Bachmann accuses Obama of 'waving a tar baby in the air'

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann accused President Obama of "waving a tar baby in the air" by blaming high gas prices on oil speculators. The Minnesota Republican's Uncle Remus allusion came in an interview posted Thursday by the Shark Tank, a conservative Web site that covers Florida politics. "This is just about waving a tar baby in the air and saying that something else is a problem," Bachmann said. "I have never seen a more irresponsible president who is infantile in the way that he continually blames everyone else for his failure to first diagnose the problem and second to address the problem." The "tar baby" reference stems from Joel Chandler Harris' compilation of African-American folktales, including the fictional characters Uncle Remus and Br'er Rabbit, who gets stuck on a tar baby. Instant commentary in The Hill and Politico Thursday also alluded to racial overtones in the comment. The more innocent interpretation of tar baby is a sticky situation.