Maybe you’ve seen Barack Obama lately, but not like this…

A Tennessee state senator is in hot water after an aide sent out a controversial e-mail.

This email with the title “Historical Keepsake Photo” circulated from the office of Republican state senator Diane Black two weeks ago.

Recently it’s gained national media attention and many are questioning the ongoing racial tension surrounding the election of Barack Obama.

The email was sent by Black’s aide, Sherri Goforth. Goforth has since apologized for her actions.

For some, an apology isn’t good enough. On ABC’s The View, Whoopi Goldberg questions the usage of Goforth’s First Amendment rights and how these views can lead to dire consequences.

“There is a responsibility and maybe we have to take responsibility as this young aide must do specifically because last week a man walked in full of hatred with a rifle into the Holocaust Museum. How dare you even have this on your computer and work in that senator’s office?”

The Daily Kos took a different angle, and offers a perspective on the issue of internet privacy.

“Here in Tennessee, our politicians (Republican and Democrat) still have not yet figured out that anything they do or say will be subject to scrutiny in the blogosphere, and that nothing they put online is private anymore.”

This is not the first racial controversy surrounding the Republican Party when it comes to Obama’s presidency. But on CNN, Black says the email was not an inside job and did not come from Capitol Hill, but from outside D.C.

“This email did not come from the Republican Party. That is something that people have indicated that may have been. I can tell you that absolutely it did not. It came from an independent source outside of the capitol. It was inappropriate and I will continue to say that it was inappropriate.”

While it seems Tennesseans stand in unison on the inappropriate nature of the email, Nashville Scene blogger Pete Kotz defends Goforth, and offers this perspective of Tennessee politicians.

“…to fire her only picks off a middle-aged lady. It does nothing to heal the greater wound, which is composed by the creeps, racists, half-wits and professional victims who make up the Tennessee legislature. They're the real affront here, the wound that will become terminal if left unchecked.”

What do you think of Goforth’s e-mail? Should Black fire her? And beyond that, is the Tennessee legislature at the heart of the problem?