Sean Hannity is worried that Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich won’t smear President Obama enough. Hannity suggested to each of the Republican candidates last night that they should make sure to bring up President Obama’s “past” and named Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright as examples. But you can bet your "fair and balanced" that what Hannity was fishing for were racially-tinged characterizations of Obama as a black, America-hating radical.

Hannity interviewed both Romney and Gingrich last night. Supreme Hypocrite Hannity whined about the tenor of the primary campaign. He asked Romney, for example, “Is there a way to get back on the issues a little bit more and the attacks stop?”

But when it comes to the general campaign, Hannity seemed to suggest there should be less about issues and more smears.

At about three minutes into the Gingrich interview (Pt 1 below, Pt 2 here), Hannity said, “This is another question that people are asking me. If you get the nomination, how hard will you be on Barack Obama? …Is there anything off the table when it comes to Obama if you get the nomination? In other words, his past, Ayers, Wright and his policies?”

Hannity has been obsessed with Bill Ayers – who has been an upstanding citizen for as long as President Obama has known him – since the 2008 campaign. But Hannity has been obsessed with painting President Obama as some kind of white-hating, America-hating, black radical just as much if not more. It’s easy to see that Hannity - a birtherism booster who has palled around with such serious racists as white supremacist and current prison inmate Hal Turner (who told Hannity “black people would still be swinging on trees in Africa” were it not for slavery) and Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson (who announced on Hannity’s show that most blacks in Memphis are racists) and who supported Glenn Beck’s assessment that President Obama is a racist who hates white people - would be chomping at the bit to play as many dirty race cards against Obama as possible. In fact, when Hannity brings up Rev. Wright, it's presented as code for "Obama is a black racist."

Gingrich picked right up on the cue. After calling Romney and Obama “George Soros’ two favorite choices,” he said, “Nothing’s off the table that’s honest and legitimate and authentic. President Obama has enough weaknesses… He is the best food stamp president in American history… I think in every precinct, every community in America, every ethnic group, the paycheck and job candidate is going to beat the food stamp and unemployment candidate.”

Serial-adulterer-turned-super-Catholic Gingrich went on to complain about Obama’s religious bigotry toward Catholics.

Romney (who got about two minutes less air time than Gingrich) dismissed Hannity’s concerns about the inter-GOP attacks by saying that once the primary is over the party will unite.

“Fair enough,” Hannity said. Then he asked, “If you get this nomination, how far are you willing to go against President Obama? In other words, is Bill Ayers fair game? Is it just the economy, is it just his foreign policy? Is some of his background that I think was ignored in 2008, is that legitimate?”

Romney said “anything that is legitimate” is fair game. Then he went back to discussing issues.