Obama, McCain gear up for race-based attacks; Axelrod: "We've seen this movie before..."

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN/AP: Obama, McCain gear up for race-based attacks

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A presidential candidate who's named Hussein and wears a turban? A building that's called the White House but run by a black guy? Those political images and ideas already have found their way onto TV airwaves and campaign buttons, possible harbingers of racially tinged messages in a general election involving the first black candidate to head a major party's ticket.

Though the election is more than four months away, the campaigns of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are shaping their strategies for dealing with such appeals. The Obama campaign vows to fight back fiercely and fast, not repeating John Kerry's mistake of waiting to respond to the 2004 "Swift Boat" ads that Democrats saw as a smear of his military record. McCain's camp is alert for attacks on its man, too.

The McCain campaign promises to condemn any race-based political appeals. But it also insists it won't stand still for false charges of racism or for allegations merely aimed at preventing criticism of Obama on legitimate issues. "Every word will be twisted to make it about race," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, a McCain friend and adviser. When he and others confront Obama on issues such as national security and the economy, Graham said, it will have "nothing to do with him being an African-American."

Obama adviser David Axelrod said the Democrat's campaign will be on high alert for code words or innuendo meant to play on voters' racial sentiments. "We're going to be aggressive about pushing back on anything that we feel is inappropriate or misleading," he said. It's not enough for McCain to say he cannot control independent groups airing racially charged ads on his behalf, Axelrod said, noting that the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" was independent of President Bush's campaign.

"We've seen this movie before," he said. "And we're not going to be passive in the face of those kinds of tactics."...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/23/obama.ads.ap/index.html

[LibDemAlways]

1. "Every word will be twisted to make it about race" says

Lindsay Graham. Translation: We intend to smear Obama with thinly disguised racist shit on a 24/7 basis, but if and when we get called on it, we're going to scream foul.

If anyone believes Graham's assertion that the coming attacks "have nothing to do with him being an African-American," I have some lovely ocean front property in Arizona I'd like to sell.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Race debate on SNL ca. 1975

http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2005/associated-words-p1.php

Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase

[genna]

4. I knew Richard Pryor was hillarious but I have to give Chevy Chase props here too

Was political correctness designed to push all this heat back from the public square?

Did it work?

[Larkspur]

3. Obama can pay for the responses to these attacks out of his own money

Since he is planning on caving into fascism along with the other Dems in the Senate. He promised to filibuster the FISA bill if it contained telecom immunity. Looks like he's breaking his promise.

[kentuck]

5. The sad truth is that when they say 3 out of 10 are prejudiced...

that makes it OK for a lot of people to use race as a reason to be for or against a candidate. It gives racism credibility. Awful, awful journalism.