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July 31, 2008 | 5:05 pm

I’m still thinking about the race card

Posted by Raphael J. Sonenshein

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Well, about as predictably as the sun rises in the morning, Part II of the McCain camp's race card strategy kicked in this morning.

In response to their latest ad, Obama made an oblique statement about how McCain wants people to be afraid of Obama because he's not like those other presidents on our money. Right away the McCain campaign shot back that Obama is "playing the race card." Gee, think they were ready with that no matter what Obama said?

Now they'll try to sell that narrative to the campaign media, hoping that tonight's talk shows will have the graphic, "Is Obama Playing the Race Card?"

Republicans have an overwhelming interest in getting race into the campaign, and the Democrats have an overwhelming opposite interest. Without race, Republicans would be an also-ran political party. With race, they have been dominating presidential elections since 1968.

So if you're looking for a perpetrator with a motive, it's probably not the Democrats, especially a black Democrat. The trick for Republicans is to get race into the campaign, and make it look as if Obama did it. Remember the kid in elementary school who hit you under the table, and when you jumped, the teacher got mad because you made noise? Well, that's how it works.

Republicans have an edge in presidential campaigning because they understand how the campaign media work, and they have an instinct for how most white voters think about race. Campaigns are such vague and subjective events that there is a constant need for a story line to build a media narrative. They make sure to provide one on a regular basis. Is Barack Obama presumptuous? Is Barack Obama an elitist? Is Barack Obama playing the race card? Just keep them coming.

White voters have complicated views on race. There are many varieties of white voters, some quite a bit more liberal on race, and some quite a bit more conservative. Not surprisingly, white voters do not like to be accused of racism and many do not like to see other whites accused of racism. You can do something that blacks will immediately pick up as having racial overtones, but it may look very innocent to most whites. So if you can get a black candidate angry, and get him or her to accuse somebody of racism, you'll immediately hear how that white person "doesn't have a racist bone in his body." And white voters are left wondering what the black person's so angry about.

McCain has had little success getting Obama angry. Obama hasn't accused anybody of racism. So they had to grab the tiny opening in Obama's comment about not looking like people on the American currency. If Obama can keep his self-discipline, and not get into a debate over race, the Republicans will have to up the ante. If they are not careful, they may behave in a way that causes a backlash among many white voters who are more aware of overt racial appeals than the more subtle and even subliminal approaches.

So far, the McCain ads have been so clumsy, that they haven't been devastating. Right now, an ad that shows adoring crowds surrounding Obama and using that to attack him reminds of the famous Yogi Berra comment:

"Nobody goes to that restaurant any more. It's too crowded."

But they will get better.

What we don't know about Obama yet is if he is really able to transcend the fatal flaw of most Democratic presidential campaigns, nicely captured in an op-ed column by Jonathan Chait in this morning's Los Angeles Times.

If you spend all your time defining yourself, noted Chait, you will lose. You must define your opponent.

And the only way to do that is to attack on the issues.

3 Comments — Leave your comment

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Yes, I quite agree. After all, Obama took the pain to humble himself by reminding his audience abroad that he is just a citizen and refused to be compared to past US presidents who also gave speeches abroad. He was not by that employing the race card except one who is seeking to and wants take any chance to interpret it that way. He was only making a distinction that those others were presidents who made presidential speeches while his, as an ordinary citizen, was not. The McCain camp and the Republican Party may have reason to be unhappy to the kind of presidential reception given Obama as compared to the little attention paid to McCain during his own European tour. However that grudge should be directed at the European hosts and not at Obama.

On what ground is the McCain Campaign describing Obama as arrogant if not on racial ground? Obama is campaigning against McCain on the basis of equality as American, period! That is making McCain furious because Obama is not going about as a victim of something begging for and looking pity. To McCain that is arrogance for a minority. What is wrong with Obama undertaking a European tour just like McCain did? Was it Obama’s fault that he received a far better welcome abroad than McCain? Was it Obama that arranged his own receptions in Europe? Was it Obama that arranged for 200,000 people to come to listen to his speech in Germany? Was it Obama’s fault that his trip abroad naturally received a far better press coverage than McCain’s due to the same reason(s) that make him more attractive to people at home in the US and abroad? If it is Obama’s skill that is responsible making him inspiring to many people, maybe McCain should go and learn some too if its not too late. But if its a natural gift in him, as is more likely, then maybe McCain should pray for some too if its not too late. Whatever the case may be McCain has no justification for grumbling over Obama’s success where he had tried and failed. That would make him look like a bad loser.

Oh, poor old McCain! I’m old too, but I take great pride in the youthful attraction of my son and daughter. The younger ones naturally have their own appeal which we as old ones once had but no longer have. Do we have the right to use that natural attributes against them when they are not to blame for our own loss of such attributes because we are now old? Now McCain, if Obama were your son campaigning for the presidency and not you, will you be saddened by the fact that he is drawing, gaining and receiving much attention like some celebrities? Will you take that as an offence, and use that to attack his youthful appeal? What if those young named celebrities, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton should take offence and start to attack McCain would he not be blamed as irresponsible for starting it all? Is that what is expected in responsible and a respectable elder statesman aspiring to be the leader of the United States of America? McCain should know that any attack on the natural youthful attributes of the younger ones like Obama by old ones like McCain will only help to draw attention to his old age. If that old age is not matched in him with wisdom and understanding, good vision and foresight, and good judgment and temperament, then it is not worthy.

It is a good show of wisdom and understanding, as well as good sense of responsibility for Obama not to attack attack McCain on the basis of his natural attributes that come with old age. That is quite respectable. Obama has also proved himself to be better than McCain in good judgment, foresight and vision as demonstrated in their different positions about the invasion of Iraq and the war that followed. Surely all evidence point to the fact that Obama has much better leadership qualities than McCain.

I am Abbarick. And I approve this message.

Comment by Abba Ricky on 8/01/08 at 3:55 am

You and I both, Raphael.  I posted this in one other discussion on the race card, and I think its relevant here as well.  Btw, nice prediction :

“Gee, think they were ready with that no matter what Obama said?  Now they’ll try to sell that narrative to the campaign media, hoping that tonight’s talk shows will have the graphic, “Is Obama Playing the Race Card?”

THATS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED!!!  ABC’s Jake Tapper gladly took the bait and exploited the story to create some controversy.  I know that sounds cynical but it sure does seem right.

Thanks for not being scared to come out and say it!  I hope you don’t mind if I take a moment to provide a little background on this narrative, and a story that has yet to be fully brought out into the open. 

This is really getting me going and giving me more reasons to donate more of my earnings and time to Mr Obamas campaign.  I’m a white male, who has voted Republican in the past and Democrat but this time will be an easy choice.  I don’t know what everyone else seems to be missing who buy the race card bunk.  But I’ll tell you what, John McCain has a lot of chutzpah (and not so much brains) to do what he did in this case - which is on record now and as follows:

1) Create an ad with Obamas face square in the middle of a dollar bill (doctored so he was yellow and shallow eyes so he appeared like he wasn’t sure of himself).  This was released on youtube back on June 27, just search “McCain and seal” on youtube or click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDTJDv4hevU&feature=related

2) Accuse Obama of having played the race card because of Obama’s “I don’t look like all the other presidents” comment.  Hmmm.  In light of the original McCain Ad, it now appears all Obama was doing was exactly what he said - getting people to realize that yes Obama would be different than past candidates but not worry about that, and telling them don’t buy into the images the GOP is trying to throw at you to make him look scary, uneducated, and too risky (as McCains own commercial did). 

The hypocrisy of these two things don’t go together.  You can’t have it both ways McCain, if you stab someone and say “oh we’re just having fun” - it’s in the name of “humor” - I DON’T BUY IT.  Fun for you maybe, to lie about someone else and watch them squirm, but childish, and certainly not Presidential.  More like a frat party trick.  We now know McCain is anything but honorable, him and his buddies making these ads think they are the privileged “popular” ones who can do whatever they want and get away with it.  NOT ANYMORE!!!

People are starting to talk about the irony of this story, but the question is WHY HASN’T the mainstream media picked it up.  Here’s a few links to some other conversations. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-shaw/reading-the-pictures-emdo_b_116451.html

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/08/mccain-campaigns-obama-dollar.php

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/1/182416/6786/451/560927

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x164274

just google McCain dollar bill ad

 

Btw, I’m really getting sick of Jake Tapper’s misleading headlines - he was the first journalist to make Obamas comments into a racial issue.  Therefore in many ways Mr Tapper actually was the one who allowed this to all happen, by giving McCain the go ahead and call the race card.  Now Tapper has another misleading article out “Obama Concedes Racial Dimension to ‘Dollar Bill’ Comments” which is a lie because if you read that press conference Obama did not ‘concede’ anything.  Tapper seems bitter and destined to bring obama down, there is a good article on that as well titled

http://mediamatters.org/columns/200804080001.  Tapper must think he’s a pretty big deal to mislead so many people, he’s definitly found a way to sell stories - make them up!

Write the mainstream news channels that they need to cover this.  You can get their emails at http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=13

Comment by Dan on 8/02/08 at 10:32 pm

32 months later; are you happy with the disaster you helped bring up on America? Øbama plays the race card every month, he’s tripled the debt in just over two years, our allies hate us and our enemies laugh at us, unemployment and housing failures are still skyrocketing even after spending HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS on shovel-garbage jobs for his union and corporate donors (TESLA, GE) and Øbama is doing everything he can to help destroy Israel.

This NYC Jew is disgusted with you jino libs and CAN’T WAIT till 2012.

Comment by jpeditor on 3/31/11 at 10:32 pm

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