Said what was needed to be said no matter what the right of center, far right and fringe right have to say and bitch (as news media, pundits, whatever) about what he said. Like the New York Daily News – the only major urban daily ever to lose a federal discrimination lawsuit because of the way it treated its journalists of color – said what was to be expected, it’s headline: “Jerky Jimmy’s junk: Carter’s cries of racism are both wrong and destructive.” [Destructive?!?]
This writer was at first thrown off by Juan Williams’ lead in his NY Daily News OpEd-type column the same day of the News editorial:
“President Jimmy Carter was wrong to charge that criticism of President Obama is racist,” was JW’s lead. [Carter should have done a better job of identifying those stoking the fires – the fringe, the fringe right leaders and the fringe right leaders of the Republican Party.]
But Williams quickly follows with:
“But Carter is right on one big and important point: The pattern of attacks on Obama suggests that there are people who don’t accept the idea that this man, the first black man to win the highest office in the land, is really the President.”
JW didn’t use the word racist. He didn’t have to.
Also, the following recollection is weak and poorly substantiated but … I recall several years ago when Reagan was in office the serious criticism of the rhetoric of conservative elected officials whom it was felt were feeding the flames for attacks on U.S. Park Rangers and Wild Life Conservationists in the western states. The elected officials were told in editorials and other communiqué to chill.
Am planning to follow this up.
Tags: fringe right, Juan Williams, New York Daily News, President Barack Obama, President Jimmie Carter