OPPOSITION TO OBAMA RACE BASED?

I rarely ever watch Bill Maher on television because I don’t like that smart ass. Last night I watched him on HBO since there wasn’t anything else worth watching while I was waiting for the premiere of Jay Leno’s prime time show on NBC-TV.

Maher had been going through his usual political crap with a panel of three guests when he decided to give his take on those who oppose Obama. He believes the opposition to Obama is racially motivated. He thinks that Congressman Joe Wilson, R-S.C., would never have shouted "You lie" during the president’s congressional address if Obama were white. He pointed out that Wilson was "a Southern white guy."

Now you know why I think Maher is a smart ass. His statement about Wilson implies that all Southern whites are racists. Yes, there are white racists in the South just like there are white racists in the rest of the country. And, for sure, some of the opposition to Obama is race based, just as some of the opposition to President Kennedy was based on hatred of Catholicism.

In an interview with Brian Williams aired on NBC Nightly News today, Jimmy Carter echoed Maher’s view that Obama’s opposition is racially motivated. Carter claims that the "overwhelming majority" of whites do not believe a black man is "qualified to lead this great country." This from one of the most inept presidents this country ever had – historians have categorized Carter’s administration as "hapless and enfeebled."

Oh, I almost forgot that this was the president who, in 1970, barely escaped assassination by a rabbit that swam toward the canoe from which he was fishing – "It was hissing menacingly, its teeth flashing and nostrils flared and making straight for the president" [according to the White House press release].

Bill Maher and Jimmy Carter notwithstanding, I believe that most of the opposition to Obama has absolutely nothing to do with his race. It has everything to do with some of his far-left policies and it has a lot to do with fear mongering lies spread about him and his policies by the far-right.

Playing the race card in this instance is a cheap but clever political trick designed to paint the Republican party as racist and to make those opposed to Obama question their motives and feel ashamed of themselves.

Maher did get one thing right though. He said that in his address to the nation’s schools, Obama should have told the students "don’t become obese and don’t use drugs or you’ll end up like Rush Limbaugh."