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Former President Brack Obama picked a heck of a time to make his first public appearance. Obama returned to the limelight as Congress barrels toward a shutdown over the border wall and both sides resume their bickering about immigration reform. His advice? Skip the name calling.

It's hard to argue with Obama when he says "passion and sometimes misinformation" have distracted from honest debate. But it's equally difficult to assume opponents of the current White House are even capable of taking his advice.

Since Obama exited the Oval Office, charges of xenophobia against Trump and his supporters have become commonplace. That sort of knee-jerk ad-hominem has become ubiquitous and makes any sort of real discussion impossible.

"It's important for those who support like I do, immigration reform and pathways to citizenship for those who are here," Obama insisted, "not to assume everyone who has trouble with the current immigration system is automatically a racist."

But Obama's advice, his call for a basic benchmark of civility, seems terribly out of date. There's little chance that liberal pundits and protestors will listen. They're too busy breathlessly tweeting and endlessly marching against an administration that embodies all of their fears.

After all, how can a movement that labels itself the resistance be expected to negotiate in good faith with a president they've long written off as a fascist?

Perhaps Obama missed all of this. Maybe during his three months of vacation, the former president didn't keep a close eye on the state of American politics. He probably doesn't know how quickly protestors turn into rioters and student assemblies transform into screaming mobs.

So if Obama actually wants to help restore decency to political discourse, he needs to offer more than a little admonishment about name calling.

Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.

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Too little too late? Obama urges supporters not to label opponents of immigration reform 'racist' - Washington Examiner