On Wednesday, Republican presidential candidates will be on stage, engaged in a debate on national television. It’s been scheduled for quite some time. Anyone with access to a television listing knows this.

President Obama knew this. He decided to request a joint session of Congress that night anyway. Republicans respectfully declined.

There can only be one reason for this. The president is black:

“The interesting question is: What is it about this president that has stripped away the veneer of respect that normally accompanies the Office of the President? Why do Republicans think this president is unpresidential and should dare to request this kind of thing? It strikes me that it could be the economic times, it could be that he won so big in 2008 or it could be, let’s face it, the color of his skin. This is an extraordinary reaction to a normal sequence of events,” MSNBC contributor Richard Wolffe said on “The Last Word.”

Or, it could be there was a Republican debate that night. It could be that they are tired of listening to his vapid speeches. It could be they are tired of being punching bags for him on a national level.

But the color of his skin? Give me a break.