I've always thought that expressing dissent is intrinsically American. So are boycotts, and threatening them. And so is cheering a successful one.

Were Whoopi's comments hate speech? I neither know nor care. They were crude and perhaps obscene, but I don't care about that either. When someone uses the phrase "hate speech," it's often as a prelude to suggesting that certain types of speech shouldn't be protected, and anyone who believes that simply doesn't believe in free speech, no matter what they say. And you're right that the term "hate speech" is rather selectively offensive - and not just for the pro-Bush crowd, either.

This isn't a free speech issue, however. No one has a right to keep a job as a corporate sponsor, and Unilever was certainly within its rights in responding to the economic influence of offended (existing and potential) customers.