The Race Card, With Bill Clinton As The Joker In The Deck

The Times covers Obama's use (again) of the race card, and the penny drops as to the game being played by McCain:

ORLANDO, Fla. — Senator John McCain’s campaign accused Senator Barack Obama on Thursday of playing “the race card,” citing his remarks that Republicans would try to scare voters by pointing out that he “doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.”

Team Obama went with the "Moi?" defense [later abandoned]:

The remarks put Mr. Obama’s campaign, which has tried to keep him from being pigeonholed or defined by race, in a delicate position. He did not address the matter himself on Thursday, and his campaign gingerly tried to tamp down the issue, saying he did not believe that Mr. McCain had tried to use race as an issue.

“This is a race about big challenges — a slumping economy, a broken foreign policy and an energy crisis for everyone but the oil companies,” said Robert Gibbs, a campaign spokesman. “Barack Obama in no way believes that the McCain campaign is using race as an issue, but he does believe they’re using the same old low-road politics to distract voters from the real issues in this campaign. And those are the issues he’ll continue to talk about.”

After a Big Skip the Times tacks up a no-sale sign:

Mr. Obama has been more explicit about the role of race in attacks against him in the past, but he is rarely specific about who is behind them. “We know what kind of campaign they’re going to run,” he said in June. “They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. ‘He’s young and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?’ ”

And it all comes clear with the Clinton Connection:

“The McCain campaign was compelled to respond to this outrageous attack because we will not allow John McCain to be smeared by Senator Obama as a racist for offering legitimate criticism,” he said. “We have waited for months with a sick feeling knowing this moment would come because we watched it incur with President Clinton. Say whatever you want about President Clinton, his record on this issue is above reproach.”

In the Democratic primary campaign, Mr. Obama’s supporters at several occasions accused the Clinton campaign of using racially charged tactics, particularly after Mr. Clinton equated Mr. Obama’s victory in the South Carolina primary with the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s victory in the nominating contest there in 1988. Mr. Clinton himself then complained in a radio interview in April that the Obama campaign had “played the race card on me.”

Well, well - it's a wedge issue meant to bolster McCain's appeal to aggrieved Hillary backers.  And is Wild Bill going to get on camera and defend Obama on this point?  My breath is unabated.

Newsbusters finds that with Chris Matthews away on vacation, even the Hardballers can recognize the race card when they see it.

And I find the Big Tent Dem, aka Armando appearing at TalkLeft, agreeing with me (or I with him) as to the hidden Hillary appeal.

Comments

[Danube of Thought]

Obama's campaign has been slicker than boiled okra up to this point, but I think this stuff about looking different and having a funny name is going to do him no good at all, and can only hurt him. If there is one thing off-putting to mainstream America, it is hypersensitivy about race--the charge of racism when people with common sense know that the charge is false.

[Chris]

Smart politics all around from the McCain campaign. Did I just say that?

Of course, it's more than politics when defending oneself from a scurrilous and completely unfounded allegation.

[Neo]

Today Obama is shifting to his soak the oil companies for the next "economic stimulus" meme.

Given Exxon/Mobil made $11 billion on the quarter while paying $34 billion in taxes .. this looks like Obama is trying to use that the old phony IRS form that states ..

What Did You Make ? ......
Send It In .....

Bring a new reality to an old joke isn't exactly the kind of change anybody was expecting.

[Thomas Collins]

It's all in slicing and dicing in the key electoral vote states. If Dollar Barack gains more votes in Cuyahoga County in Ohio among African-Americans and guilty upper middle class liberals of pallor by this approach than he loses in votes among Cuyahoga County clingers, it's a gain for Dollar Barack. And say what one will about Dollar Barack, in the Democratic nominating contest, his campaign

[bgates]

Mr. Obama’s campaign, which has tried to keep him from being pigeonholed or defined by race
I'm glad I have the Times to tell me these things. Otherwise I'd have to rely on all of Obama's statements where he brings up his race, and I might have wrong thoughts.

Mr. Obama has been more explicit about the role of race in attacks against him in the past, but he is rarely specific about who is behind them. “We know what kind of campaign they’re going to run,” he said in June.
Huh. Obama was worried about a campaign against him, after he clinched* the nomination.
Yeah, that could mean anybody. The Bulgarians, maybe? An association of retired minor league general managers? One thing I know it's not is an accusation against McCain's people. The Times told me so.

*And when I say 'clinched', I'm not denying I'm rooting for all kinds of fun in Denver.

[Thomas Collins]

exhibited excellent slice and dice skills (making up delegate deficiencies in big states by picking up delegates in caucus states).

[Sorry for the split post. I clicked Post when I meant to click Preview.]

[Porchlight]

True, Thomas Collins, but the risk is that McCain may gain among clingers in southern and eastern Ohio, and in the exurbs, because of same tactics by BO. Jay Cost has an extensive Ohio analysis here and here, and I think Barone has touched on this, too.

[bad]

It's all in slicing and dicing in the key electoral vote states

They need to leave the arrogance behind to properly poll and interpret poll numbers in order for "slice and dice"to work. Not this campaign's strong suit. Tricky stuff..

[anduril]

Either way--O wins, O loses--the country is the big loser from O's constant race baiting.

[Jane]

Bad,

Have I told you lately how nice it is to have you around more frequently?

[Ranger]

Well, Gallup's 3 day rolling average has the race with Obama up just 1 point. And given that he has been trending down, and McCain trending up for the last 3 days, we may see a McCain lead for the first time by next monday. If that happens, I imagine that this will be a big part of why. McCain's response was perfectly toned to reach both independents and Clintonistas. The independents hear the baseless attack against McCain and see "politics as usual" from Obama. The Clintonistas have that old scab ripped off from the primaries that had just started to heal.

Watch for the real panic to start among the superdelegates next week as they get home and get an earful from voters about more drilling and watch Obama's poll number stagnate in a statistical tie with McCain.

[bad]

Thanks Jane!! You and JOM educate. It is uplifting.

[Porchlight]

Ranger,

I see Rasmussen has Obama +1 today (down from +2 yesterday) but Gallup still seems to have yesterday's numbers up (Obama +1). The trendlines certainly do favor McCain and I've also been wondering if he will take the lead in the next few days.

Maybe Gallup will have them tied today?

FWIW Kerry led Bush through July; in August Bush started to make some gains and by September he had more or less a permanent (though slim) lead.

[Danube of Thought]

And then there's the Bradley effect...

[bad]

Speaking of race, LUN

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

As this from Obama's 1998 Con Law exam shows, he knows how to play the Jesse Jackson Race/Extortion Card:

Recently, the economy of New Prosperity has been on the rebound.... A major symbol of that economic resurgence is the New Prosperity Mall....

To jump start the development, the city purchased the site five years ago and made it development-ready through the issuance of a general obligation bond, to be paid back out of the city’s tax revenues over twenty-five years.

...the city entered into an agreement with Mogul Development Corporation, whereby ... Mogul would construct the mall for a hefty development fee ... exercise an exclusive option to buy the mall from the city
for a pre-determined price.

....Mogul exercised its option to buy, has owned and operated the mall free and clear (and very profitably)....The city has recouped its development costs.... Everybody seems just thrilled with this win-win situation.

Well, almost everybody. Six month ago, a community organization called Hardsville Neighbors United filed suit in United States District Court, alleging that the city, in concert with Mogul, has engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination against black residents of Hardsville in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment.

...the complaint alleges that in designing the mall, the city, in concert with Mogul, deliberately failed to provide any safe and convenient access route for Hardsville
residents who seek to travel by bus to the mall, and that the city and Mogul did so because they wanted to limit the number of blacks generally, and poor blacks in particular, who would patronize the mall. In support of this allegation, plaintiffs point outthat the bus for passengers coming from Hardsville heading east stops on the south side of Division Parkway - that is, on the side away from the mall. There is no pedestrian overpass leading from the bus-stop directly to the mall, and the only cross-walk across the highway is located two full blocks away from the bus stop; from there, it is the equivalent of another two city blocks, across a large parking lot, to the mall’s main entrance.

....statistics show that blacks in Hardsville are eight times more likely to travel by bus than are whites, and that the city was aware of these statistics when it and Mogul designed the mall as they did.

The complaint’s second, related count alleges that since the mall opened, the city, in concert with Mogul and its sub-lessees, has systematically harassed and intimidated black shoppers so as to discourage their presence in the mall. More specifically, the complaint alleges that, both before and after the city’s sale of the Mall to Mogul, a) mall security guards hired by Mogul have been under instructions to stand near any congregation of black teenagers (but not white teenagers) in an effort to intimidate them and “move them along;” b) with the knowledge and encouragement of Mogul, undercover security guards and electronic surveillance operators employed by a number of individual stores in the mall systematically monitor and follow black customers as they shop, but do not subject white shoppers to similar treatment; c) on at least five occasions since the sale of the mall to Mogul, and on at least five occasion during the period that the city still owned the mall, black shoppers (but no white shoppers) have been falsely detained by Mogul security guards for shoplifting; and d) such discriminatory activity has occurred with the city’s knowledge and encouragement.

That's a nice shopping mall you've got there. It would be a shame if something happened to it. Say, gangs of surly, black teens started hangin' there.

[bad]

African American protestors holding a banner reading "What about the black community Obama?" heckled Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama in Florida on Friday.

This is the first I've heard of African americans protesting Obama. Did they feel "talked down to" before Jesse told them they were?

LUN

[bad]

While at the previous Breitbart site be sure to click on the Edwards/Hunter link. This thing is hitting the fan.

[Porchlight]

LOL, per Gallup, Americans now think even less of Obama's ability to handle foreign policy/be a good CiC than they did before his trip.

New daily numbers still not up.

[PaulL]

Porchlight, is that one of the funniest things ever, or what?

[Ranger]

I didn't see those numbers until this morning, so I misinterpreted them as today's numbers from overnight last night. If they are tied today, that will really send the Dems into a funk for the weekend.

I have the feeling that pulling the race card was Obama's desperate effort to reverse the rapid slide in the polls and at the same time forstall McCain from using the 'c-word' line of attack against Obama's 75,000 seat acceptance "event."

[Porchlight]

bad,

Nice find - that does seem to be a new wrinkle. Love Obama's condescending response:

"Sit down. You'll have a chance to ask your questions, but you don't want to disrupt the whole meeting. Just be courteous," he said, before going back to his prepared remarks.

PaulL,

Yes, it is delicious. I just keep thinking of all that money and time spent, only to fall further behind. He could have stayed in the country and hit McCain on any number of issues. Opportunity costs are a bitch.

[Porchlight]

Ranger,

I think you're right - the whole race card thing smacks of desperation. The internal polls must be looking even worse.

[clarice]

About the birth certificate. Edward's aide, Andy Young, married father of two young kids, publicly took the fall last year though no one believed him but idiots.
In Calif. the father's name of the child of an unmarried woman will not go on the certificate without an affidavit from the father admitting paternity. Apparently spineless Andy was not willing to commit perjury for his boss.

[kim]

The poor and the black community is figuring out that unnecessarily elevated energy costs hurt them more than the prosperous. It's a marvelous wedge issue.
==================================

[bad]

Read a piece out of N.C. last night but didn't save the link. The jist was that Edward's extracurriculars are old news.

That said, does he have any judgement at all to be "active" without benefit of a vasectomy? Dudes with money are a target.

[bio mom]

No matter who wins, race relations in the country will be set back 50 years.

[Sue]

Anyone else notice the use of the term "African community" referring to blacks? Not African-American community, but African community. How about that Obama? They took to your black liberation theology better than you did.

[kim]

I don't really think so, bio mom. Race relations in this country have already transcended Obama's view of them. Too much time in that stupid church. This is really one of his big problems with the white community; he's appealing to liberals who can't survive without racial guilt. The rest of us think Obama is an anachronism.

Appealing to white liberal guilt was a good strategy to get the nomination; it is fatal in the general.
===================================

[Porchlight]

Gallup has it tied at 44.

[kim]

Ooh, PL, that's registered, too. Likely generally favor McCain more than registered.

Can I call it now? Heh. What's the chance that McCain will commit a major gaffe now compared to Obama. Oh please keep him through the convention. I hear the far-off whistle of a supersonic superdelegate broom.
==================================

[Jane]

Last night, Rove stated something like: "in the last 100 years only one person has won the presidential race who led on the last day of July. So I've been holding my breath, but it looks like we made it.

[bad]

Rich Lowery is claiming that Edwards was the first to level the accusation of "celebrity," referring to Clinton and Obama as "the celebrity candidates."

Will NYT claim Edwards is racist?

[kim]

And that must have been Clinton, '96. He also had pre-empted Dole by selling out to the Chinese.
====================

[bad]

I can see the headlines:

John Edwards uses the "C" word.

[kim]

There is something the matter with that Jane. What about Roosevelt '36? What about Johnson '64?
=================================

[bad]

From ABC: LUN

It's becoming a running joke except it's not that funny. For the seventh time, mechanical failures are holding up former President Clinton's tour of Africa.

Hmmm... Hillary or Obama?

[bad]

The idea that people won't vote for a skinny guy is stupid. "He needs to put some meat on his bones" criticism is about Obama's lack of portfolio, not his physical size.

At least in my mind....

[M. Simon]

If the Supers pick Clinton I'm predicting riots in Denver. Bigger than those already planned.

If we get riots across the country Obama is going down and taking a lot of Ds with him.

A good time to be alive.

[clarice]

The Dems are stuck with him--Hillary took her name out of the running because she wants him to go down (along with Dean )without her.

[bad]

I'm sure she is just being a team player, Unity and all that...

[cathyf]

Yeah, Hillary's first choice, Hillary Clinton is the incumbant in 2012. Her second choice is that McCain is the incumbant and Obama is just another former-rock-star senator

[kim]

She, nor Bill, are campaigning for Obama. God knows what they are saying to the supers.
======================

[kim]

Probably 'Keep your powder dry' and 'Look at these polls'.
===================================

[clarice]

http://www.breitbart.tv/html/143513.html

[clarice]

Stratfor:
"Al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri is rumored to have been killed in a July 28 U.S. airstrike in Pakistan"

And where's that chubby Calif kid Adnan ?

[Thomas Collins]

I don't think that Dollar Barack is going to be denied the nomination. However, Hillary's deciding not to have her name placed in nomination doesn't preclude Friends of Bill and Friends of Hill continuing to whisper in the Supers' ears that Dollar Barack is well on his way to becoming Penny Barack. If DB stumbles before Denver, Hill will allowed her name to be placed in nomination "for the good of the party."

[bad]

That mean old McCain!! Quoting Obama like that...

[Neo]

And where's that chubby Calif kid Adnan ?

He was rumoured to be in the right place at the wrong time 6 or 8 weeks ago.

[GMax]

Ayman! AMF! I hope the 72 are fat ugly and whine neverending into eternity.