Sen. Tom Coburn (Photo: Senate.gov)
This is what passes for
Sen. Tom Coburn being generous to President Barack Obama:
Responding to a man in Langley who asked if Obama "wants to destroy America," Coburn said the president is "very bright" and loves his country but has a political philosophy that is "goofy and wrong."
This is what follows that faint praise:
Obama's "intent is not to destroy, his intent is to create dependency because it worked so well for him," he said.
"As an African-American male," Coburn said, Obama received "tremendous advantage from a lot of these programs."
This is a United States senator speaking, I'll remind you as you try to gather the presence of mind to close your gaping jaw, and what he's saying basically boils down to that Barack Obama was lucky to be black because government programs gave him "tremendous advantage." I'm not clear how Medicare and veterans benefits—the programs Coburn is quoted discussing in this article—got Obama into Harvard Law School or made the editor of the Harvard Law Review, but that appears to be the contention. Or maybe it's that Medicare got Obama elected to the Illinois State Senate?
Or maybe it's just that Sen. Tom Coburn is blowing the racist dogwhistle as hard as he can.