You don't have to have Rush Limbaugh's 45 Most Racist Quotes committed to memory to pick up on the fact that he's more than a little uncomfy with having a black family in the White House.
For years the radio host's apparent bitterness about the topic has been just under the surface as he delights conservative listeners with outrageous commentary on everything from the president's politics and hobbies to Michelle's body.
But this week he decided to take it way back to the days when many Americans were just as ignorant as he is now, with an old-school insult designed especially for black people who have the nerve to have self-respect: "uppity."
Specifically, he explained that NASCAR fans booed the first lady and Jill Biden at a race appearance because Michelle's behavior represents "a little bit of uppity-ism." As the Los Angeles Times' Rene Lynch explained today, the term "uppity" has historically been "considered a code word for blacks whom white people perceived as trying to rise above their station in life." The nerve! (And this offense, evidently, overshadowed the fact that the entire purpose of the appearance was to raise awareness about Joining Families, an initiative to support military families.)
The explanation says less about what NASCAR fans were actually thinking — and we're sure many in the crowd are decent people who wouldn't want him putting words in their mouths — than it does about Limbaugh's continuing inability to come to terms with the Obamas.
Our advice to him: Get used to it, and stop embarrassing yourself. Or, at the very least, bring your bigoted statements into the 21st century.
Meanwhile, perhaps we should start a poll on when that list of racist quotes will make it to the double digits.
Read more at Oliver Willis and the Chicago Tribune.