Is Rush Limbaugh a Racist or are We a Nation of Ninnies?

Image via Boston Herald

Recently there has been quite a bit of hoopla about Mr. Limbaugh and him being a racist.  The perception has been there for years but with his recent attempt to acquire an NFL team the cauldron got brought to full boil.  First of all let me say that I am a white guy and I also would classify myself as a Limbaugh fan.  I do not listen to him regularly but what I have heard, I generally agree with.  The racist quotes attributed to him on CNN and in the newspapers were later found to be fabrications.  Not taken out of context but complete and total fabrications.

Image via Wikipedia

The one quote cited that was accurate was referring to Donovan McNabb 

“Sorry to say this, I don’t think he’s been that good from the get-go,” Limbaugh said. “I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve. The defense carried this team.”

As I interpret this Limbaugh was saying that McNabb was overrated, he also was saying that the media really wanted a black quarterback to succeed and so they were very invested in making him look good.   He was pointing out a reverse bias.  He was not saying anything about McNabb’s race, except that the media and the league were aware of it, and hopeful that McNabb would succeed because of his skin color.  Limbaugh confronted what he perceived as racial bias, and for this he was fired by ESPN. 

I think time has shown that Mr. Limbaugh was wrong in his assessment Mr. McNabb’s talents Donovan has had a very good career in the NFL.  By most if not all accounts he is a good citizen and seems like a guy that most Americans would love to sit down and have a beer with.   But calling a guy overrated in itself is not racist.  The problem came because Mr. Limbaugh attempted to tie the reasons Mr. McNabb was overrated to his race.  This fails the political correction test even though there is some truth to the notion. 

Fast forward to modern day America we just had a Presidential election where a man who I and many others felt lacked any of the background necessary to do the job of President won the election.    This was a great moment for America in many ways we proved that we were open minded enough to elect a man, who 50 years ago wouldn’t be allowed to eat in the same diner as many of our citizens, to President of the United States.  This is social progress and even though I did not vote for the President I am glad he was given the opportunity to compete and that he was able to prove that racism as an effective force for white people is dead.

Is Obama overrated?  Without a doubt, He has never run anything of substance, he has zero accomplishments to point at, The only thing he has done is win elections and write a book about himself, The man is a brilliant speaker, a gifted negotiator, He can speak to a room full of people with conflicting idea’s and make everyone feel like he is on their side.   He has never run a business; He has never run a state.  His first experience with Ceo like powers was running his Presidential campaign.  This was by his own admission. 

Rush Limbaugh is not opposed to Barrack Obama because he is black, He was not opposed to Donovan McNabb because he was black.  Rush was merely pointing out something that is overlooked in the main stream media and that is that a man should not be pushed into the spotlight simply because he is the hue we are looking for.   Men should be assessed on their talents, on their accomplishments, on what they do, not on the color of their skin.  Rush may have been wrong about McNabb in 2003, let’s hope for the sake of the country he is wrong about Obama.  So far it is looking like he is right on this time.