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donderdag 25 oktober 2012

Palin Accuses Obama of 'Shuck and Jive'

Sarah Palin used the racially loaded term "shuck and jive" to describe President Obama's handling of the Benghazi, Libya attack that killed four Americans.

Claiming that Obama knew a terrorist group had claimed responsibility for the attacks long before he said so publicly, Palin wrote Wednesday on Facebook: "President Obama's shuck and jive shtick with these Benghazi lies must end."

The phrase refers to acting or behaving in a distracting and facetious way to stay out of trouble. It carries racial connotations because it has often been used to refer to some African-Americans' efforts to ingratiate themselves to whites, particularly during the slavery and Jim Crow eras.

Conservatives called out White House spokesman Jay Carney last year for using the phrase during a briefing. He said he would have to "shuck and jive" for reporters because he had brought the wrong notes.

The former vice presidential candidate and reality TV star has some history of using highly sensitive phrases. In January 2011, she accused her critics of "blood libel." She was perhaps unaware at the time that the phrase refers to the false accusation that Jews use the blood of children in religious ceremonies.

Palin also drew attention last month when she questioned the president's penis size in another criticism of his foreign policy.

Palin's latest remark also comes just after another prominent Republican commentator, Ann Coulter, referred to the president as "the retard" on Twitter.

Palin, the mother of a special-needs child, has criticized President Obama in the past for a tasteless joke he made about the Special Olympics.