Legitimate is the backlash that's coming at you.

I'm sticking to the "It's Christmas in July" about this.

He's giving Obama all sorts of ways to contrast himself with McCain. McCain talks about the election in terms of Britney and Paris. I (Obama) want to talk to you about the issues that really matter to you.

John McCain wants to bring race into this. Why do you suppose that is, America?

Bleh, summer election news. Announce your veeps already.

Don't they have to give an example. This is not going to catch on unless the McCain camp can give a concrete example.

O/T, but nice to see: from the Pew poll.

Moreover, Obama runs about even with McCain as the candidate better able to handle foreign policy (43% McCain vs. 42% Obama). In September 2004, George Bush held a 16-point lead over John Kerry on foreign policy.

Making gains, people. Obama leads McCain by a bunch on the economy.

That's why McCain is trying to turn this into a racial fight: he's got nothing else to run on.

Was the "Britney ad" part of the racist doubling down?

Is that the ad posted on this site July 30th, titled, New McCain ad attacks Obama as a "Celebrity"?

Tell me there is another ad, because that one is not racist.

This was posted at Politico but anyway, I like it!!

http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/say-what-john-mccain-barack-obama-and-the-race-card/

"Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."
The shit is getting deep in here, Senator McFuddle.

I think Ric Davis made a serious mistake by yelling 'race card.'

I've been saying that the Obama campaign has been through this once before this year. Well, so has the media.

Davis' unhinged, ham-fisted attempt at painting McCain as a victim of the race card is clearly not working with the media. Hell, even Mrs. Greenspan didn't seem to be buying it today.

And what does it say about the Republican candidate that he's on the record as being 'proud' of what is probably the most inept GOP campaigns in modern history?

That makes him look more out of touch than using Paris and Brit as cultural touchstones.

Well, Obama has managed to turn the ad into McLame's attack on all of us for our enthusiasm. See his response, above.

:)

GOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

McLame ends another week even lamer than the week before.

The problem with this "Race Card" claim is that the message with racail overtone was so nuanced that it really doesn't pack a "That's racist!!" punch. Davis and Co are acting like Obama called him McKlan, and it's coming across as faux outrage. And furthermore given their recent "No photo/Troops" ad that was debunked, and the celebrity ad that even some republicans hate, this "Race Card" play come off as just another McCain attack.

So do the PUMAS still feel happy about sitting on the sidelines and/or helping McCain win after after all of these negative attacks?

Please excuse any comment that seems overly harsh.

We are discussing a third-generation legacy appointment to the Naval Academy who managed to have himself shot down over a third world country armed with the equivalent of a slingshot (SAM-3).

Talent? Leadership?

I suppose evasion skills over a well-defined enemy territory is elective. After the fact, there are ample opportunities to excuse a lack of talent as a neglect of family values but the result is settled.

What assuages your captors may not work your with your constituents.

Your message anchors you in an appropriate sediment where your anchor fails to set.

I look forward to the embarrassment of your defeat and your consignment to the obscure assignment reserved to citrus fruit promotion.

Your race to the bottom is acknowledged and noted.

Congratulations.

The truth is when people watch that ad now they will wonder if it is racist, as they will in future messages. So instead of listening to the message, they are watching it for an underlying racial message. The ad has essentially been extinguished. Also, nobody, except Hannity, is talking about the Ludacris song. Maybe Obama got on the offense on the racial issue for a reason, because the song was probably more damaging in linking Obama to hateful messages from "threatening" blacks.

Many ways to interpret the McCain ad. None of them flatter McCain, but then we knew that. Here's one for you.

What is the "Obama is a lightweight" narrative in the ad?

Two dumb blondes. One dumb black guy.

Women's groups should be all over McCain for the slur against the dumb blonde. Maybe a little hostility there for McCain's spouse as well?

If you check the media posting times I think this whole race baiting thing can be traced back to ABC and Jake Tapper. Whether they are doing the bidding on McCain I cannot answer, but they have been race baiting going back to the Jessee Jackson story. Check Tapper's blogs carefully.
He seems to have started things off this morning.

Obama needs to quit setting himself up like this. I mean, didn't he mention something about looking different in the Berlin speech?

I know he's just trying to be modest and self-deprecating but it opens up the whole "Obama's playing the race card" debate. Bad for Obama. Period.

Someone in the campaign needs to have the guts to tell him to knock it off. It isn't helping. In fact, it's hurting because the media is running with this "race card" me-me.

First, McCain accuses Obama of being an elitist when McCain wears $520.00 loafers to a golf outing, owns 8 or 9 homes and got into Annapolis because he was an Admiral's brat. Then McCain accuses Obama of being a celebrity because he attracted 200,000 Germans to hear him speak when on the same day McCain attracted 100 small businessmen to hear him speak at a German restaurant. And now McCain accuses Obama of being a racist when McCain is on record as saying that he "hates gooks". How many Vietnamese-American citizens are there in America today? Do WWII veterans still say they "hate the krauts" or "hate the japs" or "hate the wops"? Would it be appropriate for a white presidential candidate to say that he/she "hates the niggers" because he/she was mugged and beaten by a gang of black people thirty years ago? Would it be appropriate for a black presidential candidate to say that he/she "hates the honkies" because he/she was mugged and beaten by a gang of white people thirty years ago? America is a land of ethnicity. Only American Indians can trace the first person on their family tree to American soil. A president needs to understand that “hating” any ethnicity for any reason, let alone giving voice to that hatred, is a disrespectful and unforgivable insult to all Americans, because all Americans were once called krauts, micks, harps, wops, dagos, spics, wetbacks, niggers, coons, gooks, chinks, kikes, limeys, frogs, canucks, ragheads………………

obama said: Republicans would try to scare voters by pointing out he “doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.’’

that is pretty much a classic example of the race card. Obama pretty much called all republicans racist in that quote without actually blaming anyone specifically. Its a smart political move and it was effective. People start to associate republicanism with racism even without a racist act being committed. I even saw a post in this thread calling GOP racist.

So yea Obama definitely brought up the race card and it worked out pretty well for him.

Mccain is just stating the obvious, of course it was also just a political move to posture himself. There is no real racism going on between either camp, just politics as usual by both parties.

Sorry, much as I think McCain and company jumped
on this like (pardon the play of words card)
white on rice. I think it was Jake Tapper at ABC that got this ball rolling. He posted at least four or five times on Jesse Jackson and three time on Bernie Mac. He's the little boy with the matches who yelled "fire." Check the time of his blog today and who he called about it. Check when ABC had the response from the McCain campaign. Mickey Mouse news gets the blame in MHO.

Well whats funny is that I kept seeing headlines that McCain played the race card, but did not cite why. Few people seem to care the reasons why people say the things they say. Thats the reality of politics I guess.

I found this article after going through like 5 - 10 that was the first one I found that actually stated an actual reason:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/mccain-campaign-says-obama-is-playing-the-race-card/?hp

"That's not change we can believe in."

McBush is using these tactics for one reason. The Rethuglican base hates McBush and the only way to get the Rethuglican base excited is to make them hate Obama more. Sad but true.

The press loves the narrative that this is an election that is a referendum on Obama. But in reality this election is a referendum on the American people.

-Are the American people going to fall for negative campaigning over an issues based campaign?
-Are the American people going to reward the Republicans for 8 years of disastrous economic and foreign policies?
-Are the American people going to vote against their self interests once again? When the majority of Americans agree with Democrats on 90% of the issues.
-Have the American people bridged the ethnic divide like they say they have which had held us back for so many decades?
-Do the American people really want an administration that does not want to increase executive power and uphold the constitution?
-Do the American people want competent government or do they want cronies and lobbyists to run government?

If America votes for McBush this year we failed as a society just as badly as the Republicans have for 8 years.

Does this mean that the McCain campaign won't run the OJ Simpson/Nicole stuff they have in the can?

One more time: The party playing the "race card" today is the McCain campaign.

One more time, Greg: Drop this totally unclever theory. It's not working. It's over. McCain already won this round with the public. TPM just looks stupid for pushing this ridiculous meme.