In his daily "Best of the Web Today" feature, James Taranto at the Wall Street Journal mocked the Democrats (and their helpful friends at the Associated Press) for obsessing over South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and whether she is white or Indian-American:
Remember when Southern Democrats were obsessed with racial distinctions? No, we don't mean in the 1850s or even the 1950s, but yesterday--literally. Here's an Associated Press dispatch dated July 28, 2011:
South Carolina Democrats on Thursday seized on a 10-year-old voter registration document for Gov. Nikki Haley to claim the Republican uses her Indian-American heritage when it's convenient because it lists her race as "W'' for white.
Haley was elected the state's first female governor in November and the nation's second Indian-American chief executive.
Her parents emigrated from India and Haley was born in Bamberg County, S.C., a county split between whites and blacks. Born Nimrata Randhawa, she frequently credits her different heritage with helping her get beyond race and finding problems that many have in common.
South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Dick Harpootlian said the 2001 document the party unearthed shows the 39-year-old Haley plays on her race for political convenience.
"She can't even tell the truth about her racial heritage," Harpootlian said.
At least with a name like Harpootlian, you know he's as Caucasian as it's possible to be.
AP tried to sound like it didn't merely accept Democratic handouts, but took the extra step of locating their own copy: "The voter application Haley signed in March 2001 first was obtained by Democrats. The Associated Press independently viewed a copy Thursday provided by the Lexington County Commission of Registration and Elections."
One might think a diversity-endorsing Democratic Party that sells Obama birth certificate T-shirts to fight off those people who think people with global backgrounds are suspicious wouldn't be so quick to search old government documents for a-ha-you're-white moments.
