MSNBC Host Chris Matthews is at it again. Last night on his show, he went into a rant about "white people sickness," saying again that attacks on President Obama are solely based on race rather than policy. Matthews also slammed Sarah Palin for using the term "shuck and jive" to describe President Obama's handling of Libya, something Jay Carney also said yesterday during his daily press briefing.
“As a white person, I think it’s a statement against the white people to talk like this,” said Matthews. “It’s a sickness by the white people. Anyway, they ought to be ashamed of themselves.”
Sarah Palin has already responded to the ridiculous outrage about her use of "shuck and jive" on her Facebook page.
For the record, there was nothing remotely racist in my use of the phrase "shuck and jive" – a phrase which many people have used, including Chris Matthews, Andrew Cuomo, and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney to name a few off the top of my head. In fact, Andrew Cuomo also used the phrase in reference to Barack Obama, and the fact that Mr. Cuomo and I used the phrase in relation to President
Obama signifies nothing out of the ordinary. I would have used the exact same expression if I had been writing about President Carter, whose foreign policy rivaled Obama’s in its ineptitude, or about the Nixon administration, which was also famously rocked by a cover-up.
I’ve been known to use the phrase most often when chastising my daughter Piper to stop procrastinating and do her homework. As she is part Yup’ik Eskimo, I’m not sure if this term would be deemed offensive when it’s directed at her or if it would be considered benign as in the case of Chris Matthews’ use of it in reference to Rachel Maddow. Just to be careful, from now on I’ll avoid using it with Piper, and I would appreciate it if the media refrained from using words and phrases like igloo, Eskimo Pie, and “when hell freezes over,” as they might be considered offensive by my extended Alaska Native family.
The outrageously outraged reaction to this expression from perennial hypocrites like Chris Matthews has only made me laugh. Mr. Matthews, let me share with you my favorite Irish toast: “May we always be happy, and may our enemies always know it.”
- Sarah Palin