Johnson: Obama's best move in race debate: Stay focused

Former President Jimmy Carter's assertion that an "overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man" has prompted yet another national debate on race.

Actually, debate might be too civil of a term to use considering the way some people have reacted to Carter's comments on blogs and talk radio. Some conservatives are claiming that it is Obama who is playing the race card, and that it is a convenient ploy for the Democrats to implement when he is being challenged on his policies.

Republican National Party chairman Michael Steele called the accusations of race a "pathetic distraction" to Obama's "unpopular" health care reform, while CNN political analyst Roland Martin claims that code words are being used on some of the signs at the tea party protests that invoke racial abhorrence. A sign depicting Obama as a tribal witch doctor at one of the rallies is perhaps one of the most blatant expressions of sheer disdain for the president.

It would be absurd to conclude that all tea party protesters are racist because they oppose Obama's health care proposals. From my observation, some on the left also have overexaggerated many of the tea gatherings to an extent that one would think they were modern-day lynch mobs. Black conservatives such as Mississippi Forward founder Nic Lott have spoken at some of the protests and have pinpointed legitimate concerns about universal health care in the areas of cost and government control.

Back in April, I attended a tea party rally in downtown Columbus, Ohio, protesting Obama's stimulus package, and I saw no hints of racist hostility. Some of the signs held up read, "Can we bankrupt the country? Yes we can!" and "250 years to build, 3 months to destroy." The signs that especially stood out to me were those carried by young people that accused the stimulus package of stealing their financial futures. There were a few signs accusing Obama of being a socialist, but this was a civilized protest with citizens exercising their constitutional rights.

As I walked through the crowd, some people came up to me and handed me literature, and I actually found it exciting

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