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David Gergen Nails John McCain’s Racial Politics |
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For most of the past week, the media has obsessed over Barack Obama’s unremarkable statement that he will be painted as an outsider, in a (somewhat) subtle attempt to play racial politics. Where have they been? The Washington Post has run a front page story questioning whether Barack Obama is really a Muslim, the McCain campaign has run an ad showing Obama’s face on a 100 dollar bill, and, most importantly, the McCain campaign keeps pounding on the idea that Obama is an outsider, not like average Americans. It doesn’t take a genius to realize the subtext here. When McCain tries to paint his opponent, the first African-American with a real chance to be president, as an outsider, when he runs an ad flashing images of two young, attractive blonde women just before Obama’s image, when Obama is called “presumptuous”, it’s clear what’s going on. David Gergen called McCain on it today, noting that McCain is using code words to call Obama “uppity.”
People (generally Republicans) who exploit racial politics are smart enough not to come out and use racial epithets. They do their dirty work in thinly veiled code.Â
McCain does not have a proud record on race relations, though he has the chutzpah to claim otherwise. This is a man who voted against making Martin Luther King Day a holiday, but now falsely claims he has fought for civil righs throughout his career.
McCain must think American voters are pretty dumb–his campaign is now trying to argue that the Paris Hilton/Britney Spears/Barack Obama ad was “humorous”. What in that ad is intended to be funny? It is a simple attempt to put Obama in his place, to trivialize the achievements of a man who rose from nothing to achieve brilliant academic and political success. It is also an attempt to put down the millions of Americans who are inspired by Obama–McCain is belittling both Obama and his supporters.
I think it will take more than slimy attack ads for McCain to overcome the strikes against him–7 years of a disastrous Republican presidency, a misconceived war McCain continues to support, a floundering economy. We will see, and we will also see if more in the media call McCain’s attacks what they are. In the meantime, thank you Mr. Gergen.
