When a Georgia bar owner sells t-shirts that show Barack Obama as Curious George, the correct response isn't to pretend that you don't know why people are pissed or excuse it because people make fun of other politicians. The correct response is to denounce it as stupid and racist and be done with it.

For me, there are so many substantative things about Barack Obama to dislike - his naive approach to foreign policy, his huge spending initiatives and his basic elitism - that all this kind of attack does is distract from the very real issues that he's just plain wrong on.

This should be the GOP's Sister Souljah moment, not an invitation for the party to get back at Dems after eight years of Chimpy McBush.

The judges, producers and contenders all get to pick a song. C’mon Archuletta, I know you have a Richard Marx joint in you.

Archuletta

“And So It Goes.” Paula has picked a song by anti-Archuletta Billy Joel. It’s slow, sappy and theatrical. The phrasing is a bit odd and pained, but he’s overall in tune, until a timely voice crack.

“With You.” Hmmmm, a Chris Brown song. Is his trying to put his stage dad in an early grave with these shenanigans? I love this song and Chris Brown. He’s managed to wuss it up, flub lyrics and look like a total douchebag. I like the shot of the drummer trying not to laugh his add off. Will somebody please hire him away to sing jingles and make sure he doesn’t cut an album?

“Longer.” I heart whatever jerk producer picked this weak, wack and all-around weird Dan Fogelberg cover. Yes, Dan Fogelberg. In honor of this ridiculous song, I have one word: Fogelbergesque. Now stare earnestly into the camera as your voice cracks, robot.

Syesha

“If I Ain’t Got You.” Randy has picked an Alicia Keys song. Truth be told, I’m a bit disappointed that she didn’t get cornrolls done for this performance. She sounds good and looks like she’s having fun. Until the Minnie Riperton run at the end it was nearly perfect.

“Fever.” Well I think her route is such: There’s no way in hell I’m winning this competition, so I’m gonna get a Broadway gig out of this show. Well the Carmen Electra-inspired chair moves look good it’s exposed her armpits, distracting me from her lovely weave and great bod. It was OK, a little boring.

I missed the song title, but I think it’s a Rihanna song. The backup singers sound and look a lot more comfortable with this song. Too many runs, not enough vocal substance and a lot of pitchyness. Peace out, Sy. Your time has come.

Cook

“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” So apparently Simon hates Cook and has given him a Roberta Flack song to sing. Let’s hope he does it Bon Jovi style. The high range is a bit iffy, but the tone sounds nice. Good job with a tough challenge.

“Dare You to Move.” Ohh, a wise appeal to the Jesus rockers. The beginning is a bit off, bad key choice. The bad notes keep coming into the chorus. Kind of a clunker, too bad.

“I Don’t Miss a Thing.” Somebody up there likes him. Perfect song, just enough edge and a sexy tone. Well played.

Boot: Syesha

If Big Brown follows up his big win in the Derby with a similar triumph in the Preakness, you’re going to start seeing stories about how a Triple Crown can “save” horse racing. Horse racing can only be saved by one thing – and it’s not a Triple Crown winner, more TV coverage, lower takeouts, concerts at the track or splashy ad campaigns. Nope, the stewards of the sport need to remember that it’s all about the horse, stupid.

After Big Brown’s win, casual fans may have wondered how he’d fare against recent Triple Crown race winners. Imagine the hype and ratings a race with Barbaro, Bernardini, Jazil, Street Sense, Curlin, Rags To Riches and Big Brown would get. It’d be awesome! Unfortunately, we’ll never see it because of those last six Triple Crown race winners, 4 are already retired, 1 is dead and 1 is Curlin, who Big Brown will almost certainly never run against because Big Brown’s bad feet won’t hold up past the Belmont.

How can people get attached to a sport when its biggest stars shine so briefly on the stage? They can’t. So instead racing tries to make stars of jockeys and trainers. It’d be like if NASCAR highlighted crew chiefs or golf focused on caddies. Owners and breeders need to look past short term profits and instead think about the long term effects of their actions on the sport. Sure, big stud fees are nice now, but they’ll collapse along with the rest of the sport eventually.

Of course, retirement is the best option for the horse. Better that than a breakdown. Imagine the 10-year old potential fan watching yesterday’s Derby and seeing poor Eight Belles lying dead on the track. Welcome to horse racing, honey!

The sport needs to do whatever is necessary to prevent injuries. Artificial surfaces are a start, but they are not the only option. Racing needs to eliminate drugs too. Drugs invite cheating (Big Brown’s trainer, for example, gets suspended just about every year for a drug violation) and they also perpetuate problems within the breed. Horses that would otherwise be nothing might be stars on (legal or illegal) drugs. These “stars” are sent to stud and pass their problems on to their offspring. Instead of breeding fast, sound and strong horses, we’re breeding too many fast and fragile animals. These poor animals break down or run in far too few races to ever make an impression with the public.

I love racing, but I’m almost through with it. Yesterday’s Kentucky Derby was a tragedy for the sport. The problem is that I don’t think they see it that way. If racing is blind to its own problems, they’re never going to get fixed.

It's the most wonderful time of the year - Kentucky Derby week! I've noticed that my Derby analysis has become much sharper since I got rid of emotion and embraced my eight step guide to picking a winner. So who's got a chance this year? Let's take a look at the questions and figure it out together.

Question 1: Is there a super horse in the race. A lot of people love Big Brown. If you're one of them, your work is done. If not, then move to number two. Personally, I don't think Big Brown has enough seasoning nor has he run fast enough.

Question 2: Are there fewer than 14 horses in the field? Nope, so it's hard to just rely on the results of recent preps.

Question 3: What's the pace going to be like? Ah, the pace. There are 3-4 horses who like the lead. That's usually enough to guarantee a quick pace and set things up for closers. With that in mind, we can narrow the potential winners to: Tale Of Ekati, Anak Nakal, Court Vision, Eight Belles, Z Fortune, Visionaire, Pyro, Colonel John, Adriano and Denis of Cork. Damn, that's a long list.

Question 4: It probably won't rain, but form on dirt, rather than synthetic surfaces is needed, which eliminates Adriano from further consideration.

Question 5: Can he (or she) go the distance. Looking at our closers, I think that Anak Nakal, Court Vision, Eight Belles, Z Fortune, Pyro and Colonel John should be able to get the Derby distance.

Question 6 is all about location, location, location. This year, it seems like the angle to take is horses coming off of synthetic California surfaces and showing good form on dirt. So, that gets us Colonel John. That also means that Z Fortune gets points for his close second to another California horse, Gayego.

Question 7 asks you to remember to take out Lukas and Baffert insurance. Given his success in the Derby, I'd lump Nick Zito into that group too. Zito trains Anak Nakal.

Question 8, finally, is all about the Derby Gods. Who has the best story? Who do the Derby Gods want to win? I suspect the Derby Gods are behind Barbaro's trainer Michael Matz this year. That means that Visionaire might have a bit of a tail wind. Likewise, I think the Derby Gods root for trainer Eoin Harty, who spent years getting his best horses taken away from him by Dubai's Maktoum family, and his horse Colonel John.

Finally, if the Derby Gods are equine, then they may just back Adriano since he's a son of A.P. Indy, who was injured on Derby morning back in 1992 and therefore didn't get to make his own run at history. A.P. Indy became a great sire, but he hasn't had a Derby winner yet. Maybe this is the year.

To me, it looks like the stars are pointing to Colonel John. But, looking at his Santa Anita Derby he looks a little one paced to me. I want a more explosive closer. So, that leads me to Z Fortune. I really like the horse that beat him in the Arkansas Derby, Gayego, but with his pedigree, outside post, and stalking style, I can't back him in the Derby. I can, however, see Z Fortune winning. Except for that name. Horses with dumb names almost never win the Derby.

So, what to do? I'm torn between Z Fortune, Gayego and Adriano. My analysis points me towards Z Fortune. My gut says Gayego and my heart says Adriano. This year, I'm going to go with my heart. Adriano for the Derby.