Obama Derangement Syndrome- part 1

First there was Clinton Derangement Syndrome. The idea that a Southern white Democratic President from a less than stellar family background could not only become President but more often than not, outwit and outmaneuver Republicans drove the right to distraction. Every suspicious death in Arkansas was somehow connected to him while being accused of masterminding a massive cocaine smuggling operation.

Eventually they massaged to impeach for lying about a blow job implying he had committed perjury. Never mind that the lie Clinton told about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky didn't fit the legal definition of perjury. For a lie to be perjury, the lie has to be central to the case. In the Paula Jones case, the judge ruled that Clinton's dalliance with Lewinsky was not pertinent to the Jones' suit therefore it could not be defined as perjury.

Obama Derangement Syndrome has exceeded anything we saw in the Clinton era. Part of it is due the rightward shift of the GOP, something I thought wasn't possible during the Clinton era. Part of it is, I believe, also due to Obama's race and "dubious" background according to many on the right.

In the aftermath of 9/11 I have to credit President Bush with tamping down on any generic anti-Muslim rhetoric in the U.S. It showed in that there was a minimum of anti-Muslim rhetoric and acts and those that did occur, came from fringe elements. Since Obama was elected that level of rhetoric has risen, especially in the past few months, leading up to this November's elections and much of it comes from mainstream conservative politicians and commentators.

Consider the example of Laura Ingraham whose right wing credentials are unquestioned. originally supported the Park51 project in an interview with Daisy Khan the wife of Imam Rauf, the face of the project. (can anyone even imagine a jihadist of any flavor with the first name 'Daisy'). Since then she has jumped on the bandwagon in the not actually a Mosque not actually at Ground Zero movement.