Bob Kerrey, in his endorsement of Clinton, said this:
“The fact that he’s African American is a big deal. I do expect and hope that Hillary is the nominee of the party. But I hope he’s used in some way. If he happens to be the nominee of the party and ends up being president, I think his capacity to influence in a positive way without spending a penny the behavior of a lot of under performing black youth today is very important, and he’s the only one who can reach them.”
Kerrey continued, “It’s probably not something that appeals to him, but I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim. There’s a billion people on the planet that are Muslims and I think that experience is a big deal.” He added, “He’s got a whale of a lot more intellectual talent than I’ve got as well.”
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh. OK, it may sound like a genuine compliment, and he may have meant it that way, but the timing was horrible, coming as it did on a day that Obama had press attending church with him in an attempt to finally put this stupid “secret muslim” meme to rest. And Dear Lord how I wish “Muslim” wasn’t a dirty word in America, but it is and I can’t change that.
So: New Rule. No one is allowed to say “Barack Obama” and “Muslim” in the same paragraph until 2009.
