Is he a liar? Is he a racist? Or is he just misunderstood?

I am going to be channel surfing tonight between watching those who dats play the Lions and the republican presidential debates. This is because I really want to hear what these republicans are saying. I haven't made up my mind who I will vote for come 2012 just yet....

Anywhoo, you gotta love that sister in New Hampshire who confronted Rick (I should be in a) Sanitarium.

"At a campaign event outside a pharmacy in Hollis, New Hampshire Saturday afternoon, an African-American woman confronted Rick Santorum over recent comments he made that the NAACP and others have called racially insensitive.

While speaking about welfare reform last week, Santorum was quoted as saying, “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.” The candidate now denies that he said “black,” claiming instead that he said “blah.”

At the campaign stop Saturday, the woman — who slipped away from the event before ThinkProgress was able to get her name — asked, “Why do you have a problem against black people?”

WOMAN: Mr. Santorum, why do you have a problem against black people? We are the only ones who need aid? The statistics show that it’s not the popularity [sic] that’s the most needy.
SANTORUM: I didn’t say that. I understand that.
WOMAN: OK, then why’d you say that?
SANTORUM: OK, we gotta go. I didn’t say that. " [Story & Video]

Honestly, I think people are focusing on the wrong issue with Rick's statement. It's not so much that he said something that was racially insensitive while speaking to like minded people. (Welcome to A-merry-ca) The bigger issue is that he is flat out lying about what he said. If a man can lie about something as obvious as this, what else will he lie about?

Still, there are some folks who do not believe that Ricky was being racist. They believe that he was merely trying to reach out to us Negroes.

"NAACP President Benjamin Jealous denounced the comments as "outrageous," and even Fox News host Bill O'Reilly had to remind Santorum that his comments were specious when you consider that "most of the people, as you know, on welfare are white people." Then Santorum made the whole thing worse by denying that he'd even said "black" and insisting instead that what he'd actually said was "blah."

Blah, indeed.

In this weekend's Saturday-and-Sunday New Hampshire primary-debate double-header, if he doesn't take the opportunity to -- in Senate-speak -- revise and extend his thoughts on blacks and welfare, he'll just wind up being the latest in a long line of GOP politicians who not only can't connect with the black vote, but can't even make a convincing case that they've tried. Santorum tried -- and awkwardly failed -- to articulate a position that you hear all the time from black conservatives: that government assistance hurts African Americans over the long term. The problem for Santorum is that it doesn't sound as if he truly understands that message." [Source]

Yes, reaching out is nice. And I would more than welcome an open and honest dialogue on matters of race. The problem is, of course, that when you are talking about republican politicians, it's a thin line between scapegoating and reaching out.