At this point, for many Americans, I think the interest in race is really more geared towards the cultural/societal aspects that people see certain races and ethnicities representing. It's party due to media and entertainment and partly due to the fact that there are dramatically different cultural norms within the same socioeconomic brackets when divided only by race. At least seemingly so.
If you listen to any racist rhetoric, you'll see that is mostly aimed at culture, not genetics. That's why it's almost funny to see the divide between some folks on either side. He's either "too Black" because he had a radical Black pastor or "Not Black enough" because he's doesn't have a platinum chain. After being able to place people into groups based on names or appearance with a decent degree of accuracy for so many years, old habits die hard when they're challenged.