It's been five and a half weeks since President Obama was inaugurated, a wonderful day when we marked this change from the Bush era to a progressive administration. And, yes, on that day, there were many who talked about America having broken a racial barrier in having the first black president.
But Republicans still seem to want to make the point that, hey, the president is black.
You can see that in three quotes from Republicans on Obama's speech to Congress:
Nicely delivered, and it remains inspiring to see an African-American conduct the rituals of the presidency.
Hewitt
Tonight, we witnessed a great moment in the history of our Republic. In the very chamber where Congress once voted to abolish slavery, our first African-American president stepped forward to address the state of our union.
Jindal
"Tonight Kentuckians and all Americans were proud eyewitnesses to history as an African-American president addressed a joint session of Congress for the first time.
Over the years, there have been many important markers in our nation’s long journey toward racial equality. Few have been as compelling as seeing President Obama in the Speaker’s rostrum tonight.
McConnell
What's going on? I have some theories and wonder what you think.
- When they look at President Obama, they see a black man.
- They are convinced that Obama's win wasn't mostly about rejecting years of Bush Republicanism. He won because young people and minorities and guilty liberals wanted to elect a black guy.
- They are stuck in a time warp, back to January 20, when a lot of inaugural coverage focused on Obama as the first black president. Just like they seem to be stuck with the ideologies and policy views of the last 28 years, they can't move on when it comes to characterizing Obama. They're doing that when it comes to race and with the labels like "socialist" and "radical."
- They think this will make them more appealing to moderates and to young voters. It's part and parcel of why Steele (with his hip-hop hopes, oh baby!) was selected to be the chair of the RNC.
- Huh? Who knows? We're talking about clueless Republicans.