When Everyone's a Racist, No One's a Racist

Carol Platt Liebau | September 15, 2009 10:13 PM

Examining the video in the post immediately below, it seems evident that the Democrats had better think very, very carefully before they make the mistake of painting President Obama's political opponents with a "racist" brush, as even

former President Jimmy Carter has now come perilously close to doing..

For one thing, if everyone's a racist, no one's a racist. Slinging the epithet around promiscuously denudes it of power -- which, ultimately, might be one of the best things ever to happen to race relations -- but will also create a problem: How does one actually identify and call out the sorry, sick souls who actually do hate others for no reason other than the color of their skin?

In the more immediate term, one would think that the more intelligent Democrats would realize that the race-card-playing is doing nothing to help the President or his agenda. It takes everyone's eye off the ball; every day spent debating racism is one less day spent debating health care (on second thought . . .) More than that, racial controversy simply creates divisions that are going to make it harder for the President to bridge when he later needs the support of voters who may be opposing him now.

So maybe the Democrats can admit that there are people of good faith who can disagree with the President without despising African Americans, and kick to the curb the cynics among them who think that Americans can be guilted into signing onto an agenda with which they don't agree.