Last week, I received a belated Christmas card from a woman I met in Texas. She was my roommate at HealthSouth, a rehabilitation center in Austin. She’d been hit by a car that backed into her and broke her hip. I was recovering from a car accident that fractured my pelvis. Initially, I was leery of having a roommate, but was deeply grateful for her friendship and encouragement.

We kept in touch after I left HealthSouth. Her recent letter, however, reaffirmed what I believe is an insurgence of prejudice in America. She wrote of her travels, noting “Portland – the delicious blueberry pancakes made by a black chef in the downtown area.”

The use of the word “black” not only seems out of place, but also possibly reveals racism. Is she implying that they’re willing to eat at an establishment where the chef is black? Perhaps she’s surprised that a black man can cook.

I’m jumping to these conclusions because of the volumes of emails that she sent prior to Obama being elected. She deduced that Obama was an evil man with Islamic upbringings and undoubtedly was of foreign birth. She relied on her strong Christian beliefs to fan her fear of liberal policies and the perceived inevitable downfall of America. In addition, she was deeply concerned with my husband’s and my salvation. She even sent us tape to help us “see the way.”

Admitted, during the presidential primaries, my first choice wasn’t Barack Obama. “Who is this man,” I wondered. Once he spoke and I learned of his past, I was not only a supporter, but also enthusiastic devotee. I never figured out whether he was a white man with a black father or a black man with a white mother. It never really matter. I was in awe of his intelligence, accomplishments, and extraordinary determination to obtain his goals.

I was proud to elect a man whose convictions propelled him to become a humanitarian (community organizer) as opposed to someone whose newly found religious fervor — after decades of drinking, partying and failed business schemes – was a testament of his compassion.

The facts are irrefutable. When Bush was elected Governor of Texas, he inherited a large surplus from the former Governor, Ann Richards. After burning through the money, borrowing billions, relaxing regulations ― resulting in Texas becoming the most polluted state in the nation ― and signing the execution order of 155 people (the most execution by any governor in American history), he waltzed into the presidency, a result of political machinations.

Once again, he was given the luxury of a budget surplus. Eight years, two wars, creation of the biggest annual deficit in history, and other unprecedented economic woes, he left office with a smile on his face and not an ounce of remorse.

During his tenure, he set the all-time record of the most days on vacation by any president (including the entire month before 9/11), and turned a blind eye to Americans in need — over 2 million Americans lost their jobs in 2001 and 2002, unemployment benefits were cut along with healthcare benefits to war veterans, and freedoms and civil liberties were axed. In addition, he ran a corrupt, highly secretive government that included changing US policies to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts, appointed more convicted criminals to administrative positions than any other president and signed more laws and executive orders that circumvented the Constitution than any other president! View his resume.

In spite of his undeniable incompetence, mendacity, and determination to destroy the American way-of-life by creating massive budget deficits, invading countries, removing civil liberties, pampering the rich, rewarding the unscrupulous, and remaining oblivious to those in need, swarms of Americans continue to praise Bush while denigrating everything that President Obama says and does.

Visit Fox News and comment after comment refers to Obama as a destructive narcissist, shameful individual, self-serving, dictator, clueless, stupid, liar, Marxist, coward… un-American, communist, Chicago thug, and even the antichrist.

It’s a mystery to me how these words could be applied to a man who has worked tirelessly to rectify the wrongs that occurred in the prior eight years, and, as far as I can tell, hasn’t made anything worse. The only conclusion that I can draw are that many America are opposed to President Obama because his skin color.

My belief is strengthened both by the pompous proclamations of Rush Limbaugh – whose vicious and racist tone does little to crimp his popularity – and the comments on Fox News (the ghastly grammar and spelling illustrates the intelligence of these individuals)…

  • “Barry is an abomination. Barry should go back to Kenya.”
  • “I feel that he has totaly and fully embarassed you people by being the first black American president that even white people was proud of, muchless the pride that you felt when he was elected, and then turn out to be a corrupt, self-centered criminal.”
  • “THE VERY DUMB FASCIST KENYAN IS IN NO POSITION TO GIVE ADVICE , THE 4TH REICH, BARELY LASTED 1 YEAR, AND THE BROWN SHIRT RATS ARE FLEEING THE SINKING TUB, NO NOT U MICHELLE”
  • “Pray for Obama, Psalms 109:8: May his days be few; may another take his office." (written 1/17/10)
  • “You will never own us obomo sambo!”
  • “i l ike your style here . keep up slayin the tards. I see them as naggers. – aka p[eople who annoy us.”
  • “Nappy is going down.”
  • “Once again Nappy lies to Americans. His lies are well documented. Why should anyone believe anything this whack-job says?”