On Jan. 9, Reid issued a written statement that read in part, “I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words. I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African Americans, for my improper comments.” Reid’s Senate office had no further comment.

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich

Then, Jan. 2010: Illinois’ disgraced former governor told Esquire magazine, “I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived. I saw it all growing up.”

Now: He quickly apologized for the comment, telling reporters, “I deeply apologize for the way that was said and having said it. Obviously, I am not blacker than President Obama.” Blagojevich declined to comment further to ABCNews.com.

Minnesota State Senator Mike Parry

Then, Jan. 2010: Earlier this month, Parry, then a GOP Senate candidate, was found to have scrubbed several tweets from his Twitter account, including one that described Obama as a “power hungry arrogant black man.”

Now: Neither Parry nor his campaign manager returned calls or e-mail seeking comment. He told reporters recently, “My opinion is that our president is arrogant and angry. The fact is that he is a black man.”

Former President Bill Clinton

Then, Jan. 2010: The former president was one of many politicians called out in Mark Halperin and John Heilemann’s new book “Game Change.” In the book, they said Clinton caught flak from Obama’s campaign for reportedly telling the late Sen. Ted Kennedy of Obama, “A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.”

During the presidential campaign Clinton also called Obama’s run for the White House as “the biggest fairy tale I’ve ever seen.”

Now: A Clinton spokesman declined to comment.

Arlington, Tenn., Mayor Russ Wiseman

Then, Dec. 2009: Settling down last month to watch the annual showing of “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Wiseman was irked to find the Christmas favorite had been pre-empted by Obama’s speech announcing efforts to send more troops to Afghanistan. He took to Facebook, lashing out at Obama for being a “Muslim president.”

“Try to convince me that wasn’t done on purpose,” Wiseman posted, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “Ask the man if he believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he will give you a 10 minute disertation (sic) about it….w…hen the answer should simply be ‘yes.’”

Now: “They were totally taken out of context,” Wiseman told ABCNews.com.

“All it was, was me trying to get my Democratic friends riled up. But did I mean it? No,” he said. “If somebody reads that and these guys don’t know me they think immediately, ‘Either this guy’s an idiot or he’s a racist.’”

Wiseman said he’s neither.

“I was looking forward to Obama inviting me to the White House for a beer,” he said, “but that didn’t happen.”

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