The Fluffy Bunny is Racist

Without any evidence whatsoever, the Associated Press has accused Sarah Palin of being racist and then without worrying about sexism they called her a "fluffy bunny."

By now we all know that Sarah Palin has been raising the connection between William Ayers and Obama. Ayers is, of course, the man in charge of The Weather Underground which bombed the Pentagon, killed police officers, and other sorted and sundry crimes.

Obama served on boards with this man and kicked off his political career with a meet and greet in Ayers' living room. Mind you, Ayers is white.

But here's the AP lede:

By claiming that Democrat Barack Obama is "palling around with terrorists" and doesn't see the U.S. like other Americans, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin targeted key goals for a faltering campaign.

And though she may have scored a political hit each time, her attack was unsubstantiated and carried a racially tinged subtext that John McCain himself may come to regret.

Racially tinged, how? Here's how the writer explains:

Palin's words avoid repulsing voters with overt racism. But is there another subtext for creating the false image of a black presidential nominee "palling around" with terrorists while assuring a predominantly white audience that he doesn't see their America?

In a post-Sept. 11 America, terrorists are envisioned as dark-skinned radical Muslims, not the homegrown anarchists of Ayers' day 40 years ago. With Obama a relative unknown when he began his campaign, the Internet hummed with false e-mails about ties to radical Islam of a foreign-born candidate.

Whether intended or not by the McCain campaign, portraying Obama as "not like us" is another potential appeal to racism. It suggests that the Hawaiian-born Christian is, at heart, un-American.

The writer then invites a Democratic strategist to level some hatred of Palin:

"It's a giant changing of the subject," said Jenny Backus, a Democratic strategist. "The problem is the messenger. If you want to start throwing fire bombs, you don't send out the fluffy bunny to do it. I think people don't take Sarah Palin seriously."

Now, of course, calling Sarah Palin a bunny isn't sexist, is it?

So let's make sure I've got this. Sarah Palin's a racist because she points out a connection with a terrorist but the Associated Press can have someone in their report refer to Palin as a "bunny" and not an eyebrow is raised. Hmmmm?