The Washington Imes 9.18, Haley Barbour: It's about Policy not race

Governor Barbour is right concerning issues, as far as he goes. Jimmy Carter was totally off the mark and should now realize that it's truly time for him to retire. The administration is wise to steer clear of comments from Carter on racism which is at best without analysis or foundation in fact. It might come as a revelation to Mr. Carter that many whites voted for the new president who previously had rejected him. As an American, a conservative and former administrator, I object to Carter's divisive comments and generalization on racism. My mother was a phenomenal woman, born in the south she was one of the most caring and accepting people I have ever known. While in her late years, teaching elementary school in Illinois, she taught a fourth grader who would eventually play basketball in the NBA and set many records. She loved this young man, his parents and family very much. She lived in a community, south of Chicago, which was overwhelmingly white and middle class, yet she often had this young African American’s parents to her home for dinner in spite of personal threats and anonymous objections. One night, someone knocked down her side door and broke windows in an attempt to intimidate her. None of this mattered, up until the time she passed away she viewed her many friends of color as wonderful people, family and great Americans. As a conservative, I will not be lectured by a former president who chose to ride with a KKK leader to a meeting in Georgia, during a campaign for governor, perhaps seeking a political endorsement. It's my understanding that the former president in commenting on representative Wilson's comment in the house supposedly said "I think it's based on racism...There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president...Those kinds of things are not just casual outcomes of a sincere debate on whether we should have a national program on health care...It's deeper than that!" Yes, it is deeper than that Mr. Carter but it is issue based not racism. So many mistaken voices have tried to characterize concerned Americans with serious reservations about healthcare reforms as simply mobs, even Nazis. These Americans are not mobs and the town hall meetings simply reveal the deeper problem you have erroneously attempted to identify. One of the problems appears to be lack of credibility resulting from administrative incompetence and a lack of transparency. Since it is much deeper than simply issues, Governor Barbour should realize that the main issue, whether correct or incorrect, seems to be one of concern on the part of many Americans, namely that our constitutional principles, in fact the American way of life, including entrepreneurship, freedom and individualism may be in danger of elimination.