Cal Thomas nails the race hustlers today in The Washington Times. Speaking of ABC’s attempt to smear Bush after his address in New Orleans last week:

This delicious moment, after the other broadcast networks quickly returned to regularly scheduled programs, speaks volumes about the media coverage of Katrina and the edited messages they have tried to shove down the public’s throat.

Those messages: White Republicans hate blacks; big business and big Republican government are evil and won’t help blacks; Democrats are the only ones who care for black people.

Mr. Reynolds’ interviews were live, so no one could edit the content. Viewers saw and heard for themselves what at least these black people felt and believed. The ABC guest booker must have had his or her own assumptions about how such an interview would go. Surely the assemblage of black evacuees would mean unfettered criticism of Mr. Bush. Who’s racist now?

I grow so very tired of being called a racist because I am a Republican. Back up that charge. What? You can’t? I didn’t think so.

Politicians, race-baiters and the media have an interest in keeping the racial pot boiling. For the media, it provides conflict (and ratings) so race hustlers can blather on about a pre-voting rights, pre-open housing America.

For the politicians, mostly Democrats, it affords an opportunity to stir the class warfare pot and claim only by voting for Democrats will poor blacks ever escape poverty. But the political and humanitarian realities are quite different.