Former President Jimmy Carter referred to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as "this black boy" during PBS' coverage of the Democratic National Convention on Monday, and no one batted an eye.
It is unlikely that Carter will be called out on his remark. In fact, he might even be rewarded. Sen. Joseph Biden was chosen as Obama's running mate even though he referred to the Illinois senator as "clean and articulate." There also was no outcry from Indian Americans to Obama choosing Biden even though Biden previously said, “In Delaware, the largest growth of population is Indian Americans, moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.” Only Republicans like former Sen. George Allen of Virginia, who called a camera-carrying staffer for now-Sen. James Webb "macaca," get criticized for perceived racial slurs. The campaign worker was of Indian American descent, and Allen was branded the racist of the week by the media. Virginia lost a committed conservative senator, and the GOP lost a possible presidential candidate for 2008. While Bill and Hillary Clinton took a dose of their own party's racism charges during the primaries, those charges likely will fade away after Sen. Clinton's convention speech tonight. After all, she is a Democrat.