Anonymous is probably a racist. Notice how he/she jumps out and throws the race card. It is old hat and no one cares anymore. It's been done too many times. Remember the story of the boy that called wolf? This has become the story of the Left that Called Racism. No one believes you anymore.

In response to the OpEd by William Thomas
by: Rodney Cook

[There was a time not so long ago when Americans, regardless of their political stripes, rallied round their president. Once elected, the man who won the White House was no longer viewed as a Republican or Democrat, but the President of the United States. The oath of office was taken, the wagons were circled around the country’s borders and it was America versus the rest of the world with the president of all the people at the helm.]

This is a simplistic view of ‘how things used to be.’ I would remind William Thomas that there was a time, just a couple of years ago, when certain members of the American Public that disagreed with the Republican President, hung him in effigy. The ‘Main Stream Media’ called the president stupid, clumsy, a buffoon, a national embarrassment and much, much worse. That’s not exactly what one would call ‘circling the wagons around the country’s borders. Speaking of borders … but that’s a completely different story that can be addressed in a future rebuttal I’m sure.

[Suddenly President Barack Obama, with the potential to become an exceptional president has become the glaring exception to that unwritten, patriotic rule.]

Give us a break. The way this was written I expect to see a halo of light and hear the thundering peel of trumpets blasting out in reverence to his majesty. The man was a novice. He had NO experience outside of working for charities and holding down government jobs. None whatsoever. And yet, he has the potential for greatness.

What was it that made him so exceptional? Was it, as Harry Reid put it, the fact that he “speaks well for a Black man?” Or was it in Joe Biden’s words, that he was “so clean?” Give us a break. The man had no experience in the real world. He was a community organizer paid for by a special interest group. He became a politician as a stepping stone. He didn’t even have a particularly bright record as a politician, missing more votes than usual and seldom voting even when he was present. The Bills that he championed as a State Legislator were less than stellar. But we’re supposed to believe that he is exceptional? Based upon a couple of speeches read off a teleprompter, the man attained a status completely improportionate to his achievements. Period.

[Four days before President Obama’s inauguration, before he officially took charge of the American government, Rush Limbaugh boasted publicly that he hoped the president would fail. Of course, when the president fails the country flounders. Wishing harm upon your country in order to further your own narrow political views is selfish, sinister and a tad treasonous as well.]

It was obvious to many on the right that unless President Obama was going to be completely different than Senator Obama had been, and Illinois State Senator Obama had been, he was either lying to the American people OR he was going to be a completely different person than had ever existed. He was known as the most liberal Senator in Congress for a reason: His Voting Record. So, unless he was lying in the Primaries, he was lying during the Election. Either way, his record was clear.

When Right Wing commentators publicly stated that they ‘hoped he would fail,’ they were speaking to his Left Wing agenda. He called for government to answer all the problems faced by this country. He called for punishing the wealthy and spreading the wealth. These are not ideals upon which America was built. This was the ideal upon which the Soviet Union failed! To any that had read the President’s books, they knew what he believed and what he planned to do. He spoke to it plainly and in language what was frighteningly un-American. So, when it was hoped that he would fail, there are more today than there was on that day before he ever took the oath of office that wish the same thing. Unfortunately for those people, though, he did not fail.

Further, to equate the hope that an agenda fails to “wishing harm upon your country in order to further your own narrow political views” and saying that this is “selfish, sinister and a tad treasonous” is ludicrous and the height of self-importance and a clear indication that the left, including the potentially exceptional president, suffers from a severe case of narcissism. Assuming that the president’s agenda is the best course for the country is contrary to everything that made this country the greatest country to ever exist on the surface of this planet. Calling people that recognize this selfish, sinister and a tad treasonous is to ignore the fact that these people have an opinion and the right to voice this opinion openly and freely and without fearing malicious attacks. These are all rights that are a part of what being an American is all about. But, then I fear that a left-wing Canadian may not fully appreciate what it truly means to be an American.

[Subsequently, during his State of the Union address, which is pretty much a pep rally for America, an unknown congressional representative from South Carolina, later identified as Joe Wilson, stopped the show when he called the President of the United States a liar. The president showed great restraint in ignoring this unprecedented insult and carried on with his speech. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was so stunned by the slur, she forgot to jump to her feet while clapping wildly, 30 or 40 times after that.]

It is not unheard of for members of Congress to shout out at the President. In fact, it has been a part of politics since the founding. There was a Congressional Rule of Conduct enacted to stop this behavior whereby members of Congress are to sit silently and will be given a forum in which to voice their opposition to the President in a more civilized and decent manner. Joe Wilson was not wrong in what he said. He was wrong in the manner in which he expressed it and was soundly chastised for his behavior by BOTH parties. Unfortunately, the President seems to have forgotten another long held tradition of NOT chastising the Supreme Court for decisions they have rendered and openly attacked a recent ruling. There was little said regarding the President’s unprecedented remarks directed toward the Supreme Court and a great deal of indignation when one member of that august body openly, but quietly, disagreed with the President by shaking his head in a negative manner and mouthing the words, “not true.” But I guess ‘that doesn’t count’ since you’re only looking at slights directed toward the President instead of being issued by the President.

[Last spring, President Obama took his wife Michelle to see a play in New York City and republicans attacked him over the cost of security for the excursion. The president can’t take his wife out to dinner and a show without being scrutinized by the political opposition? As history has proven, a president in a theatre without adequate security is a tragically bad idea.
Remember: “Apart from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”]

Republicans didn’t attack the President for taking his wife to New York on a date. The question wasn’t about security or the lack thereof, it was about impression. Hope and Change was being shown to be nothing but a moniker. It was questioned whether or not it was appropriate, but that was done by a few conservative news outlets. What made the Main Stream Media news outlets was that people on the right were questioning the appropriateness of this. In a time of economic distress, huge government budget deficits and the highest levels of unemployment in the nation since the 1930’s, that is a legitimate question. Even I, a staunch conservative, however, felt that the Right Wing Media’s questioning of this date was a tad bit ridiculous. As far as discussing the Lincoln assassination, enough already with the ‘fear’ approach.

[At some point, the treatment of President Obama went from offensive to ugly and then to downright dangerous.]

Unlike President Bush who was loved and adored and NEVER EVER EVEN ONCE attacked by the Media, left-wing activists or even protested. Give me a break. Want to talk ugly? Let’s talk about Paul McCartney, a British citizen, talking about how at least the current President can read. Let’s talk about any number of American citizens making statements and writing books about how to assassinate President Bush while he was in office. This wasn’t ugly, though. No, these were incidents of free-speech and works of art.

[The health-care debate, which looked more like extreme fighting in a mud pit than a national dialogue, revealed a very vulgar side of America. President Obama’s face appeared on protest signs white-faced and blood-mouthed in a satanic clown image. In other tasteless portrayals, people who disagreed with his position distorted his face to look like Hitler complete with mustache and swastika.]

Elections have consequences. Republicans were excluded from the debate in Congress. They were ridiculed as the ‘Party of NO’ and articles were run questioning their lineage, their intelligence and their human morals. President Obama, seeing that nothing was going to persuade the Republicans to vote for his governmental healthcare takeover (just calling a spade a spade) finally brought a few key Republican leaders in to discuss the issue. After taking a couple of Republican ideas and adding them to the monstrosity that was called Healthcare, a vote was called and finally, there was a bipartisan result. Unfortunately for the President, the bipartisan side was the ones who voted against the Bill. Over sixty-five percent of Americans did not want that Bill passed. Not one Republican wanted that Bill passed. Yet, against the will of the people and the votes of every Republican, the Bill was passed in both chambers of Congress and the President signed it. I think a satanic clown image is inappropriate. I do completely agree with the Hitler mustache and swastika on Obama, Pelosi and Reid. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, I’ll be damn if it’s not a duck… or at least should have a swastika painted on it.

[Odd, that burning the flag makes Americans crazy, but depicting the president as a clown and a maniacal fascist is accepted as part of the new rude America.]

Odd that taking away Americans’ freedom isn’t viewed as fascism by this Canadian, left-wing ideologues and the mainstream news media. In a government of, by and for the people, when representatives ignore the will of the people and pass legislation that curtails the freedom of the people, there WILL be a reaction. Calling the dictators fascists and portraying them as such is the polite way of dealing with it. You want rude? Look at what the Soviets did to dissidents. Look at how Muslims deal with them. Beheadings and gulags. Stonings and executions. Yeah, the American Rude is quite tame in comparison.

[Maligning the image of the leader of the free world is one thing, putting the president’s life in peril is quite another. More than once, men with guns were videotaped at the health-care rallies where the president spoke. Again, history shows that letting men with guns get within range of a president has not served America well in the past.]

Hate to tell you this, William, but in the United States, we have a Constitution that not only allows for the possession of firearms but we have a tradition that encourages their possession. While I wouldn't be one of the ones to do such a thing myself, I should point out that the people that ‘openly carry’ are not the ones that have to be worried about. It’s the ones that would steal liberties from the people that should be feared. It’s the ones that claim that the Second Amendment talks about owning guns for military purposes (for a well regulated militia) that have to be worried about. And yes, the crazies should be worried about also. But the crazies, as a general rule, don’t openly carry. Sorry, but the United States is different than Canada … and the rest of the world for that matter. Deal with it. We’ve had guns in the crowds with Presidents for two hundred plus years. With four exceptions out of over forty Presidents, we have a fairly good record for responsibility in that regard.

[And still the “birthers” are out there claiming Barack Obama was not born in the United States, although public documentation proves otherwise. Hawaii is definitely part of the United States, but the Panama Canal Zone where his electoral opponent Senator John McCain was born? Nobody’s sure.]

Really, the only people still talking about the Birthers are the left-wingers trying to stir up discontent and ridicule those on the right.

[Last month, a 44-year-old woman in Buffalo was quite taken by President Obama when she met him in a chicken wing restaurant called Duff’s. Did she say something about a pleasure and an honour to meet the man or utter encouraging words for the difficult job he is doing? No. Quote: “You’re a hottie with a smokin’ little body.”]

You got me there. I agree that this was inappropriate. It could be that he has fostered an image that made her think that this was appropriate, but I’m not one to blame the victim. She should be beaten about the head and shoulders with a tiny stick and told repeatedly, “NO! Bad girl!”

[In President Barack Obama, Americans have a charismatic leader with a good and honest heart. Unlike his predecessor, he’s a very intelligent leader. And unlike that president’s predecessor, he’s a highly moral man.]

See, even you couldn’t resist the urge to attack the Republican President’s intelligence. At least he released his school records and you know that he was a C student. As an Op Ed, your piece leaves a lot to be desired, Mr. Thomas. But, in the right circles it plays like a symphony. No one can argue with President Clinton’s use of cigars though. You’re right about that.

[In President Obama, Americans have the real deal, the whole package and a leader that citizens of almost every country around the world look to with great envy. Given the opportunity, Canadians would trade our leader, hell, most of our leaders for Obama in a heartbeat.]

And you can have him. There’s far less damage that he could do up there in Canada. He can’t destroy your Healthcare system. We don’t sneak across the border to get procedures that we can’t get down here… though that will surely change if President Obama has his way. He can’t even wreck American Pride up there by bowing to everyone he meets in a position of authority. But if you don’t mind him wrecking Canadian Pride, he’s all yours.

[What America has in Obama is a head of state with vitality and insight and youth. Think about it, Barack Obama is a young Nelson Mandela. Mandela was the face of change and charity for all of Africa but he was too old to make it happen. The great things Obama might do for America and the world could go on for decades after he’s out of office.]

Some call his ‘insight’ ignorance. I call it naïveté. It amounts to the same thing. Barack Obama is NO Nelson Mandela. Mr. Mandela actually fought for and worked for what he achieved in life and comparing Obama to that man is a slight to Mandela for which you should be ashamed. And as for the Great Things that Obama could do for America and the world, for the most part we don’t want the lessening of our potential. That is what he can give to the world is a weaker, less confident America. And we don’t want any part of that, thank you very much!

[America, you know not what you have.]

We know exactly what we have now. Some of us knew before the 2008 vote and we said no. Now, it is clear to everyone and in the 2010 vote, I think you see where the majority of Americans stand on the subject.

[The man is being challenged unfairly, characterized with vulgarity and treated with the kind of deep disrespect to which no previous president was subjected. It’s like the day after electing the first black man to be president, thereby electrifying the world with hope and joy, Americans sobered up and decided the bad old days were better.]

The man is being challenged. Period. It is not unfair to challenge a leader that wants to remake the country in an image contrary to that which was intended by its Founders. The vulgarity and deep disrespect are in the mind of the left wing viewer. The right wing viewer would look at it completely differently and see that turn about is fair play. The fact that the man is Black has NOTHING to do with his popularity or lack thereof. Racism is alive and well on the left. It has to be perpetuated in order to firmly keep the African-American community down and in its place. Don’t look across the border from Canada and point a finger at Americans and say you’re racists. You can point your finger and say you’re anti-socialists, but racism has nothing to do with that.

[President Obama may fail but it will not be a Richard Nixon default fraught with larceny and lies. President Obama, given a fair chance, will surely succeed but his triumph will never come with a Bill Clinton caveat – “if only he’d got control of that zipper.”]

There has yet to be an accounting for some of the irregularities in the President’s past… he IS from Chicago after all. He still has two more years in his current term. So, to claim that his failure will not be due to larceny and lies is a bit premature. It is also premature to assume that he won’t have zipper trouble, but I tend to agree with you in that regard.

[Please. Give the man a fair, fighting chance. This incivility toward the leader who won over Americans and gave hope to billions of people around the world that their lives could be enhanced by his example, just naturally has to stop.]

No. This is an American issue, not a world issue. He was elected to be President of the United States of America. His civility has been rather circumspect and he will continue to face the ire of the American people when he chooses to force things down our throats for our own good. We are Americans. We are not sheep that walking willingly behind our betters. And hopefully, we are not socialists waiting for that one charismatic leader to show us who the evil bastards are that need to be destroyed. I can pray for better than that for my country and I can hope that the damage that this man can do in his remaining time will be lessened with the election of so many Republicans to oppose his ‘agenda.’

[Believe me, when Americans drive by the White House and see a sign on the lawn that reads: “No shirt. No shoes. No service,” they’ll realize this new national rudeness has gone way, way too far.]

That is silly. And it was, after all, the President’s staff that ejected the family of the Congressional Medal of Honor winner for not meeting the dress code. No shirt, No shoes, No service indeed.

In closing, I’d like to say that President Obama was SUPPOSED to be our first post-racial president. The left, however, cannot let the race issue die. Every time that he is opposed, it MUST be racial. The race card has become the de facto reason for every one of his failures. It’s always because of his race that people oppose him and keep him from succeeding.

I could point out issues that support this like the Professor and the Beer Summit, the Black Panther Pardon, etc…. But really, what’s the point?

In this opinion piece, William Thomas complains that Americans have the most remarkable opportunity in the world because Barack Hussein Obama is the President. I would point out that we live in a world in which America is viewed with distrust, anger and in some cases, out right hatred. In Mr. Thomas’ world, Barack can save us from this outrage, distrust and anger. In the real world, however, Might Makes Right. Survival of the fittest is a LAW of nature, not a theory from which the world has evolved.

Rome once ruled the known world, yet she was brought down from within by corruption, complacency, moral decline and governmental mismanagement. Only once all of these things weakened Rome enough could the hordes of barbarians achieve success in sacking Rome and finally bring about the end of a great empire. But elitists and social progressives would have us forget this. They would have us dance while the country burns.

I, for one, am not in a dancing mood.

Coming from a white girl a few generations later, I agree with you fully, sir. If I knew of some way to help push the collective recognition into a place of your kind of awareness, I'd be doing nothing else. As it is, all I can do is fight against social injustices... which absolutely still exist, and are ever-growing.

In truth, it's not easy. Damn it, it's not easy at all.

yes, this has always been a part of American Politics...just not to this Ugly Degree...which is the point of this article, as you well know. More False Equivalency from the Right.

apparently you'd blame your rescuer for the actions of an attacker:
it's like being stabbed and left bleeding--and someone comes along who WANTS to HELP (not inflict more pain--where do you get that crap?)--they put a bandage on that can't stem all the bleeding--so you scream at them instead of the perp.

you've been misled--and yet you wear it on your sleeves proudly.
not a great way to go about things.

Moab Mike

If you cannot be civil then you lack reason and are unable to take part in intelligent discourse.Simply put.A churl.

Hey dipshit, where were you in the Bush years when the Patriot Act was signed into law and where Bush turned a massive budget surplus into a bigger deficit than what Obama has?

Oh that's right. Up your own ass, just like you are right now.

I'm a socialist. Obama is NOT a socialist. Health care reform? If that was socialist, Americans wouldn't have to still pay for it. He's using the same health care reform plan Bob Dole had.

Right wingers are fucking retarded. You're all stupid gun toting inbred hillbillys.

OH LOOK AT THE SOCIALIST COMMUNIST FASCIST HITLER BLACK MUSLIM KENYAN.

You people are fucking pathetic.

No, actually, I gave Bush a fair shake, he went and let his friends run amok and we're all paying for it now. Be happy you're probably much older than me and get to die before you have to clean up the mess your party constantly makes, I'm sure your kids are goin to love the world you've left for them. Thanks now hurry up and die and take your stupid white flight suburbanite entitled ideals with you.
thanks, god bless

Amen. What's going on right now scares the heck out of me. I'm 65 years old and I can' believe my nation, the nation that I love, the nation that I fought for, the nation I was willing to die for, has sunk this low. I am no longer proud of my country. I'm ashamed of our behavior. How dare we stoop to this level. Shame on us.

Amen and Amen...I could not think of anything to express it better...thank you

Maybe, you should look at Nixon and tell me the man's not a crook and a liar. If you feel like you're being called dumb by our president, maybe you should look at the people around you and see if maybe they don't look like the byproduct of years of inbreeding. Look at Bush's friends and how he managed to get us in a war with nothing but a lie and a eschewed aim on revenge. and possibly look at the economic damage Bush manage to do. If only Barry hadn't reached across the aisle and tried to work with people soley hellbent on making their rich friends richer and keepin the rest of us poor, frightened and sick.

enemy: one hostile to another; anything harmful

I think that fairly describes how the republicans have been towards the president. They have done nothing but go against everything he has tried to do and not in a nice way. They have been more than "hostile" and "harmful". They are a shame to our country. They're rude, immoral, disrespectful, and definately show no intelligence. Their job is to govern and they've admitted to do nothing but see that Obama fails...that's their #1 agenda to shut down the government and put us into the depression we came close to before Obama stepped in. He's been too busy BEING president to "act" the way you want. The writer stated facts about the past presidents (and not nearly as vulgar as you), the things republicans say about President Obama are lies. Respect...I haven't seen any on the republican side they act like childish sore losers and are a shame to our country.

You clearly have a problem with reading comprehension. You said: "You can't have it both ways. You can't say we need to rally the troops around Obama and be disgusted with those who mock him with posters... then simultaneously say our last President (in the writers opinion) was immoral and unintelligent."
The author of the article said:"In President Barack Obama, Americans have a charismatic leader with a good and honest heart. Unlike his predecessor, he’s a very intelligent leader. And unlike that president’s predecessor, he’s a highly moral man."
Now please allow me to translate for you, the author was refrerring to former President Bush on the intelligence issue, and he was also referring to former President Clinton on the moral issue. When the author said "unlike that persident's predecessor", "that" is former President Bush, so the presecesor of former President Bush is former President Clinton.
Your entire rant is based on your inability to clearly comprehend what you read, and on your very partisan mindset.
Your examples of how "bad" our President is are ridiculous and shows clearly your type of mindset. For you to even think our President was "belittled the citizens of this country" because according to you he said "we were to scared to think clearly". Where you see "belittling" in that is beyond me, but most Americans are too scared and too confused by the constant lies to be able to think clearly. That is absolutely true. Clearly the truth scares you, if it didn't you would jump to defensive conclussions.
Republicans have been behaving like the enemy, everybody who is not blinded by their own stupidity sees it. They care nothing about the well being of this country or its citizens, just look back as all the legislation they've blocked or tried to block--all of which was to benefit the citizens of this country. They even block legislation that improves and expands care to our own war veterans! Only enemies of the state would do that!

"Maybe instead of looking to our citizens to act more fairly towards the President, we need to look to our Presidents to start acting more Presidential."
Really? you mean he should become white?

You, simply PROVE how stupid you are! Misspellings and twisted thinking. You are completely uninformed and obviously, a poor judge of character. You make the writer of the article's point, completely! Rude and uninformed. People who think (and spell) like you, SUCK!

Sir/Madam - You were never sold - cut the pretense!!

Is the president being 'attacked' on all fronts for what he and his administration are doing or what 'they' haven't done. Given that from my understanding the country's problems are inherited fromt he previous administration. Is two long enough to undo what took ten plus years to create.

If you look back on his period in office, is he being attacked for his personal life or what? Compared to previous presidents can he be said to be morally upstanding in his personal life. I see no headline scandals?

Let call a spade for what it is. Had the man been of a different ethnic origin would he be faced with a number of people who would prefer economic and social failure because the alternative..ie president overseaing a a successful administration who doesn't fit the traditional mold is clearly an unthinkable alternative for a number of people in the US. How sad is that.

Since when does stating the Truth make you a hypocrite?

"In President Barack Obama, Americans have a charismatic leader with a good and honest heart. Unlike his predecessor<<<<<<>>>>>>>>, he’s a very intelligent leader. And unlike that president’s predecessor<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>, he’s a highly moral man."

Were his statements about Nixon untrue?

Are you at all knowledgeable about the political process? The first 2 years of any president’s term he is either fixing or floating on the failure or success of their predecessor. Clinton and a Republican Congress fixed the economy in 2 terms. Bush and a Republican congress took it in the opposite direction.

I never expected Obama and a democratic congress to right a wrong because it needs to be a bipartisan effort.

I don't agree with most of Obama's policies, but I have never felt belittled. Most Americans don't think clearly. They feed off of what others say. How many people called Obama a Marxist and never even read any work of Karl Marx. What is the tea party really practicing? I would say it is bandwagon politics. They're finding everyone who’s lost a job or house and telling them to blame it on President Obama and Nancy Pelosi. They didn't cause a quarter of the problems that we are facing right now.

We as a country have lost respect for our political process. Obama won!!! Stand behind him help our country move in the right direction. If McCain had won the expectation for support would be the same.

If you want your President to fail for any reason you should be considered an enemy. I voted for Bush and into to second I approved of very little that he did. Did I want him to fail? No! Why, because if he fails so does the whole country. Don’t be a sore loser of because the republicans lost the election. If we as a country took the time that we are using to undermine the President (and subsequently our country) and redirected it working to correcting the problem, WE as a country will succeed.

Although, I cannot disagree the the left made the same disgusting comments about George W by comparing him to Hitler which should have been pointed out in this article, there is no denying that race is playing a part in Obama's presidency. It is a historic event and Obama should be judged by his work and not the color of his skin. I never hoped that Bush should fail just because my views were (and still are) vastly different than his. People who wish ill upon a president are ego maniacal, like Mr. Limbaugh or Mr. Franken. As we engage in character assassination, children are hungry before they go to school, children need better healthcare and our educational system is in disarray. One would think that we would be intelligent enough on both sides of the isle to tackle these and other important issues. I really blame the lobbyist and the media for the current state of politics at this time. MSNBC and Fox should not be labeled as news organizations. They have violated every code of conduct in the canon of journalism. CNN is not much better but rates higher in polls for integrity. Now getting back to this post above. You made a good point, but ruined your own credibility by saying that Obama referred to Republicans a the enemy. He did not. I defy you to show me the video or transcript of a speech where he calls the GOP "The enemy". So, it appears that you have committed the same violation as the writer of the article. Tisk, tisk, tisk.

You know I was almost ready to repost the article on my Facebook page UNTIL I read the comments of the previous poster. Although I am a registered Democrat, you are correct in saying the writer could have made his point without bashing other presidents in the process. With that said, I agree with half the article but as the previous poster pointed out, he lost with starting with.....

"In President Barack Obama, Americans have a charismatic leader with a good and honest heart. Unlike his predecessor, he’s a very intelligent leader. And unlike that president’s predecessor, he’s a highly moral man."

Bush is no longer the President and we have his 8 years to judge whether he was a good President or not...and ...guess what: HE WASN'T. Next Nixon was a slickster who got caught with his big fat thumbs in the cookie jar...another disgrace. Clearly from your blinded diatribe, you are in fact afraid to think clearly and heaven forbid that a President actually be gifted with TRUE INTELLECT, grace, patience (because if I were President I would have cursed all of you), and the ability to assess when ignorance and stupidity and yeah let's throw in the "R" word too because some people really can't deal with a SMART BLACK MAN in office. And yes there are enemies among us who have pocket billions, millions, and thousands of dollars by capitalizing off of the poor and middle class. Full of shenanigans and totally unrepentant. If President Obama won't say it, because he is way too kind and diplomatic, I will.
KISS MY ASS!

No insult intended toward the author of this article, William Thomas or the author of "HYPOCRISY AT ITS FINEST"; but, the "change" in the way THIS particular U.S. President is being perceived, challenged, insulted, disrespected & denigrated has more to do with his race, i.e. Black, rather than any OTHER reason suggested! Forget the ½ "White" factor of Barack Obama's mother. The REALITY in the United States is that it is and ALWAYS has been a universally accepted FACT that ANY person with one iota of "so-called" Black "blood" is THEREBY a BLACK person - no if’s and’s or but’s & everyone of US so designated, understand this reality completely and profoundly. So, we have nothing "NEW" here because racism has been and continues to be the UGLY underbelly of our country from the moment the first African slave was bought & brought to these shores to work, live, function & exist as chattel PROPERTY rather than as a human being that just happened to be captured and enslaved in the course of war or other circumstances in the process of man’s seemingly never ending effort to conquer man. Hence, race in our country continues to be the ONE aspect of our society that will erupt like a volcano at a moment's notice because to this day, so many of our citizens insist on living in a perpetual state of AMNESIA and DENIAL of our history with respect to slavery and all that this uniquely “American” form of human bondage left in the wake of it’s devastating past. Until each and every one of us can ACCEPT this REALITY and DEAL with it, race, based on Black/White, will continue to DIVIDE & CONQUER "Our Country Tis of Thee!" IMHO. Gwen Wood, Honolulu, HI