D.J. McGuire, who runs the excellent China e-Lobby website , offers this
explanation, which sounds right to me:
“Derb—One thing to remember about Hillary et al on the elitist left: these
people look down on the Indian folks who run gas stations as (a) of a lesser
class than they are, (b) absurd capitalists when they should be social
lefties like her, and (c) most important, deserving of calumny and slights
for earning their American dream the hard way instead of whining about
racism to the government.
“The left has exactly the same take on Cubans, who were the only non-white
ethnic group for whom hatred was acceptable with the PC crowd until India
went nuclear. I have noticed that ever since that very act in the spring of
1998, the left has enjoyed blasting India at every turn. New Delhi’s very
fast warming toward President Bush also makes them an OK target for the
left.”
“In short, Hillary didn’t mean the gas station line as a compliment. She
meant it as an insult.”