Was Tucker Carlson Speaking in Code when He Advocated the Death Penalty for Michael Vick and Compared Him to a Crack Dealer?

What was Tucker Carlson actually saying when he says that Michael Vick should have been executed; and what does he mean by comparing Vick to a crack dealer? Is Carlson speaking in some kind of code?

Carlson was guest hosting on Fox News' Sean Hannity Show this week when he commented on the fact that President Barack Obama complimented Philadelphia Eagles' owner Jeffrey Laurie for giving Vick an opportunity to play football again after his release from prison after a conviction for funding a dog fighting operation.

On the show, Carlson said, "I'm a Christian, I've made mistakes myself, I believe fervently in second chances, but Michael Vick killed dogs, and he did [it] in a heartless and cruel way. And I think personally he should have been executed for that. He wasn't."

"But the idea that the President of the United States would be getting behind someone who murdered dogs [is] kind of beyond the pale."

Carlson, a second tier cable news commentator who is filling in during a holiday week for Sean Hannity, continued to say, "If the President said there's some guy who was dealing crack as a kid, grew up in a poor family, you know the story, and he's turned his life around, you know, fine. I get that."

Why would it not be enough for Carlson to simply say that he disagreed with the President and that he did not think Vick deserved a second chance? Instead of doing so, Carlson compared Vick's situation with that of a kid crack dealer from a poor family. While most were appalled at Vick's actions and the hideous practice of dog fighting, does any sensible person actually believe that Vick should have been put to death over it?

Furthermore, what is the purpose, exactly, of comparing dog fighting to drug dealing? Why not compare drug dealing to tax evasion, or drug dealing to sexual assault? And why would Carlson even need to state that he would be 'fine' with a disadvantaged youth growing up, turning his life away from drug dealing and to athletics? Is the fact that that would be a glorious story of redemption not obvious?

While nobody knows for sure what was in Carlson's heart or mind when he made these statements, saying he thought that Michael Vick should have been executed was, to use his term, beyond the pale; to compare Vick's situation with a poor, disadvantaged drug dealing kid is suspicious to say the least.

Source:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/12/29/2010-12-29_tucker_carlson_michael_vick_should_have_been_executed_for_running_dogfighting_ri.html