General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Disrespect of Obama hits new low [View all]Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)For more than seven years after the attack, the Republicans controlled the White House. Their attitude, as famously expressed by Bush, was "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." He said that in the context of what nations did, but many of his allies took "us" to mean "Republicans".
There've always been some members of each major party who, deep down, regard the Presidency as their party's rightful territory, with any President from the other party being considered a temporary interloper. The difference is that 9/11 made that mindset much more common among Republicans. As a result, any Democrat elected in 2008 would have faced some problems because of this attitude.
If Colin Powell had run as a Republican in 2008 and won, he would have encountered racism from within his party. Nevertheless, he would have been disrespected much less than Obama has been.