“You lie!”
Poor behaviour, certainly. But if indeed the accusation is as ridiculous as people are trying to make it out to be, then surely a refutation (based on facts, not bald denial) should be a simple matter, and we could all move on. Instead, we have former President Jimmy Carter weighing in on matter, proclaiming the remark racist, and many alleging a racist undercurrent that won’t tolerate a black president, an undercurrent that just broke to the surface with that outburst of Wilson’s.Â
Possible. He may be a racist; he may not be; certainly Jimmy Carter has no corner on the judgment of that question. Unfortunately, there was apparently plenty of racist mail to black politicians following the incident, which is a shame, because it gives credence to the claim that “You lie!” is racist sentiment. I wouldn’t mind discussing that, if it didn’t also detract from the real issue: whether President Obama is correct in what he has said.Â
I give our president enough credit that I don’t think he is intentionally stating a falsehood. I do think it is possible that he may be wrong, however sincerely he believes he isn’t, and that deserves to be examined. It ought to be examined despite disrespectful heckling and regardless of the underlying motives of such heckling.Â
And let’s not forget that for about eight years BUSH LIES! T-shirts have been tolerated, if not welcomed, by the same people who are now incensed that the public sentiment so openly expressed against our former president has now made to jump to congress to be expressed there against his successor. If Joe Wilson is guilty of racism, are wearers of Those abovementioned T-shirts guilty of bushism? texism? republicanism?Â
I wish Jimmy Carter had stuck to foreign policy.Â
(Disclosure: I voted for Kerry in ’04Â and for Obama in ’08.)Â
This may be your way of telling me I don’t follow the news enough, but why do you link to everything known to man in your blog posts but not to the incident to which your post relates? I’m to lazy to do a search – no, I think a clean bathroom is more important . . .
Well I looked it up and it took too much time and I cried over politics for the first time in my life. I watched the video of Obama’s speach and the division in the house is so clear it breaks my heart. Obama called folks liars in his speech to standing ovations from half the house while the others sat gravely. Could you imagine going to a wedding where the minister said the brides family was lucky that some guy was willing to take their no-good daughter and then the groom’s side stood up with enthusiastic applause? How horrible! When did this great divide happen to my country? Did I just ignore the signs? I am reminded again and again why I don’t talk politics. Nothing else I know brings forth such hate in Americans. Oh Lord be merciful to us! (And I don’t know who the liars are. Maybe they’re all lying, but at what point past kindergarten did calling someone a liar count as a good argument?!?)
Pretty funny that we both posted on the same event today…maybe even at the same time; I can never tell times what with you posting from all over the world.
I wish Jimmy Carter had stuck to building Habitat for Humanity houses. That was when Porter called him “the best ex-president we’ve ever had.”
I suppose this sums it up:
Indeed.
I am glad we seem to have passed the stage of tar and feathers, however. Political discourse was not all that civil in the past, either.