perhaps he should have chosen another term

if he has to 'splain WHY he used it and WHAT it is (in HIS context that is), then he maybe should have chosen OTHER words, no?

Snow 'hugs the tar baby' at first press briefing
At his very first briefing as new White House press secretary, Fox News personality Tony Snow has raised eyebrows by using the phrase "hug the tar baby" to describe the prospect of commenting on the NSA wiretap and phone traffic database programs. The phrase is considered by many to be racist in origin.
"I don't want to hug the tar baby of trying to comment on the program," Snow remarked, interrupted by laughter. "The existence of the alleged program--the existence of which I can neither confirm or deny."
"We could trace that back to American lore," he explained of the description ................................


tar baby
The expression tar baby is also used occasionally as a derogatory term for black people (in the U.S. it refers to African-Americans; in New Zealand it refers to Maoris), or among blacks as a term for a particularly dark-skinned person. As a result, some people suggest avoiding the use of the term in any context.