Seems like a stretch to me but I haven't seen the context in which those words were spoken. In any case, seems like a stupid thing to say.
Count me among those who had no idea there were racial overtones to that word as well. You can also count me among those who know the only way someone can offend me with their words is if I choose to be offended. And some people are a lot more choosy than others.
It's not the word "uppity" that offends, it's the word that was used right after it that gave it an offensive connotation. The combination was used so often in describing upwardly mobile black folks that, naturally, the word "uppity" came to symbolize the entire phrase. When the Georgia guy used it to describe Obama, well, he meant what everyone thinks he meant. Uppity is a southern word and is used to describe snobbery, but, unfortunately, to a lot of southerners, Blacks trying to improve their station in life were just that.
