Let’s leave aside for the moment whether the attacks launched by Hillary Clinton and her campaign surrogates against Barack Obama are racially insensitive or not, and whether discussion of Obama’s past drug use is a subject of legitimate political debate. Because this is hilarious: At a campaign appearance in South Carolina, BET founder Robert Johnson said: “And to me, as an African American, I am frankly insulted that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues since Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood – and I won’t say what he was doing, but he said it in the book – when they have been involved.” This is an obvious reference to Obama’s admitted drug use. But the Clintons have decided that they can continue to raise these issues and then claim they weren’t raising them. Here, for example, is Johnson’s attempt at a correction: “My comments today were referring to Barack Obama’s time spent as a community organizer, and nothing else. Any other suggestion is simply irresponsible and incorrect.” That is preposterous. Why would Mr. Johnson have any reluctance to talk about Obama’s time as a community organizer? To me, as an observer of pretty average intellect, I am frankly insulted that Mr. Johnson would have us believe that he did not say what he plainly said.
