Political campaign for President and lack of "civility." UPDATE Feb. 18

Many in the media have said that the 2012 Presidential election campaign was shaping up to be a clash between the 99% and the 1% or Class warfare. While that surely seems to resonate with many of us who write Blogs, I would offer a more sinister look into the 2012 campaign. It looks to me like it is a reenactment of the Civil War. I would suggest to you that the plain hatred for this President and the insistence that he be a "one term President" is racially motivated and the reason why Newt Gingrich won South Carolina and why Mitt Romney won New Hampshire. To me if you peel back this onion, the presidential race seems to be about reliving the "Civil War" in the political arena. Look at the arguments on both sides of the issues. If you frame them through the prism of "Civil Rights", you can easily make the leap to that argument. That is why the "Birther" conspiracy took hold for so long. Being "civil" means being courteous or polite. And the sad truth is that there is nothing "Civil" about this election campaign season.

It is going to get much worse I fear, before this election campaign is over. Notice the language of Newt when he talks about President Obama being the "Food Stamp" president. Yes, there are many on Food Stamps today, but not just minorities are getting them. Mostly white Americans receive them today. But the racial undertones are there and the dog whistle call to the far Right gets the applause lines from the far Right. For one brief moment yesterday the Congress was able to put this war behind them and join in a tribute to Rep. Gabby Giffords of Arizona in her struggle to survive a gunshot wound to the head last year. She has given up her Congressional seat so she can focus on her rehabilitation. That's smart. A small glimpse of sanity in an otherwise anger filled political season.

UPDATE Feb. 18th
Last night on the show Real Time with Bill Maher, Bill closed his New Rules segment commenting on the disrespect of President Obama, in an affront to the first Black President that seems to be based on racism. I totally agree with his views and want to say here I really valued his persistent reference to how this President has been disrespected from the very beginning of his Presidency, unlike the treatment of any other President in history. Thanks Bill!