Judge: Yeah, I Sent Racist Obama Email

It always seems like a good idea at the time: Open stupid email forward at work, guffaw under your breath, forward it on to a couple of buddies. Except when you're a federal judge. On your official email. And the content of the email takes a not-so-subtle racist jab at a biracial president. And it predictably ends up in the hands of the media. Such is the plight of Montana's Chief US District Judge Richard Cebull, who now tells the Great Falls Tribune that he sent the forward to six "old buddies" because, "I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan. I didn't send it as racist, although that's what it is. I sent it out because it's anti-Obama."

Cebull, who was nominated to the bench by George W. Bush, wrote to aforementioned buddies that "even by my standards, (the email) was a bit touching. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine." The forward features a boy asking his mom why she's white and he's black: “His mother replied, 'Don’t even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you’re lucky you don’t bark!' " Cebull has apologized profusely, but a Montana human rights advocate isn't buying it: "We have a hard time believing that a legitimate criticism of the president involves distributing a joke that basically compares African Americans with animals." (More racism stories.)