"Barack the Magic Negro" is Obviously Offensive

According to CNN, the RNC chairman has said: "I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate, as it clearly does not move us in the right direction."

Wow, you think? The joke is not particularly funny or savvy (the CD it came in over the holidays was called "We Hate the USA" -- meant to imply, comedically of course, that all Democrats are un-American).

This is yet another example of how the Republican Party distances itself from an increasingly young and progressive voter base. "Jokes" like this are lame at best, and outright offensive at their worst. How many Republican operatives have appeared on late-night comedy talk shows, only to have their jokes fall flat?

Enough of trying to make the public laugh; how about some decent policymaking? How about getting us out of this financial nightmare before it's too late?

Where did this song first emerge, by the way? According to the CNN article, Rush Limbaugh was the first to play it -- on his radio station in 2007. Yet another example of how Rush Limbaugh is our greatest arbiter of cultural taste... or not.