For the second day in a row, MSNBC's Martin Bashir made a statement involving New Jersey governor Chris Christie that should offend Americans on both sides of the aisle.
Discussing Republican presidential candidates with conservative author Pat Buchanan Thursday, Bashir asked, "Why do you think Mr. Christie is the great white hope?" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
MARTIN BASHIR: You and your colleagues on “Morning Joe,” Pat, have been virtually begging Chris Christie to enter the race. So first, what does that us about your view of the current crop of candidates, and why do you think Mr. Christie is the great white hope?
For those unfamiliar with the reference, "The Great White Hope" was a 1960s play later made into a highly acclaimed film that presented a fictionalized tale of the great boxer Jack Johnson.
The lead character, played by James Earl Jones, is a Depression era black boxer that wins the world heavyweight title, and for years white sports promoters try - and eventually succeed - to find a caucasian fighter to beat him.
As such, Bashir asking Buchanan this disgustingly implies that a goodly percentage of Republicans are racists looking for someone white to beat Obama.
I guess Bashir wasn't aware of the fact that the current White House resident irrespective of his ethnic makeup got a higher percentage of white votes than Al Gore or John Kerry.
As Chris Matthews observed last month:
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Obama went on to win 43 percent of white votes in that fall’s election, and that may sound low but Democrats really never win a white majority. Bill Clinton got 43 percent of votes, of white votes back in ’96. Al Gore got just 42 percent, and John Kerry got only 41 percent of white votes in 2004. So Obama’s 43 percent of white votes in 2008 was on the high end.
"Obama’s 43 percent of white votes in 2008 was on the high end."
Yet Bashir has the nerve to claim people looking for an alternative today are seeking the great white hope.
How does MSNBC put up with this nonsense?
