Mike was always a meathead. The problem with him wasn't just his Socialist "value" system, it was his hypocrisy. He was so quick to patronize Archie and talk down to and about him, but two episodes stand out for revealing Mike's own {sic} "soft" bigotry:

The episode in which the two guys burglarize the Bunkers' house, and then hold them in the living room stirs a lively dialogue in which Mike tries to explain in a very condescending manner to these guys, who are black, that Archie just doesn't understand who they are and what they've been through. To which the one burglar replies, "Oh, and YOU do?" Mike feebly explains that he studied their plight in a college course.

Another great episode which peeled back the layers to reveal the arrogance and doublemindedness which leant Mike his meathead label was the one in which Lionel, Gloria, Mike, Irene Lorenzo, and Edith are playing the game in which they have to respond to what the card says. Mike gets beat up a lot in this one, most notably from Lionel, who accuses him outright of being bigoted because he is trying so hard NOT to be racist, yet in reality, Mike treats Lionel differently because he is black.

Mike was always a meathead. I know that he portrayed as the smart one and Archie portrayed as the moron but the older I get, the more foolish Mike looks and the smarter Archie looks. Archie wasn't so smart because of his lack of education. Mike was a total hipocritical moron because of his.