When a majority of its citizens ratify his will, the country of his birth is “generous,” “compassionate,” “tolerant,” and “great.” When it suits his interests, America’s history of racial animus is surmountable, and “anger” over that history “distracts attention from solving real problems.” When he’s feeling less politically constrained, Americans are selfish and bitter. Their country is arrogant and dismissive. Its minorities should consider distinct demographics within the national tapestry as “enemies.”

The former president has a habit of accusing his opponents of being “unpatriotic” and “un-American,” but his highly contingent patriotism is suggestive of deep discomfort with the nation as it exists. It is telling that these two Republican presidential aspirants, in particular, have induced the reemergence of one of his most unlovely traits. It’s even more revealing that Obama feels compelled to distort their records and views to make the point that only those who share his skepticism can objectively assess the nation’s racial past and present.

[Obama has always promoted victimology over optimism and redistribution over opportunity. What’s most telling is that he and Joe Biden have run this country for ten out of the last fourteen years and Obama claims that nothing has changed since his election. Sounds like a good argument for a complete change in direction from the Obam-Biden divisive and racialist rhetoric, no? — Ed]