Imus, Dog, Barack and Hillary and the Court Jester

This morning, I woke to hear the news covering Don Imus' return to radio. I had a problem with his being fired for his statement... not that I thought it was right, but you aren't going to stop racism and bigotry in this country by hiding it. So, as Imus is coming back in, Bounty Hunter "Dog" is going out. I'm even MORE trouble by the fact that A&E has indefinitely suspended the guy for use of a racial slur in a PRIVATE phone conversation. But what I find incredibly interesting is that while I'm reading the article on Bounty Hunter, I see the other most popular headlines on Reuters: Obama accuses Clinton of hiding behind gender

And I have to wonder, if Clinton made the accusation that Obama was hiding behind race, would that be the end of her career? Don't get me wrong, I don't think any candidate is hiding behind anything more than fear that they truly might have to make a stance and see it through all the way... accountability is something we've long lost the expectation for in an administration, so I think the fear is unfounded... but whatever. I just wonder how it is okay for Obama to make such a statement. And it comes down to sexism being so ingrained in our culture that we don't even bat an eyelash when it is blazoned across a top headline... but we are uber sensitive to racism and it all comes back to fear....

And we should be afraid; afraid that our rights have disintegrated to the point that freedom of speech, expression and press are merely sideline snickers to most. Fear that our Constitution has been so mangled and shattered that all the Kings horses and all the Kings men could not put it back together again. Fear that anyone who stands up for the injustice will find themselves water-boarded at Gitmo... Fear that a private conversation can be exploited.

But we can't be running scared every time some half-wit exposes their ignorance--we simply don't have the capacity for that in this country.

Now, speaking of a candidate that would bring an interesting twist and some much needed integrity to the process: Stephen Colbert denied South Carolina primary run. Yep, that's right, DENIED... and isn't it interesting that so many breathed a sigh of relief when Colbert announced his intention to run (if only in SC)? Finally, someone with something to bring--and you can argue that Colbert is playing a part, but can you argue the others are not?

Obama even dodged a question this week about Colbert's bid... you could smell the fear. And it is sad when it takes comedians to be relevant... haven't we seen this in history already? And doesn't a revolution follow? Where do I sign up?