On Tuesday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie complained at a church-hosted meeting that a particular politician was blocking a vote on a school-voucher bill that would let children in failing districts attend classes elsewhere. But, the Huffington Post reports, instead of referring to her by her name (Sheila Oliver) — or even just her title — he called her an "African-American female speaker of the Assembly."
Oliver later said she was "appalled" that Christie injected race into the discussion on education.
In our view, there's nothing wrong with mentioning race when it's relevant. And certainly, there's no rule that says you always have to mention an opponent's name. Still, Christie definitely owes us an explanation of exactly what point he was trying to make with those descriptors. We're waiting — and dying of curiosity.
Read more at the Huffington Post.