Clyburn says blacks immune from Peter Principle?

Real Clear Politics:

"You know, these are code words," Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) said about the criticism of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice. "We heard them during the campaign — during this recent campaign we heard Sen. Sununu calling our president lazy, incompetent, these kinds of terms that those of us, especially those of us who were grown and raised in the South, we would hear these little words and phrases all of our lives and we'd get insulted by them."

The words are meant to describe conduct or lack thereof and are certainly not intended as a compliment.  What Clyburn seems to be suggesting is that black people in the political arena should be immune from criticism.   I find his remarks demeaning to blacks, by suggesting that they should not be held to the same standard as everyone else.

BTW, the Peter Principle is "a belief that, in an organization where promotion is based on achievement, success, and merit, that organization's members will eventually be promoted beyond their level of ability. The principle is commonly phrased, 'employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence.'"  Someone could hold that belief regardless of Rice's race or gender.

What we are seeing from Democrats is an attempt to avoid responsibility for failure by suggesting the critics motives are impure.  It is a weak form of argument that should be ignored.