New York Times Editorial, "A New Phase in Anti-Obama Attacks": Republicans Oppose Deal With Khamenei Because Obama Is Black

Did you happen to see pictures of Obama's joyous meeting with Cuban leader Raul Castro on Saturday in Panama City? I haven't seen Obama so happy with a foreign leader since his encounter with Venezualan strongman Hugo Chavez in April 2009. After conversing with Castro this past weekend, Obama declared:

"What we have both concluded is that we can disagree with a spirit of respect and civility."

A pity that Obama never broke into such a toothy grin while speaking with Netanyahu or declared following any of his meetings with the Israeli prime minister, "We can disagree with a spirit of respect and civility."

Today, in an editorial entitled "A New Phase in Anti-Obama Attacks," The New York Times begins:

"It is a peculiar, but unmistakable, phenomenon: As Barack Obama’s presidency heads into its twilight, the rage of the Republican establishment toward him is growing louder, angrier and more destructive.

. . . .

It is a line of attack that echoes Republicans’ earlier questioning of Mr. Obama’s American citizenship. Those attacks were blatantly racist in their message — reminding people that Mr. Obama was black, suggesting he was African, and planting the equally false idea that he was secretly Muslim. The current offensive is slightly more subtle, but it is impossible to dismiss the notion that race plays a role in it.

Perhaps the most outrageous example of the attack on the president’s legitimacy was a letter signed by 47 Republican senators to the leadership of Iran saying Mr. Obama had no authority to conclude negotiations over Iran’s nuclear weapons program."

I understand: The Republicans, and possibly Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer and Bob Menendez, too, are opposing Obama's parlous nuclear deal with Khamenei (see Jackson Diehl's Washington Post opinion piece entitled "Obama rolls the dice on Iran") because Obama is black. It has nothing whatsoever to do with Obama's foreign policy agenda, which fosters love and understanding of tyrants across the globe. I don't think I will ever forget Obama asking Medvedev to inform Putin, "After my election, I have more flexibility."

Plainly, The New York Times knows no shame.