Obama gets the Clinton treatment (Gene Lyons)

[mooseandsquirrel]

snip

Besides, there's absolutely nothing new about the abuse directed at Obama. Pundits like the Washington Post's Colbert I. King, as my friend Bob Somerby never tires of pointing out, have arrived rather late at the party.

"There's something loose in the land," King opines, "an ugliness and hatred directed toward Barack Obama, the nation's first African-American president, that takes the breath away. The thread of resentment is woven through conservative commentary, right-wing radio and cable TV shows, all the way to Capitol Hill."

So where was King when Bill and Hillary Clinton were accused of murder by Rush Limbaugh and in videotapes peddled by the Rev. Jerry Falwell? The latter's sanctimonious mug nevertheless continued to appear constantly on network TV talk shows as an honored representative of America's devout Christians.

snip

http://moose-and-squirrel.com/gene/gene.html

m&s

[Captain Hilts]

1. King, like Frank Rich, Bob Herbert and MoDo all piled on. nt

[bemildred]

2. Yeah, also formerly known as the "Carter Treatment".

[Captain Hilts]

4. Yes, the press tried the 'stupid hillbilly' routine on Carter and Clinton. Two extraordinarily

bright men.

[bemildred]

5. Who can forget "Billy Beer" and the small-minded sparrowfarts bashing Amy and Chelsea?

It's the same playbook today.

[Beacool]

3. Hear, hear!!!!

But don't expect too many positive comments.

"From a political standpoint, the worst thing about blaming President Obama's perceived difficulties on racism is that there's not a damn thing anybody can do about it. Determined bigots can't be shamed, while many see invoking race as more an excuse than an explanation.

Democrats who cry racism risk looking like whiners fearful they're losing the argument. Not to mention illogical. If Obama's approval rating among white voters has dropped from 63 to 43 percent, as the Los Angeles Times recently documented, it's not because they suddenly heard about his African father.

Nor should there be any reason to panic. As Joan Walsh has pointed out, 43 is the exact percentage of whites that supported Obama in 2008. Rep. Joe Wilson's, R-S.C., rude outburst during the president's speech to Congress spoke for itself, along with his longtime support for flying the Rebel flag over South Carolina's capitol."

[emulatorloo]

6. Yeah it is the same old right wing crap, with some racism mixed in