Stacey Abrams presented a terrific response to Donald Trump’s State of the Union address tonight. Even Laura Ingraham acknowledged it. But Brit Hume wasn’t just a sourpuss, he blew a distinct dog whistle by suggesting Abrams was too racially resentful and then by praising her for speaking “very ably and well.”

HUME: Well it certainly was a contrast in the message between the president’s optimistic report on the state of America and the quite grim picture that Stacey Abrams painted of where Americans are and how they’re living. You would think we were in the depths of the recession the way she struck it. You’d think from what she seemed to be saying about race, that it was 1963 and so on.

I found her a person with a lot of presence and she certainly speaks very ably and well. I just wonder how her message will resonate with people out there living with what, you know, record-low unemployment, even among a number of minority groups where unemployment tends to stay high. So, I think it was a nice try but I have my doubts about how effective it was.

By contrast, Ingraham, not exactly known for her friendliness to minorities, sounded effusive with positivity: “I got to say, Stacey Abrams, I think she did have presence tonight. I think she -- she -- much better than some of the people in the last few years.”

Crossposted from Newshounds