Rush Limbaugh continued his ugly pattern of race baiting yesterday. In words eerily reminiscent of past comments he has made on race, Limbaugh claimed on his radio show that “a lot of early support for Obama” was built on the media's and left's “sympathy for minorities.” (This from a man who claims “I'm colorblind ... I treat everybody equally.):

LIMBAUGH: Now I believe that a lot of this early support for Obama can be discovered in people on the left and the media having this inherent feeling of sympathy for minorities. They group minorities as people who are, by virtue of minority status, they're weak, they don't belong, quote-unquote. Much as the social blue bloods determine who belongs and who doesn't. Much like the conservative intellectuals are doing with Sarah Palin. She just doesn't belong.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Well minorities don't belong, but they've been so victimized. I mean, they've gotten the shaft in this country. I don't care whether it's the Native Americans, I don't care whether it's blacks, I don't care whether it's the Chinese that build the railroads. Every minority has been given the shaft and so there's this inherent sympathy for them on the part of liberal do-gooders. And I think part of this irrational interpretation of Obama and his political talents is founded and rooted in this view of him with sympathy. Oh, the poor guy. So we're going to bend over backwards here to make sure that he gets every advantage that has been denied him and his people, every other minority, because of the unfairness and the discrimination and whatever else has been attached to the majority in this country since its founding.

If this sounds familiar to you, it's probably because Limbaugh expressed a similar sentiment back in 2003 on ESPN when he said that NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb is overrated because the media is “very desirous that a black quarterback do well.” That comment got him fired from ESPN. Nevertheless, Limbaugh has repeatedly defended that comment over the years.

Of course, Limbaugh's ugly race-baiting extends far beyond suggesting that Obama and McNabb have unjustly benefited from the desire of the media and the left to support unqualified people because of their “minority status.” Limbaugh has said things like: “President Obama is black. And I think he's got a chip on his shoulder.” He has also called the Obama administration a “racist” “regime” and referred to Obama as an “angry black guy.”

And let's not forget about the numerous times Limbaugh has accused Obama of “playing the race card" and of using race to divide America. Or his recent comment that “Barry Obama” comes from a “very white” background, not “from da 'hood.”

So, will Limbaugh try to explain away his most recent race-baiting attack as a “media tweak” as he so often does after making an inflammatory remark? It's unfortunate that we even have to ask that question.