Anyone who’s ever listened to WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi knows that if he’s anything, it’s soothing and measured. He’s not the type to get riled up, much less yell. But on today’s installment of The Politics Hour, Kojo delivered what may be as close to an angry tirade as you’ll get out of the guy — yet he still did so in his usual dulcet tones.

As the show opened, he brought up the recent controversy over the two bikes that were stolen from Mayor Adrian Fenty’s garage, and noted that what would otherwise be a rather pedestrian story became a means to dump criticism on Fenty and his style of leadership. Kojo wondered:

I’m beginning to wonder if the city I love has become just another harbinger of hate. What’s with the hatred of Adrian Fenty? He’s arrogant . . . so we hate him?

I know the temptation to demonize an opponent is strong. We’ve all heard that Obama may be a Muslim who wasn’t born in America. But Adrian Fenty, like Vincent Gray, is a homeboy. Two Native Washingtonians competing, along with others, to run the city of their birth. As someone said, they’re not running for Mr. Congeniality.

In a city where we can’t summon the passion to get mad as hell and face down the Congress over our lack of voting rights, blacks can get mad as hell over Adrian Fenty’s “arrogance” in the same way that whites were mad as hell over Marion Barry’s “arrogance.” I guess we may be united after all. We all seem to choose style…over substance.

It’s a must-listen (or must-read) take from a must-listen guy.