On today's Melissa Harris-Perry show, the perpetually outraged Nina Turner of Ohio ripped Ted Cruz and Chris Christie for their language during this past week's debate: "to call the president a boy, those of us who understand African-American history—cause that's exactly what they called him was a boy—and you don't do that to anybody, and especially to an African-American man."
Republican candidates calling President Obama a "boy?" Offensive! Just one paltry problem for Ms. Turner. They didn't. As can be seen in the debate clip that rolled, Ted Cruz said that "China is running over President Obama like he is a child." And Chris Christie called the president a "petulant child." Either Turner wasn't listening, or was making the unsubstantiated claim that referring to Obama as a child is "exactly" calling him a "boy." Crying racism everywhere is like crying wolf. It diminishes the impact when it really does occur.
MELISSA HARRIS-PERRY: At Thursday night's debate when attacks on the president's record occasionally devolved into comments that diminished the authority of his office.
TED CRUZ: Donald is right that China is running over President Obama like he is a child.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: The president wants to do things without working with his congress. This guy is a petulant child: that's what he is.
NINA TURNER: To call the president a boy, those of us who understand African-American history—cause that's exactly what they called him was a boy—and you don't do that to anybody, and especially to an African-American man who's going to walk out of the White House in the same way he walked into the White House.
