Mediaite: Mainstream Press Gets Away With Racist Attacks on Jindal

The mainstream media are getting away with "despicable, racist" attacks on Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal that would never be acceptable against someone like President Barack Obama, Mediate's Alex Griswold writes.

Jindal, an Indian-American who became the 13th GOP candidate for president on Wednesday, has been accused by MSNBC guest human rights attorney Arsalan Iftikhar of "trying to scrub some of the brown off of his skin." And Vox.com’s Matt Yglesias has asked whether people believe Jindal is intelligent for any reason "other than ethnic stereotyping."

"Or maybe, just maybe, it’s because he’s a Rhodes Scholar who turned down Ivy League offers to attend Oxford," Griswold wrote.

The Washington Post on Tuesday questioned whether Jindal is trying to downplay his Indian heritage "by wearing boots, going by 'Bobby' instead of his given name Puyish, converting to Christianity as a boy, etc.," Griswold noted.

Such observations would have gotten a reporter fired in 2008 if made against Obama, he said.

On Wednesday as Jindal readied his announcement, The New Republic's Jeet Heer accused Jindal, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and author Dinesh D’Souza of becoming conservatives to erase their ethnic identities.

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