Al-Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri is criticizing Barack Obama in a new message, calling him a demeaning racial term implying that the president-elect is a black American who does the bidding of whites.

Al-Zawahri says in an audio message, which appeared on militant Web sites Wednesday, that Obama is “the direct opposite of honorable black Americans” like Malcolm X. He calls Obama a “house negro.”

American Prospect has labeled this “Al-Qaeda’s Most Epic Fail Ever.“  Joe Klein and Richard Clarke think it’s a telltale sign of how badly an Obama presidency has already knocked Al-Qaeda off its game.  The New Republic wonders how Al-Qaeda missed the conservative wingnut memo that Obama is actually Malcolm X’s illegitimate love child.

But the question has to be asked: what exactly is Al-Qaeda trying to accomplish here?  Are they trying to erode Obama’s support in Africa by playing the “He’s not black enough” card?  (That’s so 2007.) Are they trying to rally hard-working Iraqis, white Iraqis against the new Obama administration?  (The media likes to refer to them as “blue-collar” Iraqis, but we know who they’re talking about.)  Are they trying to provoke some kind of racial response-in-kind from Obama himself?  (Something his political opponents have collectively failed to do for a decade.)  Or are they just trying to secure a guest spot on the Sean Hannity Show?  (Take a number and get in line behind the rest of the anti-Semites.)

Whatever the reason, if Al-Qaeda wants to keep its spot as public enemy number one, they’re really going to have to stop embarrassing themselves like this.  Stick to the Great Satan stuff.  It was working for you.  Leave the race-baiting to the Clintons.

What differentiates terrorism from natural and accidental disasters is that terrorism is, by my definition, politically motivated violence with the threat of more violence to come. The Metrolink crash was an accident that is unlikely to happen again anytime soon. People can be reassured that the rules have been changed, those responsible have been fired, and it’s safe to get back on the train.

Had the crash been the result of terrorism though, there’s no real telling whether another similar attack is in the works. You can reassure people that new security measures are in place, but you can’t reassure them in the same way that it won’t happen again.

And, sure, hurricanes will continue to hit the Gulf Coast, probably with greater and greater intensity, but there’s always a few days advanced warning. And if you don’t like it, you can move. You can’t not take the train to work or a plane back home for the holidays or move away from the threat of terrorism in the same way.

Americans lost our minds after 9/11 because we watched four planes fall out of the sky– three into very important buildings– and there was no telling whether we would wake up the next day to watch eight more planes doing the same. The Anthrax attacks only affected a few people, but the mail is so ubiquitous that there was no assurance that we wouldn’t wake up one day to find a letter in our own mailbox. It’s the added threat of violence to come– the fear of unpredictable yet seemingly preventable death– that causes us to lose our minds, give up our freedoms, lash out blindly, and generally overreact.

And, yes, that is the extent of our Hurricane Ike coverage here on TWP.

Don’t see it? Tilt your head 90 degrees to the left.

Still don’t see it?

A spokesman for OGC said: “It is true that it caused a few titters among some staff when viewed on its side, but on consideration we concluded that the effect was generic to the particular combination of the letters OGC – and it is not inappropriate to an organisation that’s looking to have a firm grip on Government spend.”

You can’t make this stuff up.

Though at least it’s not as bad as the Arlington Pediatric Center logo.

And the night before:

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s party loses bigger than Bush’s did in 2006.

And everyone who bought an Xbox 360 loses even bigger than that.