Letter to the editor

President Obama may have underestimated the vitriolic nature of the extreme right-wing element in this country. I have never experienced the degree of mean-spirited and insulting rhetoric aimed at a sitting President of the United States so early in his term of office. The internet is teeming with these ill-will bearing nit-wits. As much as one would like to discount race as a factor, it would fly in the face of reality to do so. Sure, there are many in all political parties who may disagree with the President's policies on some issues, but these attacks have been ongoing from the day and even before Obama took the oath of office. There are citizens in this country who will never accept a Black person or any other non-white in the oval office regardless of the outstanding character or qualifications of the person involved. In the beginning of Obama's term it seemed that Americans, for the most part, were going to give him a fair opportunity to accomplish goals that have hitherto been bogged down in partisan mire for years. It looked as though our need for a new day was dawning and meaningless rhetoric was going to be re-placed with positive action. Most Americans, I believe, still harbor that hope. I'm not suggesting we write a blank check for everything the President has on his agenda, only that we put aside long festering prejudices and give him a reasonable length of time to put together programs that most of us can live with. We gave George W. Bush a lot longer leash that extended well into his presidency before we began venting our dissatisfaction with some of his actions. It would seem only right to extend the same degree of courtesy and fairness to our present leader and reject the sneering, debasing rhetoric of those talking heads on the tube or in the media. We don't need to ask, "where are the clowns?" They are all around us.

George Morin
Auburn, Ga.