CNN's Don Lemon hits another sour note on streets of Ferguson

The streets of Ferguson, Missouri, were calm on Tuesday morning, aside from another round of angry verbal sparring between CNN's Don Lemon and his favourite on-air punching bag, the commentator Van Jones.

"In my estimation there's been too much political correctness, trying to appease protesters," a suddenly impassioned Lemon borderline shrieked before adding, "There was nothing peaceful about last night."

This incident was the latest in a distinct pattern. Less than a week ago Lemon asked a woman who alleged that Bill Cosby raped her why she didn't halt the encounter by using her teeth as "a weapon".

"I believe every journalist should be able to ask questions even if those questions are uncomfortable," Lemon said in his defence.

A few weeks earlier, he ruffled a few more feathers by defending comments by Charles Barkley who had complained that "unintelligent" black people would criticise others for not being "black enough". A few weeks before that, Lemon could be found on air comparing hitting a child to hitting a dog.

Not since gaffe-laden Rick Sanchez has a CNN anchor courted this much controversy. It's difficult to pinpoint the moment "Don Lemon, CNN anchor" became "Don Lemon subjective CNN polemicist" but experts trace his emergence to at least as early as last year, when Lemon sided with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly in a discussion about young black men's social decorum and use of belts.