On the comparison to former Republican leader Trent Lott: Lott was a long-time advocate of segregation and a former member of the KKK, who announced that the United States would be better off if it had elected Strom Thurmond president in 1948. For those not in the know, Thurmond ran for president as a white supremacist on the segregationist third party "Dixiecrat" ticket (and wound up with 39 electoral votes by winning just about every county in the states of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia).
On what Reid said: Yes, the verbiage used by Sen. Reid was archaic and insensitive. And yes, his apology to the President was warranted. But if you look deep inside yourself, you will realize that Reid essentially (although not quite artfully) said what a majority of Americans told themselves during the 2008 campaign. Believe me, had it been Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton running instead of Obama, we would be entering the second year of Hillary Clinton or John McCain's presidency.
So, is there a double standard here in Lott's resignation following his remarks about Thurmond and Reid's retaining his job following the disclosure of his rather unfortunate choice of words about Obama?
Only in that rather bizarre alternative universe known as Fox "News."
As always, Rachel Maddow offers an intelligent perspective on what, in my opinion, is a non-issue...
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