Earlier today, someone sent me a story about a carjacking suspect who was identified as white."The carjacker was described as a 5-foot-11, 170-pound white man, 50 to 60 year of age, with a medium build. He had salt-and-pepper colored hair and was disheveled, police said."[Carjacker needs help to start, steal Pelham Manor woman's car, By Leslie Korngold, November 26, 2010]

Of course, it's always appropriate to describe the race of a criminal who's still at large, so people can look out for him, but somehow they don't usually do that.

When a white person commits a crime that would be commonly attributed to a minority, the paper will identify him as white because they don't want to make minorities look bad.

An even more obvious case of identifying a perpetrator as white, so as to preserve the good name of minorities who would otherwise be suspected is the 78-year old man who was arrested for saying that he wanted to shoot President Obama because "he is not doing enough to help African Americans."

This complaint, which will strike VDARE.com readers as counterintuitive, to put it mildly, is actually a fairly common complaint from black radicals who don't think the President is going far enough, or fast enough. [Black Caucus tells Obama you've done too little for African-Americans, By Silla Brush December 2, 2009]

That's why both the Associated Press, whose Stylebook says race should only be mentioned when it's "pertinent" and the Hill blog insist on identifying Michael Stephen Bowden, 78, as a white man.

South Carolina man accused of threatening to shoot Obama By Sara Jerome - 11/26/10 12:30 PM ET

The 78-year-old suspect reportedly was in the Navy and worked as New York City policeman and fire captain.

A man was arrested in South Carolina after allegedly saying that he wants to kill President Obama and then himself.

Michael Stephen Bowden reportedly told federal agents last week in a sworn, written statement that "if I had the opportunity to put Obama against the wall and shoot him, I would."

Agents located more than a dozen guns in his home, including a loaded shotgun near the front door and loaded guns under his bed, according to the New York Post.

Bowden's home was searched after he allegedly made threatening comments about the president during a visit to a health clinic. Authorities say he told nurses he wanted to kill the president and then himself.

He said he wanted to kill Obama "because he is not doing enough to help African Americans," according to officials.

He is being held in custody until a mental evaluation is completed.

Bowden is a 78-year-old white man who reportedly was in the Navy and worked as New York City policeman and fire captain.