Howard Dean and The Double Standard?

On Feb. 11, the day before he was elected party chief, Mr. Dean asked, at a meeting of the DNC Black Caucus, “You think the Republican National Committee could get this many people of color in a single room?” The Associated Press reports that laughter greeted Mr. Dean, who then delivered the punchline: “Only if they had the hotel staff in here.”

Dean’s comments underlie a frequent conservative criticism of the black community–that we permit white liberals to make racially tinged comments, but protest when white conservatives do the same thing. Is this hogwash, or is there really a double standard?

TheStateOf: Instead of complaining about this double standard, Republicans should continue to reach out to black communities. Then, the problem would be solved.