They Just Can’t Help Themselves

If you watch the news media very much (especially Fox), you’d think that Obama is a terrible failure and extremely unpopular. The truth is that Obama remains fairly popular, around 50% approval, despite the terrible economic conditions. He’s more popular than Reagan was at this point in his term (Reagan eventually hit 37% popularity). This could be one reason why a marketing executive for tourism in Nashville, TN thought sending an email comparing Michelle Obama to a chimp was a good idea:

The Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau has decided to drop its contract with Walt Baker’s marketing firm over the hospitality executive’s email comparing First Lady Michelle Obama to a chimpanzee.

“On behalf of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau, I want to publically apologize for the offensive email sent yesterday by Tennessee Hospitality Association CEO Walt Baker,” CVB President Butch Spyridon said in a statement this afternoon. “As a recipient of the email, I am embarrassed for both my organization and myself. The content is deeply hurtful to all in our city and beyond. The attitudes expressed in the email are both appalling and unacceptable, and are not shared or condoned in anyway by the NCVB or by me personally.

So, what’s Walt Baker’s excuse for sending this email?

Baker is CEO of the Tennessee Hospitality Association. He apologized in an email to Metro Council members Saturday, suggesting that he had been misinterpreted:

“Thursday night I spontaneously forwarded – to a small group of people – an email that had been sent to me as political humor,” Baker wrote. “As I forwarded it, I did not think or consider its implications, other than that it was political humor. I am saddened that anyone misinterpreted the sentiments behind the email. I deeply apologize to anyone who is offended by this action. I hope that those who know me realize that the message was not intended to be malicious or hurtful in any way and can find it in their hearts to forgive me.

Someone who works in hospitality out to know better than to send out emails containing “political humor.” I think it’s probably more reflective of a sort of casual racism and he just thought everyone he sent the email to was in on the club.