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We Shall (Be) Overcome, With Chumps, Haters

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Daniel Ruth

druth@tampatrib.com

Published: November 9, 2008

"You said it about McCain, but I'm going to say it about your guy, insert sleazy, declasse racial image here, if he wins this race," wrote R. Vanhoose, who will never be confused with Coretta Scott King. "We're all doomed!"

Thank you so much for that sensitive "We Shall Overcome" moment.

As you might well imagine, while Tuesday night's election of the nation's first black president marked an important historical advance in race relations in this country, others took - to put it gently - a somewhat contrarian view.

Teddy the Nazi, who is even crazier than Rudolf Hess parachuting into Scotland, slimed out of his box down by the river long enough to pass along a series of some of the most racist, virulent, inane hate speech one could imagine in the wake of the next president's election.

I can't print any of it, but think David Duke meets Andrew Dice Clay.

Soldier Annoyed

Solidier62 was annoyed with a recent column about a last-minute campaign visit to the University of Tampa by John McCain, which noted the candidate's police escort out-numbered his supporters.

"Obama's best view of the White House will come if he volunteers to bus tables at McCain's first state dinner," soldier62 wrote, which made me wonder if he was hanging out at the barber shop with R. Vanhoose.

Uh, bunky, would you care to revise that prediction? Geez, with that level of prognosticating prowess, I hope solider62 isn't managing his own 401(k) plan.

Responding to a column about Obama's election night victory party, drdnest noted: "Thank god McCain chose Sarah Palin as his VP candidate.

"Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory by choosing the Wasilla Hillbilly," drdnest wrote. "This woman had less grey matter between her ears than Dan Quayle."

At last! Dan Quayle is rehabilitated!

Guilty As Charged

A blog posting a few days before the election about Palin's $150,000 shopping spree for clothes at the expense of Republican donors brought this reaction from Jim Eddy: "OK, we get it. You dislike Christians, maybe even hate us. So many of your stories have either singular comments or entire themes around disparaging Christians."

Hate Christians? Tut-tut, my dear Mr. Eddy. As a Christian myself - 17 years of Catholic education, who is married to a Christian, the Greek Orthodox Bombshell of the Balkans - I'm hardly anti-Christian.

It is true, I have been critical of the phonier Bible-thumper types, like huckstering evangelists Randy and Paula White, or the homophobic fire and brimstone folks who pushed their theology on the public through the misleadingly labeled "Marriage Protection Act."

On that score - guilty as charged, but I'm in no hurry to ask for forgiveness.

Following a column on outgoing Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson, JJuliano posed two questions.

"Can anyone do anything right for the first time in county government?" JJuliano wondered. "Or is that too much for ask for?"

The answers are: no and yes.

Finally, our "Chump of the Week" winner is Chuck Hoskinson of Valrico, who got all lathered up about Barack Obama being a yada-yada-yada SOCIALIST, before concluding with the story about Michelle Obama dropping $443 for lunch at the ritzy Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.

Alas, the Waldorf story has been retracted by The New York Post, especially since Michelle Obama was 600 miles away in Indiana while she was supposedly chowing down on "Iranian" caviar in the Big Apple.

Way to go, Chuck! Maybe Vanhoose will save you a seat at the barber shop.

Keyword: Book of Ruth, to read and comment on Daniel Ruth's blog. Or tune into NewsTalk 820 AM Sundays from 1 to 3 p.m. to listen to his radio show.

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