Well, it looks as though the Daily Dish has folded itself firmly into the McCain Attack Machine. It seems that Barack Obama has played the race card, according to McCain, and Chris Bodenner finds that, yes, he did -- by responding to McCain's attack:
I have no doubt that the increasingly-desperate McCain campaign, bereft of any affirmative arguments for their candidate, will try to subtly inject and amplify identity politics in order to corral white, working-class voters (McCain all of a sudden opposes AA in Arizona? What a coincidence!). But I think Obama's in the wrong here. For a while now, he's oh-so-subtly insinuated on the stump that Republicans will highlight his race to portray him "out of the mainstream." He's right, of course -- some will, and some have (including McCain). But that shouldn't be an excuse for Obama to point it out directly, as a way of eliciting sympathy from voters. If he wants to call out Republicans for their cynical use of cultural warfare, stick with sound-bytes like "he's got a funny name" or "he's not patriotic enough." But if Obama really wants to be a "post-racial" candidate who "transcends race," he should abstain from offering up any reference to how others will portray him as black.
This is one of those no-win situations for Obama, and reminds me of nothing so much as the recent reports that McCain's campaign had ready, in addition to the ad attacking Obama for not visiting the troops in Landstuhl, an ad attacking him for visiting the troops, if he had done so. (And the motivations for the Pentagon's actions in that whole scene are questionable, at best.)
So there's no need for Obama to invoke it himself. Doing so will only give the McCain campaign an excuse to cease upon it, distort it, and feed it to the black hole of identity politics.
But one hallmark of Obama's campaign, and of he himself as a campaigner, is that he confronts these things directly. The McCain campaign doesn't need an excuse -- pardon me, but it's being run by Rove's henchmen now, or hadn't anyone noticed? If they can't find something in reality, they will make it up. The purpose is not to bring forth legitimate challenges to Obama, but to get the smears into the discussion, and Bodenner is falling right into line. Bodenner is, I think, missing the damned-if-you-do element here: if Obama doesn't respond to this sort of thing, it goes unchallenged and becomes "true"; if he does, he's accused of playing the race card.
Sullivan, now that he is back in the saddle, thinks Bodenner's argument is hunky-dory. I suppose this gives him a chance to prove that he really is a Republican, after all.
So far, my hope for a substantive, elevated debate between Obama and McCain has not exactly been borne out, has it?
You sort of have to wonder where Sullivan's brain has been: just ask yourself which candidate has been talking about issues and programs, and which one has turned to attack ads.
Update:
Jake Tapper makes a breathtaking stroke toward regaining the title of "stupidest git in Washington" with this comment:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but does it not seem as if Obama just said McCain and his campaign -- presumably the "they" in this construct -- are saying that Obama shouldn't be elected because he's a risk because he's black and has a foreign-sounding name?
Jake, Jake, Jake -- you just don't get it: McCain's back to the tried-and-true tactics of Karl Rove here: let your undercover surrogates say all this shit so you don't get pinned with it. Have you noticed who's running St. John's campaign now?
Of course not.
Barbara O'Brien provides her usual penetrating analysis of the whole issue.
Update II:
As a further fillip to Tapper's cluelessness, read this bit from CNN's Political Ticker, quoting an ad from the McCain campaign:
“It shall be known that in 2008 the world will be blessed. They will call him ‘The One,’” says the announcer in the minute-long video, over images of light shining from the heavens and a gospel music-like soundtrack, interspersed with clips drawn from Obama speeches.
“And he has anointed himself. Ready to carry the burden of The One,” continues the announcer. “He can do no wrong. Can you see the light?”
And from Pam's House Blend, we get the key to the code:
Are you a Democrat? Are you an Obama supporter? If so, you probably didn't read the "Left Behind" series, and you might not even recognize these code words:
"The One"
"Anointed Himself"
These are phrases about the Antichrist.
'Nuff said?
Update III:
Jed Lewison gets it, as does Joe Trippi (Well, pretty much -- I think Lewison's misreading Bodenner's comments.)
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