It’s tough enough being the President of the United States, but President Barack Obama has been facing recent battles that have ranged from his fashion choices at baseball games to his status as an American citizen. The latest firestorm deals with his reaction to the Henry Louis Gates arrest in my home state of Massachusetts. While some people are taking sides on whether it was right or wrong for him to say that the Cambridge officiers acted stupidly,” others are having fun that he offered both sides to talk it out over beer.

The latest twist in the Gates story (can we call it Gates-gate?) started with a recent comment from Glenn Beck on Fox and Friends:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ndc2LX2u98[/youtube]

Glenn Beck’s accusation of Barack Obama being a racist quickly made a splash and the Morning Joe crew had a lot to say on it this morning.

After hearing Glenn Beck and the reaction I asked myself the question, why would Glenn Beck say such a thing? Does he really think Obama is a racist?

The answer for me is probably not…as much.

You have to realize that Beck is a media pundit one who’s profile has risen in the punditry world. He has a daily Television show, a radio show, books, magazines, and a blog. His growing media outlets would certainly impress Martha Stewart (Glenn Beck should just rename his site to Beck Omnimedia.) All he needs is a towel line and a recipe for tuna casserole.

Beck’s commodity are his opinions and thoughts, which he is certainly entitled to have, and he’s never been to trade with it.

What is he trading for? A little attention? Does this mean he’s just spouting shock and awe to boost his ratings? To an extent yes but not entirely so.

Remember this is the same man who’s also hinted that Obama is a communist, so this isn’t the first time he’s slammed Obama. Beck is a man with many bullhorns and only has so much to feed into each of them. I think Beck does think what he says but he knows he has to go over the top with it because in the world of punditry: the bigger the opinion the better.

What do you think- is Glenn Beck really serious when he accuses Obama of being a racist?