Andrew Sullivan: If Romney Wins Virginia, Florida, the 'Confederacy' Is Back

Andrew Sullivan is not exactly known for an ability to give unbiased analysis, especially where President Barack Obama is concerned. In fact, he's generally seen as the fons et origo of some of the more unhinged ideas emanating from Obama's supporters, such as the idea that Trig Palin wasn't really Sarah Palin's son, or the idea that all criticism of President Obama is built on subconscious bigotry.

And on today's "This Week" panel with George Stephanopoulos, Sullivan showed why that reputation persists.

“If Virginia and Florida go back to the Republicans, it’s the Confederacy," Sullivan sneered. "Entirely. You put a map of the Civil War over this electoral map, you’ve got the Civil War.”

Conservative columnist George Will rolled his eyes and fired back.

"A lot of white people who voted for Obama in 2008 watched him govern for four years and said, ‘Not so good. Let’s try someone else.’ The alternative, the ‘Confederacy’ hypothesis is that those people somehow, for some reason in the last four years became racist.”

Sullivan pushed back, claiming he was talking about the "Southernization" of the Republican party (which apparently persists in spite of the fact that the current nominee is from Massachusetts). He argued that the only places where the white vote was turning on Obama were in Southern states.

As Will pointed out, this is demonstrably false. The President is trailing with white voters nationwide, though the margins may not be wide enough to ensure a Romney victory in some states.

Watch Sullivan's outburst below, courtesy of ABC News' YouTube channel: