This morning, Glenn Beck defended the three-fifths clause after a black caller questioned him about the fact that the Constitution “didn’t even recognize my people as even human.”  Think Progress details the exchange here.

Today was not the first time that Glenn Beck has come down on the wrong side of the three-fifths clause or the institution of slavery.  In his most recent book, Glenn Beck seems to defend, whether knowingly or unknowingly, the institution of slavery.  Or, how about that on several occasions these past months, Glenn Beck portrayed Pres. Obama as a Constitution hater because Obama referred to the Constitution’s original support for slavery “imperfect.”  On face, this kind of criticism is hateful and disturbing.  Also disturbing is the degree to which Glenn Beck distorted Obama’s words in order to push the meme that the current President of the United States hates the Constitution because he criticized the document’s initial support for slavery.

On September 17, 2009, Glenn Beck was ranting about what he believed to be Obama revealing disdain for the Constitution.  In support of his rant, he played a clip from an interview that Obama gave back in 2001. This is what Glenn Beck aired:

OBAMA: The original Constitution [edit] I think it is an imperfect document, and I think it is a document that reflects some deep flaws in American culture — the colonial culture nascent at that time. [edit] I think we can say that the Constitution reflected a enormous blind spot in this culture [edit] and that the framers had that same blind spot. [edit] It also reflected the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day.

And this is what Barack Obama actually said in the interview (lines indicate what Glenn Beck cut out):

HOST: Barack Obama, what are your thoughts on the Declaration and Constitution?

OBAMA: Well, you know, I think it’s a remarkable document. I think –

HOST: Which one?

OBAMA: The original Constitution, as well as — as well as the Civil War amendments, but I think it is an imperfect document, and I think it is a document that reflects some deep flaws in American culture — the colonial culture nascent at that time.

African-Americans were not — first of all, they weren’t African-Americans. The Africans at the time were not considered as part of the polity that was of concern to the framers. I think that, as [program co-panelist] Richard [John] said, it was a nagging problem in the same way that, these days, we might think of environmental issues or some other problem that, where you have to balance, you know, cost-benefits, as opposed to seeing it as a moral problem involving persons of moral worth.

And, in that sense, I think we can say that the Constitution reflected a enormous blind spot in this culture that carries on until this day, and that the framers had that same blind spot. I don’t think the two views are contradictory to say that it was a remarkable political document that paved the way for where we are now, and to say that it also reflected the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day.

There you have it.  Glenn Beck heavily edited an interview in order to portray Obama as a Constitution hater.

Does Glenn Beck like the institution of slavery, or does it just seem that way from the things he says?