According to CNN's Gloria Borger, the civil rights movement began with Marion Barry and ended with Barack Obama. It's magical, in ways ordinary people cannot begin to understand.

Sitting in for Candy Crowley on Sunday, Borger turned to LZ Granderson for the final word on Ferguson and what President Obama should do. With a completely straight face, she averred that Obama and Barry are "two completely different types of politicians who book ended the civil rights movement."

I guess for Gloria, the civil rights movement ended the day Barack Obama took office?

While it's true that Marion Barry was a fighter for civil rights back when President Obama was still in diapers, the civil rights era didn't begin with him any more than it ended with Obama.

It's a dangerous road to walk when one assumes that the fact of Obama's election somehow changed the trajectory of the civil rights movement.

It's almost as though Borger doesn't see the issues at stake in Ferguson as civil rights issues. As if white cops shooting black kids as an almost-everyday occurrence isn't something we place in the category of civil rights.

After all, it's so neat. 4-term black mayor of DC; first black President. Just a couple of politicians who conveniently signify a beginning and end to the civil rights movement. It's almost like a Hollywood script.

For Borger, the facts don't matter as long as appearances make it seem like there's something resembling equality. That's what matters, right? Perception?

Facts are for fools if you live in media-land.