NYT Op/Ed: "How About We Leave Britney, Paris, & O.J. Out Of This — & Have A Presidential Campaign?"

[Hissyspit]

http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/say-what-john-mccain-barack-obama-and-the-race-card

July 31, 2008, 4:28 pm
Say What? John McCain, Barack Obama, and the “Race Card”
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
We know that operatives in modern-day presidential campaigns are supposed to say things that everyone knows are ridiculous — and to do it with a straight face.

Still, there was something surreal, and offensive, about today’s soundbite from the campaign of Senator John McCain.

The presumptive Republican nominee has embarked on a bare-knuckled barrage of negative advertising aimed at belittling Mr. Obama. The most recent ad compares the presumptive Democratic nominee for president to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton — suggesting to voters that he’s nothing more than a bubble-headed, publicity-seeking celebrity.

The ad gave us an uneasy feeling that the McCain campaign was starting up the same sort of racially tinged attack on Mr. Obama that Republican operatives, some of whom work for Mr. McCain now, ran against Harold Ford, a black candidate for Senate in Tennessee in 2006. That assault, too, began with videos juxtaposing Mr. Ford with young, white women.

Mr. Obama called Mr. McCain on the ploy, saying, quite rightly, that the Republicans are trying to scare voters by pointing out that he “doesn’t look like all those other Presidents on those dollar bills.’’

But Rick Davis, Mr. McCain’s campaign manager, had a snappy answer. “Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck,” he said. “It’s divisive, negative, shameful and wrong.’’

The retort was, we must say, not only contemptible, but shrewd. It puts the sin for the racial attack not on those who made it, but on the victim of the attack.

- snip -

It’s ugly stuff. How about we leave Britney, Paris, and O.J. out of this — and have a presidential campaign?

[asteroid2003QQ47]

1. Tell me a Britney and Paris 8 yr. Presidency would have been worse than Bush!

Not very likely, is it?

[Cobalt-60]

3. It couldn't produce worse results

And they would look a damned sight better on tv.

[magellan]

2. I laughed out loud at the claim Obama was being "divisive"

Republicans are really good at projection, aren't they?

[Sherman A1]

7. Yeah, I like that one....

seems that if you respond to them, then you are the bad guy........

[Bozita]

4. How about we talk about the Keating Five?

[Sherman A1]

6. Precisely

and that is just the tip of the Iceberg that needs to be discussed when talks about judgement come into play.

[dkf]

5. McCain is proving to be a pretty despicable character.

Guess he is a Repub after all.

[BrklynLiberal]

8. As soon as he came within 10 feet of prez shit-for-brains, after what was done to him and his family

during the 2000 primaries, you had to know he had absolutely no principles at all.

[dkf]

12. True.

That shows a serious lack of character.

[malaise]

9. As I wrote yesterday

It is a complete inversion of reality.

[Deja Q]

10. Wasn't McCain proud of bringing in Britney? Can't imagine why...

[high density]

11. It's McCain acting like a child

"I know you are but what am I?"

[calimary]

13. Kicked!

Why can't we leave the sleaze out of these things? Because we're republi-CONS, that's why.