The President is Not a Gangbanger

Calling the president a drug dealer on television is not that much different from pursuing a black kid with your gun because he looks dangerous in his hoodie. Once you dehumanize people based on their appearance, you go down a dangerous road.

SEAN HANNITY: It’s — the biggest campaign donor in 2008 was the media, Eric. What about this issue? Now, he said I was in a daze for years in high school playing basketball. I drank heavily. Used drugs — plural. He’s admitted to cocaine use. And I don’t remember many questions about the specifics of his drug use. Where did he get the drugs? Who did he do drugs with? How did he get off drugs? How deep did this go? What drugs did he use? Is that fair?

ERIC BOLLING: That’s more than fair, and I think he’s actually even admitted to buying or selling drugs, as well, which makes it a little bit different.

ERIC BOLLING: What would you call a guy who not only used cocaine, but dealt cocaine in high school and/or college? What would you call that kind of guy?

GREG GUTFELD: The president.

[laughter]

ERIC BOLLING: Besides “president.”

Whatever else you might say about the president, he does not behave like a street-thug from HBO’s The Wire. But that is how Fox News treats him day in and day out.

And, you know, the reason The Wire was one of the greatest programs to ever appear on television is because it portrayed the citizens and police of our inner cities honestly, and not with lazy stereotypes.

Author: BooMan

Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.