Is Criticism Of President Obama Driven By Racism? Is The Race Card Being Used To Prop Up Obama? Bookerista Perspectives

By far, the hottest topic that bookeristas are discussing is former President Jimmy Carter's statement that critics of U.S. President Barack Obama - more specifically Rep. Joe Wilson's (R-S.C.) outburst and the recent Taxpayers March On Washington attendees - are driven by racism. I even had an offer to appear on Britain's Sky News today to talk about President Carter’s comments from a blogger's perspective. Alas, their U.S. studios are in D.C. and New York, and I'm in Chicago. Folks are also commenting on Rep. Hank Johnson's (D-Ga.) comments claiming that the criticism marks the return of the KKK's infamous night visits terrorizing black citizens. I'm trying to keep up with all of the commentary out there. Here goes:

Michael Steele: "President Carter Is Wrong"

The moderate-conservative chairman of the Republican National Committee, in a statement emailed to Booker Rising: "President Carter is flat out wrong. This isn't about race. It is about policy. This is a pathetic distraction by Democrats to shift attention away from the president's wildly unpopular government-run health care plan that the American people simply oppose. Injecting race into the debate over critical issues facing American families doesn't create jobs, reform our health care system or reduce the growing deficit. It only divides Americans rather than uniting us to find solutions to challenges facing our nation."

Mr. Steele continues his commentary: "Characterizing Americans' disapproval of President Obama's policies as being based on race is an outrage and a troubling sign about the lengths Democrats will go to disparage all who disagree with them. Playing the race card shows that Democrats are willing to deal from the bottom of the deck. Our political system has no place for this type of rhetoric. As the leader of the Democratic Party President Obama should flatly reject efforts by those in his Party, including Jimmy Carter and Tim Kaine, to inject race into our civil discourse in ways that divide, not unite, Americans."

Lenny McAllister: "Really? Why Must Every Criticism Of President Obama Be Racist?"

The conservative Republican commentator in North Carolina opines: "Now, don’t get me wrong. Before anyone starts to say that racism is not a factor in today’s America, I want to preface this by saying that it’s pretty clear that we don’t live in a post-racial America. We still have a lot of problems with racism. We still have a lot of mistrust coming from all sides of the racial spectrum. A glimpse at the recent St. Louis school bus 'brawl' (seen here at http://videos.stltoday.com/p/video?id=6172583 ) shows that some of the viciousness from today’s racial problems can come from different sides. And don’t get me wrong. There was a segment of Americans that lost their minds for a second when Barack Obama was elected President of the United States in November 2008. I remember the death threats. I remember the graffiti and some of the comments. But let’s be real, people. It’s 2009. Not 1959. Not 1929. And not every criticism of the 44th president is based on race. The more it seems to be said - that race is not as much of a factor in America - the more we hear that it is when it comes to President Obama. Now, we hear it from former President Jimmy Carter, someone who, by the way, Obama’s spending and snafus are often compared to by conservatives that experienced both administrations."

He continues his commentary: "I can’t get over the fact that someone as worldly as Carter would go on national television to address this Wilson situation (as well as the ongoing Tea Party phenomenon) as a racial knee-jerk reaction to the nation’s first Black president. If the United States was such a cauldron of overt racism, how did President Obama win the presidency in the first place? Applying race to every aspect of criticism is getting not only old, but toxic in a nation that doesn’t need many other factors to contribute to the heightened level of anxiety throughout the country. A former president should know that. A former president should act very responsibly. A former president from a southern state should know exactly what happens when the brew of race, economic hardship, joblessness, anxiety about the future, and rapid change come together. Yet, Mr. Carter added his two cents to a situation that needed to be defused, not ignited. On national television no less. Why?"

More: "The continued race card being brought up regarding President Obama not only cheapens any true issues of racism that he has faced (and will face), but also numbs the nation to the calls of racism when it actually does occur, such as continue[d] incidents of 'driving while Black' or imbalanced funding of public schools’ revenue between schools within the same system. It diminishes the sacrifices made by others (of all races) for racial equality in America. It takes proud history and personal growth and makes it cliche. Having seating Congressmen making this argument also makes a tough situation - one where many people are trying to navigate through debates and disapproval without being wrongly defamed by the dreaded 'r' word - worse. To hear Congressman 'Hank' Johnson speak that folks will soon be '…(wearing) white hoods and white sheets and riding through the countryside…' not only smacks of overreaching dramatization (do we really think that several generation of leaders and citizens post-Civil Rights movement would tolerate open terrorism by the KKK?), but seems to reflect a desire to reflect the worst of our history and attempt to paste it to these tough times today."

Robert A. George: "Post Racial America: Greenwald Vs. Carter Vs. Limbaugh"

The moderate-conservative Republican journalist and blogger in New York City argues that while former President Carter has added gas to the fire, conservative talk-radio show host Rush Limbaugh isn't helping either: "Politico also identified other Democrats adopting the growing belief that the intense hostility toward Obama is driven by race. Ironically, the strongest pushback to this growing meme comes from someone on the left. Salon's Glenn Greenwald produces a rather compelling reminder that Bill Clinton arguably had far stronger criticisms -- fair and unfair -- launched against him than Obama has to date....Obviously, this list comes from a left-wing writer, so it comes with its own bias on what might be considered legitimate criticisms of Clinton. But the overall point is valid: There was a venom directed toward the Clintons that was somewhat unprecedented. And it had nothing to do with race. (Now, yeah, Clinton was, pace Toni Morrison, 'the first black president' but still...All jokes aside, most of the above-mentioned attacks occurred well before Morrison's famous New Yorker piece. Indeed, Morrison partly looked to the ferocity of those attacks to create the foundation for her 'black president' construct.)."

He continues his commentary: "All that said, Rush Limbaugh does nothing to help conservative critique of the Obama administration with bits like this -- blaming two black kids beating up a white kid on 'Obama's America.' Obviously, if a liberal blamed a school shooting in the early part of the decade on 'Bush's Wild Wild West' attitude in favor of Second Amendment rights, it would be grossly unfair and conservatives would howl. But, even so, such a charge would not carry with it the racial aspect that Limbaugh is intentionally injecting into the mix. It's outrageous and offensive -- and gives fuel to the Carter liberal charge that conservatives are trying to mine racial animus as much as possible out of anything having to do with Barack Obama."

Robin Martin: "Black America Is In Dire Need Of A Collective Lobotomy"

Asserts the conservative blogger, about Rep. Hank Johnson's (D-Ga.) comments claiming that criticism of President Obama marks the return of the white-hooded Ku Klux Klan terrorizing black areas: "I am convinced that my people need a collective national lobotomy. Why? Because we are clearly clueless about what real racism is. This is evidenced by the fact that we are unable to tell the difference between racism and bad form. Absolute everything is processed through the lens of race. Look at this disgusting display of black pathology...The fact that an overwhelming amount of black folks view reasonable and valid criticism of President Obama as racist indicates that we are indeed suffering from a collective mental illness and in dire need [of] treatment. Clearly, liberal programs haven't cured the ills that grieved us over the last forty years so I fear the only cure is a national collective lobotomy."

Clifton B.: "Rep. Hank Johnson And Jimmy Carter Join The Raaaaacism Industrial Complex"

The conservative blogger writes: "While it is all to easy to lampoon mental midgets like Johnson and Carter for their manufactured charges of racism, it is time to start taking these race card dealers seriously. These race card dealers’ actions, be they intentional (may God curse them) or unintentional, have two very serious consequences for America. The first consequence is obvious, a clash of the races. On one side you have black people. Many who readily buy into these bogus charges of racism because them have been fed a steady diet of racial distrust from the left. On the other side you have white people. Many who are getting more than just a little fed up with being called racist by the left, simply because they hold a different view from Obama. Sooner or later these opposing views are going to meet and something very ugly will result. The second consequence is that it will be a very long time before we have another black as president. If a white person opposing a black president’s policies makes them a racist, then many white people will simply choose to avoid that label by not voting for any more black presidents in the future. If we do not want to see race relations in America set back 50 years, then we should all start taking a sterner hand to race card dealers like Johnson, Carter, [Maureen] Dowd and "Janeane] Garofalo. My personal view of racism is that there is still too much in the world. To make up charges of racism just to score political points is nothing less than pure evil. That is how I would label all these racial hucksters and treat them accordingly."

Duane Brayboy: "Wearing Out The Card"

The conservative blogger in Riverside, Calif. asserts that the race card is being used by Obama supporters, and it's trivializing genuine racism: "For my parents and others in their generation, racism was defined as not being able to drink from the same water fountain as White folks, having to look to the ground while addressing someone White, having to sit in the colored section in the movie theater: you know, Jim Crow. Today, racism has been reduced to one thing: Criticizing Obama. That’s right. Saying something critical about Obama is now being compared to the days when Blacks were attacked by police dogs, sprayed down by water hoses, lynched, beaten and economically sidelined – all because they were Black. Obama has achieved one of the most powerful positions in the world that, up to this time has been occupied by White men who had to endure global criticism. Yet, apparently the Black side of Obama is just too weak to handle the outburst of one Senator calling him a liar unless it is considered 'racism'. Obama’s supporters who continue to tar and feather critics with the racism charge do two things:

A – They cheapen both the definition and true history of racism both here and around the world.

B – They reduce Obama to 'boy'.

Mr. Brayboy continues his commentary about the race card: "Past Presidents like the Bushes, Clinton, Reagan, Carter, Ford, and even Nixon were all routinely subjected to the same types of criticism (and worse) that we are seeing today for Obama. Against his health care proposals? Angry about rising unemployment? Angry about the deficit? Angry about his handling of the war in Afghanistan? Under a half Black President, that anger is defined as 'racism'."


Magic Negro Watch: "Hey Obama, Folks Don’t Like You Because You Suck! Not Because You’re HALF Black"

Asserts the conservative blogger in Lawrence, Kansas: "All of these crazy ass liberal white folks and idiots in the media who are obviously now at the breaking point because all of the adulation and hero worship bestowed upon Obama during the campaign has now all but completely evaporated. Americans have seemed to awaken and are now experiencing voter remorse. A good chunk of that 53 million who voted for Obama were these white folks who thought they were erasing the guilt of slavery and Jim Crow by voting for a HALF black dude. Their conscience would be eased and racial harmony would break out all over the kingdom. WRONG! But you know who I also blame… the Republicans… because the party has turned into this weak pathetic group of losers and fake ass conservatives. There is no leader, nobody who can take the torch and run with it without stumbling and bumbling. I still can not identify anyone who I can wholeheartedly support, someone I can feel confident enough about to say this individual is the future face of the Republican Party."

More: "But make no mistake the dislike of you is genuine; I am a black man who saw through your b__)t the first time I paid close attention to you. You are no different than the hordes of scheming, greedy manipulative black pastors I watched on Sundays growing up who are no more a 'man of God' than I am. Church on Sunday[s] was not about saving souls and finding God at was about the money and the fleeting prestige that came with having the ability to tell a good story and entertain the followers. This little media tour is all about your celebrity, your cries for universal health care is nothing more than a ploy to create a legacy for yourself knowing that this government scam will indeed bankrupt the country. I feel sorry for those who still view you as some sort of savior because as I have said numerous times your failure will be theirs. They will be left disillusioned and disenfranchised because their god will be reduced to nothing more than a stain in American political history. The only person who will benefit from your failure will be Jimmy Carter because as we all know his presidency was a complete disaster."

Peter Kirsanow: "Wilson, Obama, And The Wonderful Jimmy Carter"

The member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and conservative Republican attorney opines: "Fresh from having his latest book endorsed by renowned civil-rights leader Osama Bin Laden, former president Jimmy Carter sagely pronounces that Rep. Joe Wilson's 'You lie!' outburst was based on racism. It's this type of extraordinary, almost telepathic insight that made Mr. Carter one of the most successful presidents in history. Ordinary mortals, upon hearing someone shout 'You lie!' when President Obama claims (contrary to considerable objective evidence) that illegal immigrants won't be covered by the proposed health-care plan, would merely conclude that the outburst, however indecorous, was simply the result of strong disagreement with President Obama's claim. Not the preternaturally wise Carter. He sees what the rest cannot. If someone disputes Obama's claim that he can provide heath-care coverage to 47,000,000 more individuals without either rationing or 'adding a single dime' to the deficit, the disputant must necessarily be a Klansman. If someone doubts that Obama can cut $500,000,000,000 from Medicare with no effect whatsoever on benefits, that skeptic must undoubtedly have a swastika tattooed across his chest. Indeed,were Obama to assert that 2+2= Cleveland, any challenger would rightly be branded a latter-day Bull Connor by our estimable former president."