Is the Strategy Back?
One Republican particularly unmoved by Obama's speech was Representative Peter King of New York who said his party had "to make Reverend Wright a centerpiece of the campaign.''I was wondering, with all of the flap over Senator Barack Obama's association with his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, if we'd see the Republicans publicly move to stockpile ammunition against him as the possible Democratic nominee, in the form of stoking White opinion that Senator Obama may be a closet racist and White fears that if he's elected President that it will be payback time for more than two centuries of slavery and oppression.
"Obama's 'Cheap' Words May Prove Costly to Him" Margaret Carlson. Bloomberg.com
Like all negative campaigning, this isn't going to result in more votes for Senator John McCain. It's designed to lower the number of votes AGAINST him. The goal, and the most likely result, will be lower voter turnout as those people who allow themselves to be swayed by the arguments stay home on election day. These won't be the die-hard Obama backers, just the people who see him as a lesser evil. With any luck, some of them will decide that it's still worthwhile to vote for SOMEONE, and find some minor candidate to support; but in all likelyhood, we're simply going to see fewer people bothering to show up.
It also turns back the clock a bit on the Republicans.
''Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization,'' said [Republican National Committee chairman Ken] Mehlman. ''I am here today as the Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong.''In seeking to demonize Reverend Wright, and take down an Obama candidacy with him, the Republicans are returning to a tactic that the party had gone on the record back in 2005 as saying was wrong. But when push comes to shove, one suspects that they'll be too eager/desperate to continue holding the presidency to leave it behind.
"An Empty Apology" Bob Herbert. The New York Times
Isn't this the way of all evil things? Doing things that we know we shouldn't, or that at least otherwise offend our morals, because of an unwillingness to forgo the potential benefits?
1 comment:
For the GOP, an even "better" scenario would be for this to actually kill Obama's candidacy in a way that many (including blacks) would blame Clinton for. Would blacks support a candidate who had defeated a black candidate by linking him to a black pastor?
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