What They Don't Want To Say On TV

You can't say that the animosity toward Barack Obama does not contain an element of race. And while the TV talking heads won't admit it, it's that element that makes this variation of animosity different than those directed at past presidents.

Or, as Turkana puts it:

They Hate Him Because He’s Black

I deliberately use the word black rather than the words African American. The latter lacks the proper emotional value. It is cultural and geographical. The former is visceral. Bigotry is not subtle. It is primal. It is not about ideas. It is irrational.


He is smarter and more educated and more articulate than they. A self-made man, he represents everything they would claim to value. But he looks different, to them. They hate him because he looks different. They hate him because he is dark. In “Western” “Culture,” the very words black and dark have powerfully negative value. They often are used as synonyms for the sinister.

They hated President Clinton, and tried to destroy him. But one of their elected governors didn’t talk secession. They didn’t talk revolution. They didn’t attempt (and miserably fail) to launch nationwide protests against him. Bill Clinton was a lot of things. He was not black.

Again, race isn't the entire reason, but it's a big one. And considering that we're dealing with the first black President, it's an aspect that the media better get used to addressing.