[TheRealThing]

Note: the point about Ali is not about racism, per se. It is about this: to the overwhelming majority of African Americans Mohammed Ali is a hero. Over here, you have a large part of a major political party calling him a "loud-mouthed coward." That is a symbol of a huge gap of trust and understanding. I don't question your patriotism, Bob. I don't question your personal treatment of minorities. I am suggesting your views are extreme, your statements are more hyperbolic than reality.

Cassius Clay, a way cooler sounding name than Muhammad Ali IMHO, was treated rather rudely by everybody when he thumbed his nose at the draft board. He was pilloried and scorned by the media, both political parties and the sports world of that day. He was no hero. And yet, as he matured and mellowed America did manage to revere him as a man who got it right later in life, and was therefore embraced by his country in spite of his past.

What political party called him a loud mouthed coward?