Are the Democrats getting desparate?

In the current "debate" about raising the debt ceiling, it is hard to know who feels confident and who does not. Just yesterday president Obama repeated his entire position (which did not take too long) at a press conference. He appeared to be relatively sure of himself; he stuck to his talking points and did not veer off into actually giving the press any real information about how he sees the solution to the issue. Anyone watching that presser would think that Obama feels supremely confident about the outcome. then comes word that congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is now accusing those who oppose the president on the debt ceiling of doing so because of racism. That's right, Lee charges that the debate over whether or not it is a good thing to cut spending and raise taxes is actually about the color of Obama's skin.

To me, that charge is actually quite a good sign. Claims of racism have often been the fall back position for Obama loyalists when they have nothing else left to say and when they are feeling weak. Remember the TEa Party when it first appeared? It was a true grass roots uprising by millions of Americans who were fed up with the course of government. How did the Obamacrats portray this existential threat to their dominance of the government? That's right, the Tea Party was a bunch of racists, dangerous and violent racists to boot. We had day after day of TV reports shoing peaceful Tea Party rallies where nothing was ever said about race juxtaposed with commentary from the reporters talking about racist undercurrents or malicious signs which somehow never got captured on video. It did not take long for the American people to realize that this claim of racism was just so much nonsense.

Now the Obamacrats are trying again to play the race card. This time we hear that arguments about modifications to entitlements are actually a battle between forces who are racist and those who are not. I wonder how anyone, even Sheila Jackson Lee whose connection with reality is suspect, could even make such a charge with a straight face. I also wonder if the Democrats would let Lee start down this road without the tacit approval of the White House.

If there is any more talk about racist opponents in this debate, then we will know one thing for sure. No, it is not that there are any racists in the opposition. What we will know is that the White House is getting desparate. It has never before been faced with a principled opposition that had the power to stop it on an issue of this importance. It means that the White House may actually have to put forward its own plan or watch Obama's presidency go down the drain. I am not sure what scares them more.