I'm still trying to figure this out. Is it that he used the word "Negro", which is outdated and slightly offensive in the modern world? Is it that he seemed to imply that being "light-skinned" was "good", which is an implication of racism? Or is it that he was saying that the absence of a "dialect" was good, which is the frank truth?

I've long agreed with Bill Cosby and others who have attempted to fight the "Ebonics" movement, and so I certainly hope Reid isn't being attacked for expressing opposition to efforts to encourage proper diction, orthography and the like. Speaking in "Ebonics" is nothing but an impediment.

Because the exact reason why Reid is being attacked hasn't been elucidated, I'm still trying to figure out whether or not I support Reid or think he's being racist. The implication that "light-skinned" = "good" is blatantly and overtly racist, and I disagree with that if that was Reid's assumption (and it may have been). Using the term "Negro" is outdated and somewhat offensive, but he's an old guy and so I don't think it's necessarily as offensive as it would be if, say, a 25-year-old said it.

However, if the issue is Reid's praising the fact that Obama didn't speak in "Ebonics," there should be no furore whatsoever over his remarks.