>Gotta do it whenever I see piling on: ;-)
>
>What exactly is the objection? Is it the comment about the portly man's button about to fly off? Or is it the quip about a black man nobody knows?
>
>The article itself makes a similar comment that Pawlenty is relatively unknown (though even I know who he is)... since this hasn't been taken as bigoted, I'm guessing it must be use of that "black" word.
>
>Would it have been okay if MB said "African American" rather than "black"? Sorry to have to ask but my national Rugby Team is called the "All Blacks" and it's a term of pride, so I'm just trying to fathom the cultural nuances.
>
>Or perhaps the crime is to suggest that a dark fellow on a Republican podium is just a cynical symbol? MB wouldn't be the only one to believe that.

That comment is not going to make Alan Keyes very happy :o)

>
>FWIW, certainly I agree with Romney that you need to get the troops back rather than fighting a war of independence on foreign shores: if US wealth keeps accumulating in the pockets of the super rich and the middle classes continue to be marginalized... well, you'll need the soldiers for exactly the reason Romney said.