No excuse for ’boy’ reference

Today's Lexington Herald-Leader hits the nail on the head concerning Geoff Davis:

U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis has apologized to Sen. Barack Obama for calling him boy during an appearance before 400 Northern Kentucky Republicans on Saturday night.

Obama, as the whole world knows, is the first African-American with a serious chance of being elected U.S. president. And boy, as everyone also knows, is a racially charged put-down used by generations of whites to demean and humiliate black men.

...Speakers to a friendly, enthusiastic audience often reveal more than they wish, as Obama discovered when he candidly shared with a group of supporters his thoughts on why some working-class voters might feel bitter about their situation. Obama is having to explain himself.

What Davis, a West Point graduate and precise speaker, said is harder to explain or defend. It's also an embarrassment to his party and his state.