Race arsonists at it again

Former President Jimmy Carter:

I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he's African-American. I live in the South, and I've seen the South come a long way, and I've seen the rest of the country that shares the South's attitude toward minority groups at that time, particularly African-Americans.

That racism inclination still exists, and I think it's bubbled up to the surface because of belief among many white people -- not just in the South but around the country -- that African-Americans are not qualified to lead this great country. It's an abominable circumstance, and it grieves me and concerns me very deeply.

Here is what's actually abominable, Mr. Carter. The casual slurring of millions of sincere, concerned Americans, with no evidence whatsoever, by the single most inept, ineffective and sanctimonious chief executive of the last 60 years. It isn't just you, of course. This slur is being perpetrated by many members of the leftist and pundit class in this country, and again, there's not a shred of supporting evidence.

Let's be brutally frank for just a moment. This President is President of the United States primarily because he's a black man. Otherwise, the tea parties would still be going on and the likes of Jimmy Carter would be talking about the animosity towards President Hillary Clinton being based on the fact that she's a woman. And Maureen Dowd would be writing about how the unspoken word after "you lie" was b--ch instead of boy. If Barack Obama weren't black, he'd be John Edwards. Without the resume. And the hair. A white man with Barack Obama's particular skills and background isn't even an interesting story in the primary. No, he's President because the press fell in love with the idea of electing a black man, and it superseded their love for the idea of electing a woman.

The opposition, though, is based on his policies. Does Jimmy Carter have any recollection of what happened when Bill Clinton attempted to "reform" the health care system? Does he remember what happened to the Democrats after two years of the most liberal Presidency since Carter's own? And does he have any conception of how much more radical Obama's administration has been than Clinton's?

Jimmy Carter, Maureen Dowd, Eddie Bernice Johnson and all of the others throwing out the "racist" label are setting back the cause of "racial equality" in this country by a generation or more. And it's going to be a long time before another black man is elected to the office. Why would anyone want to support the candidacy of a President who cannot be criticized? The people of the United States are citizens, not subjects, and a President with whom one cannot honestly disagree without being accused of racism is a President that doesn't belong in office.

Obama's election was hailed, even by many of us who thought he'd be an awful President, as a good sign, a major step forward in the story of race relations in America. It looks right now as if we were very wrong. It was a horrible mistake, and it's entirely the fault of the race-arsonists on the left who plead for race-blindness while clinging to racism as primary prism through which they view the world.