Daily Beastie Jamelle Bouie argues that “the conservative blogosphere is filled with people who routinely describe Obama as a “Chicago thug” or attack him for bringing ‘Chicago politics’ to the White House. Obviously,” he adds, “you can’t attribute all of this to racial animus. But there’s no question that the word “thug”—and it’s modifier, “Chicago”—has a distinct racial connotation, and is meant to convey a particular image—of Obama as a menacing young black man.”
If it’s racist to criticize Obama for his “Chicago politics,” I wonder if Bouie would think criticizing Mayor Rahm Emanuel for the same thing is anti-semitic?
