Dowd: Wilson Really Meant 'You Lie, Boy'

They reject his 'legitimacy as president'

(NEWSER) - Jimmy Carter was right when he said racism fuels some of President Obama's critics, Eugene Robinson writes for the Washington Post. Carter may have overstated it—plenty of naysayers have legit policy concerns over issues such as health reform—but "the most vitriolic attacks" reject Obama's "legitimacy as president," Robinson writes. "I can't find any explanation for it other than race." More»

Republicans don't think there will be any outbursts mid-speech

(NEWSER) - House Republican Whip Eric Cantor has attempted to preempt any members of his party tempted to pull a "Joe Wilson" during the president's State of the Union address. "I hope there are no outbursts tonight" Cantor said, but added that he hopes Obama has "listened and learned" that the American people do not agree with his agenda. More»

Health care inspires top pick; iPhone slogan makes the list

(NEWSER) - Efforts at health care reform have produced some of the most memorable quotes of the year. The Yale Book of Quotations runs down the year's best, via AP :

1. "Keep your government hands off my Medicare." Speaker at town hall meeting.
2. "We're going to be in the Hudson." Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger.
3. "There's an app for that." Apple, in advertising for the iPhone.
4. "You lie!" Joe Wilson.
5. "The Cambridge police acted stupidly." Barack Obama.

Jokes are bad, but Sanford, Wilson messes could scare off more business

(NEWSER) - The fact that two of its more prominent politicians—Gov. Mark Sanford and Rep. Joe Wilson—are the butt of recent political jokes is no laughing matter in South Carolina, where memories of the fight over flying the Confederate flag are still scaring off business and tourism. The firestorm around Sanford has paralyzed state government, and citizens of all stripes worry that one of the worst economic situations in the US is going to get uglier. More»

Obama anger not just about skin color: Rich

(NEWSER) - Jimmy Carter and other Obama defenders playing the race card must remember that it’s just one in a deck that’s driving the I’ve-had-it-up-to-here rhetoric of Joe Wilson and Glenn Beck, Frank Rich writes in the New York Times. “There is a national conversation we must have right now—the one about what, in addition to race, is driving this anger and what can be done about it,” Rich says, for this angry minority “can’t be so easily ghettoized and dismissed.” More»