by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Sept. 17, 2009
All Rights Reserved.

          Speaking at Emory University’s Carter Center, former President Jimmy Carter decried that racism was behind Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) outburst during President Barack Obama’s Sept. 9 primetime health care speech.  Wilson blurted out “you lie,” in response to Barack promising illegal aliens would not get access to his new health care plan.  Carter concluded that Wilson’s “you lie” remarks represent a “Southern strain” of Americans that can’t support an “uppity” black as president.  Carter’s analysis sounds more like a projection of his own Southern roots, certainly not taking into account Barack’s landslide victory last November cutting across many regions and demographics.  Blaming recent rancor on health care, Afghanistan, missile defense, etc., on race reveals the extent of Carter’s tone-deafness to the nation’s political divide.  Ideology, not race, divides the nation.

            Right wing groups aren’t ranting-and-raving about Barack’s health care plan because he’s black:  They’re attacking him, as Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) points out, to score cheap political points before next year’s midterm election.  Rejecting Carter’s analysis, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the president doesn’t believe today’s rancor is “based on the color of his skin.”  Since the inauguration Jan. 20, right-wing groups have hammered Obama on virtually every issue, spreading rumors last February that the U.S. stock market couldn’t recover under an Obama administration.  Since then, the market has risen nearly 50%, staging the most fierce comeback since the Great Depression. Raising the race card without any proof speaks volumes about Carter who did more damage to the Democratic Party during his one-term administration than former President Lyndon B. Johnson.

            Liberal TV personality/comedian Bill Maher concurred with Carter declaring, “Finally we’re talking about this,” referring to racism against Obama.  Conservative groups have opposed Obama since rolling victory Nov. 4, 2008.  Right wing radio hosts have become more vitriolic since Obama took office, trying to figure out a way to dethrone the 48-year-old Harvard Law graduate.  Conservative groups like to point to Barck’s job approval ratings, now hovering above 52%.  They like to point out his drop of  16% since inauguration day, when many Republicans and independents voted for an African American.  No amount of circumstances could account on Election Day for why white voters turned out in droves to vote for an African American.  RNC Chairman Michael Steele called Carter’s comments an “outrage,” citing policy differences with Obama, not racism.

            Carter’s been known in recent years for making incendiary remarks.  He referred to Israel as employing South African apartheid-like policies against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, forgetting that Palestinians remained actively at war with the Jewish State.  “I live in the South and I’ve seen the South come a long way,” said Carter.  “I think its bubbled up to the surface because of a belief among many white people not just in the South but around the country that African-Americans are not qualified to lead this country.  It’s an abominable circumstance and grieves me and concerns me very deeply,” strangely saying more about the ex-president than today’s state of race relations.  Again, based on analysis of the last election, Obama took plenty of votes from McCain, precisely because they perceived Obama as more competent.  Few believe, as Carter says, that African-Americans aren’t “qualified.”

            Expressing his own internal demons, Carter can’t fathom the fact that more white people find Obama far more qualified and competent than the former president.  Obama is frequently hammered by the right wing press for reverting back to the Carter days.  By that they mean days of American inferiority and weakness.  Carter handed former President Ronald Reagan a stunning landslide victory in 1980, precisely because Carter left the country in shambles, both economically and militarily.  Carter’s remarks speak volumes about his unconscious demons not Southerners or whites in general.  Obama won white states like Iowa and Indiana, not because voters thought he was unqualified or incompetent.  Today’s controversial topics tend to split along partisan lines, not along race.  Conservative African Americans, like RNC Chairman Steele, oppose Barack’s policies on health care and beyond.

            Former President Jimmy Carter has become a lightening rod for controversy in recent years.  His views on Israel and now race relations reflect his need for publicity and his own view more than changes in society.  Barack’s overwhelming win last November proved the nation looks at character and competency before skin color.  “While the false accusation of racism is not a new tactic, it has been refined by the Obama supporters into a toxic power which is causing damage to the social fabric of the country by artificially injecting race into every political issue,” wrote Cornell University Law Professor William Jacobson in a recent commentary, pointing the wrong finger at Obama.  White House officials have done everything possible to refute Carter’s unfounded ideas.  Judging by Barack’s 53% approval ratings, the country is still evenly divided between liberal and conservative ideology, not race.

 John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.