So I'm watching Meet the Press Sunday afternoon and I notice that Tim Russert is asking Obama about Harry Belafonte. It seemed slightly odd. Mr Dauo noticed it too.

Especially annoying was that this had just taken place after a roundtable in which James Carville was defending Senator Clinton's use of the term "plantation" during a speech. A term she had used multiple times before in public events, including on CNN.

I'm tired of people, especially white conservatives, decrying the use of race while speaking in racially coded terms. Every good Southerner knew exactly what Russert was saying when he asked Obama about Harry: the "you're black, so why is this black guy off the, ah, reservation". Russert then lambased Obama for, gasp, raising money, to help Democrats. And best of all, he asked if it was "appropriate" to compare President Bush to a terrorist? Appropriate? Of course not. But Obama knocked it out of the park by saying that the best part about America was that here anyone could say anything and it was consitutionally protected. Good for you, senator.

But can Russert honestly believe the Democrats are as culpable as the GOP with respect to corruption? Has it really come to this? Soliciting money for campaigns, while a demeaning, seedy practice, is so far from what Abramoff did that it defies belief to think any self-respecting, professional journalist would connect the two. Is Hilary Clinton corrupt because she raises scads of money? What about President Bush?

As far as I'm concerned, Russert can go join once-again disgraced Howell in the shame-on-journalists box. Where is Michael Getler when we need him?