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You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2008 / Our New Sheriff Is A…

Our New Sheriff Is A…

by John Cole|  February 28, 200811:02 am| 87 Comments

This post is in: Election 2008, Republican Stupidity, Assholes

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Josh Marshall breaks down the GOP strategy:

Hopefully, everyone can now see the McCain strategy for running against Barack Obama. Yes, we have some general points on taxes, culture wars and McCain as war hero who can protect us in ways that flash-in-the-pan pretty boy Barack Obama can’t.

But that’s not the core. The core is to drill a handful of key adjectives into the public mind about Barack Obama: Muslim, anti-American, BLACK, terrorist, Arab. Maybe a little hustler and shifty thrown in, but we’ll have to see. The details and specific arguments are sort of beside the point. They’re like the libretto in a Wagner opera, nice for some narrative structure. But it’s the score that’s the real essence of it, the point of the whole exercise.

As Josh goes on to point out, if you think it is an accident that all these surrogates are saying nasty stuff if an accident, I got some cheap sub-prime loans you might be interested in. They let them blurt out the nasty stuff to get it out there, and then mcCain repudiates it and looks like he is running a clean campaign. A twofer, as Digby notes.

On the upside, at this rate they will be out of insults by November. Maybe.

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Reader Interactions

87Comments

  1. 1.

    Dug Jay

    February 28, 2008 at 11:08 am

    John Cole, the only blogger who also serves as his own troll on his own blog. Here’s an interesting, if somewhat long investigative piece, on Obama and some of his long time associates.

  2. 2.

    scarshapedstar

    February 28, 2008 at 11:12 am

    Here’s an interesting, if somewhat long investigative piece, on Obama and some of his long time associates.

    Is this the one about how he went to a Madrassa with Moqtada al-Sadr?

    My grandpa already forwarded me that “investigative piece”, thanks.

  3. 3.

    cd6

    February 28, 2008 at 11:13 am

    Whoa, wait a minute? Barack Obama is black?!

    Why wasn’t I informed of this ahead of time?

  4. 4.

    D0n Camillo

    February 28, 2008 at 11:15 am

    It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the general election if Obama gets the nomination. I’ve been pretty impressed at how well his campaign team has anticipated and neutralized every attack and criticism aimed at Obama so far. I was particularly impressed by how Obama dealt with the lapel pin “controversy”. I would be very surprised if he and his team haven’t planned for proxy attacks like this that did so much damage to John Kerry’s campaign.

  5. 5.

    les

    February 28, 2008 at 11:17 am

    On the upside, at this rate they will be out of insults by November.

    Yeah, when hell runs out of central heat. They will continue, accelerating and cheapening, for 8 years, gods willing.

  6. 6.

    Billy K

    February 28, 2008 at 11:17 am

    They’re gonna get a hoofin’ from the MUP if they’re not careful!

  7. 7.

    mark

    February 28, 2008 at 11:18 am

    “I think my supporters said Obama is near.”

  8. 8.

    John S.

    February 28, 2008 at 11:20 am

    Here’s an interesting, if somewhat long investigative piece, on Obama and some of his long time associates.

    And now the trolls and rightwing nutjobs are officially on the same team as the Clinton supporters.

    Politics really does make strange bedfellows…

  9. 9.

    Evinfuilt

    February 28, 2008 at 11:21 am

    “I think my supporters said Obama is near.”

    Well that just made my day.

  10. 10.

    ThymeZone

    February 28, 2008 at 11:23 am

    at this rate they will be out of insults

    I know that the Transcend word is forbidden, but here’s the deal: When you have a popular guy like Obama gathering momentum and votes, and you pull shit like the stuff we are talking about here, you don’t insult Obama. You insult the millions who are pulling for him, and he ends up being stronger as a result. You marginalize yourself.

    In 1992, George Bush the Elder made the mistake of referring to Clinton and Gore as “those clowns.” Clinton and Gore were stirring up voter enthusiasm like crazy, after the conventions.

    That kind of politics, in this kind of situation, reveals itself for what it is: Mean, desperate, and unprincipled. And the good cop- bad cop routine isn’t fooling anyone so far.

    McCain wants to become known as the mean little man who wanted foreverwar, and wanted to hurt the pony? Okay, watch him do a Goldwater in the general election and become just a footnote to the history that will be made this year.

  11. 11.

    Xenos

    February 28, 2008 at 11:29 am

    I suppose Obama surrogates could go on at length about ‘Panamanian-born John SIDNEY McCain’, emphasizing that Obama is at least American born, and does not have a middle name referring to an Elizabethan Poet (!), or an Australian city, or a member of the Sex Pistol (Mr. Sid[ney] Vicious).

    McCain is descended from Border Scots, like I am. No doubt if you go back a couple generations you can uncover some nasty anti-Papism.

    But what is the point? This is all such weak game compared to the issues Obama is already running and winning on.

  12. 12.

    Jamey

    February 28, 2008 at 11:31 am

    McCain Souljahs the RWNM. Yeah, nobody’d be smart enough to figure out THAT one…

    And Dug Jay, could you please offer links from sites other than PJM-affiliated ones? Everybody knows that PJM sites will let anybody post anything. . . oh, wait.

  13. 13.

    abiodun

    February 28, 2008 at 11:33 am

    Obama has to explain any and all statements made by any black man he may know or ever spoken to!
    I guess Mccain will have to explain his acceptance of endorsements and the various bigoted and hate speeches of Hagee, Falwell, Robertson, et al.-afterall, they are all white.

  14. 14.

    Z

    February 28, 2008 at 11:33 am

    Of course the 28%-ers will believe every word, will froth at the mouth spouting rascist & xenaphobic garbage with every shuddering breath, and will continue the process of alientating young voters from Republican politics for a generation.

  15. 15.

    Lupin

    February 28, 2008 at 11:34 am

    Fortunately, the American people have proven in the past that they are too canny to be fooled by…

    What?

    Never mind.

  16. 16.

    Z

    February 28, 2008 at 11:35 am

    alienating… geez

  17. 17.

    Zifnab

    February 28, 2008 at 11:36 am

    And now the trolls and rightwing nutjobs are officially on the same team as the Clinton supporters.

    Politics really does make strange bedfellows…

    Listen to the right wing punditry and see how many times you catch the phrase “… I really do feel sorry for Hillary Clinton…”

    You can also hear them crumbling their Cheetos bags in frustration. The epic fight between Light and Dark, Heaven and Hell, Jesus Goodness and Eternal Evil, GOP v The Clintons, round 666! This was gonna be it! People had been preparing for this showdown for a good damn decade. The Republicans were literally chomping at the bit to lay into Hillary like a fat man into pudding, and it all gets wisked away by some dark horse uppity negro who just happens to claim bi-partisan support at historic levels and who dodges slime like a combination of Michael Jordan and Super Mario.

    This was gonna be Revelations, baby! All the Hillary-is-the-Antichrist, End of Days, Democratic Donkey as the Mark of the Beast, omg we alz gonna dieieie! rhetoric out the freak’n window.

    And Barack Obama ruined it!

  18. 18.

    Tom

    February 28, 2008 at 11:36 am

    “McCain as war hero who can protect us in ways that flash-in-the-pan pretty boy Barack Obama can’t.”

    I don’t understand this idea. McCain was captured, held prisoner and tortured by the guys his side lost to, and he’s supposed to be a “hero” who can “protect” me and the rest of the country?

  19. 19.

    Tsulagi

    February 28, 2008 at 11:42 am

    On the upside, at this rate they will be out of insults by November.

    If you believe that, I can sell you a timeshare to be near the future Disneyland Iraq. McCain will back it with a 100-year lease and Black Hawks for your fun-filled strolls to the park.

  20. 20.

    Neal

    February 28, 2008 at 11:43 am

    McCain is descended from Border Scots, like I am.

    Hey, me too. McCamis is the name…we fought in the revolution with General George at Yorktown…but I still like the MUP.
    I tried to use the analogy the other day in a debate that Obama in African garb is no different than me in a kilt…but alas, that logic doesn’t work with those on the far right.
    C’est la vie.

  21. 21.

    TenguPhule

    February 28, 2008 at 11:44 am

    Here’s an interesting, if somewhat long investigative piece, on Obama and some of his long time associates.

    Shorter Dug Jay: Swift Boats II! Kill the N*****S!

  22. 22.

    TenguPhule

    February 28, 2008 at 11:46 am

    On the upside, at this rate they will be out of insults by November. Maybe.

    John, John, John.

    This is the one area where Republicans believe in recycling.

    It will be Same Shit, Different Day from September onwards.

  23. 23.

    TenguPhule

    February 28, 2008 at 11:47 am

    I don’t understand this idea. McCain was captured, held prisoner and tortured by the guys his side lost to and turned on his fellow POWs and his country to escape the pain, and he’s supposed to be a “hero” who can “protect” me and the rest of the country?

    Completed.

    Never forget, when push came to shove, McCoward chose his own ass over everyone else.

  24. 24.

    TenguPhule

    February 28, 2008 at 11:50 am

    They let them blurt out the nasty stuff to get it out there, and then mcCain repudiates it and looks like he is running a clean campaign.

    I dunno, John.

    This time it seems to be more like McCoward’s ‘repudiations’ are only tying him and his shitslingers together.

    Of course, the insults against his supporters help too, nothing motivates like sticking it in the eye of the assholes calling you by extension a dirty uppity muslim terrorist traitor.

  25. 25.

    bootlegger

    February 28, 2008 at 11:51 am

    “I don’t understand this idea. McCain was captured, held prisoner and tortured by the guys his side lost to, and he’s supposed to be a “hero” who can “protect” me and the rest of the country?”

    Plus he’s a zillion years old and can’t lift his arms over his head. I’d love to see McCain and Obama step in the Octogon, then we’ll see who can protect who!

  26. 26.

    Xenos

    February 28, 2008 at 11:52 am

    Obama in African garb is no different than me in a kilt

    At least Obama was wearing underwear inside the outfit in question…

    And woad – don’t forget the woad.

  27. 27.

    SGEW

    February 28, 2008 at 11:52 am

    I think (hope?) that these tactics (anti-Muslim, racist, etc.) simply cannot work to give McCain the edge in the general.

    The 28% (19%?) who are totally cut off from reality (ZOMG! Obama/Osama is teh Manchurian!) were already NOT GOING TO VOTE FOR HIM. Maybe these smears will get a few more of ’em out to the polls (but not as many as, say, an anti-gay marriage initiative on the State ballot), but these folks are not a constituency that the Democratic party really hopes (or wants) to get.

    Everyone else (I hope!) will finally see through these sorts of attacks, as the smears become more and more ridiculous (tho’ I don’t know how they can beat the Terrorist/Communist/Gay/Druggie platform they’re working off of now: seriously, these guys are jumping the shark in a major way).

    Plus, the M.U.P. can turn mud into marzipan. Who needs to push the “race-baiting” spin (pace Wilentz) when your opponents are actually, literally racist?

  28. 28.

    Jen

    February 28, 2008 at 11:53 am

    Um, guys? There are plenty of things to dish on McCain about without insulting his service. That’s pretty low.

  29. 29.

    Zifnab

    February 28, 2008 at 11:53 am

    I don’t understand this idea. McCain was captured, held prisoner and tortured by the guys his side lost to and turned on his fellow POWs and his country to escape the pain, and he’s supposed to be a “hero” who can “protect” me and the rest of the country?

    Dude, whatever. If you were in a Vietnamese prison for five years, I’d like to see how long you would last. You want to come after him for being a Bush-kissing torture lover who doesn’t mind Vietnamizing Iraq, go nuts. You want to go after him for caving under torture… well, no shit. That doesn’t mean McCain is weak, it just means that torture sucks.

  30. 30.

    Nellcote

    February 28, 2008 at 11:55 am

    The cable shows are doing a fine job of helping the gop along by showing McCain’s opening act 4 or 5 times an hour in the guise of reporting on McCain’s ‘apology’. At some point they had the tape edited down to Cummings (?) just screeching “Barack Hussein Obama” 3 times in a row.

  31. 31.

    Xenos

    February 28, 2008 at 11:59 am

    Um, guys? There are plenty of things to dish on McCain about without insulting his service. That’s pretty low.

    Um Jen? You don’t know satire when you see it? Of course it is pretty low – it mimics the mud-slinging of the reichtards. I doubt even the leftiest spoofs here would assert such an argument in earnest.

  32. 32.

    sean

    February 28, 2008 at 11:59 am

    Obama should use this as his campaign song for the GE

  33. 33.

    Jen

    February 28, 2008 at 12:00 pm

    The cable shows are doing a fine job of helping the gop along by showing McCain’s opening act 4 or 5 times an hour in the guise of reporting on McCain’s ‘apology’. At some point they had the tape edited down to Cummings (?) just screeching “Barack Hussein Obama” 3 times in a row.

    The thing is, though, and NB: I am about to apply logical thinking to the American Electorate…warning…warning…but how would this really help them? I mean, what does this show? What undecided voters does this convince? Is there anyone who does not yet know his middle name? It would seem to me to be more likely to backfire than anything else, since the guy looks like a raving fool.

  34. 34.

    Wilfred

    February 28, 2008 at 12:00 pm

    Seems to me that the effort this early is to deny Obama the nomination in the first place – the only one who benefits from this right now is Clinton.
    Of course the nutters and Clinton have made common cause. It’s to her advantage to undermine Obama both now and for the general election, where his loss would be her gain. Against McCain’t she’s dead anyway since she’s already pulling back from her Iraq vote – the litmus test for the anti black/Muslim/terrorist/Arab line.

    The Arabs have a story about a garbageman who fainted in a public market one day. Passersby tried to revive him by passing jasmine and rosewater and lotus perfume under his nose in order to stir him to consciousness but all to no avail. Finally a man came along who understood that the man only needed something familiar to wake him – and passed shit under the guy’s nose, rousing him instantly.

    The right is waking up.

  35. 35.

    tBone

    February 28, 2008 at 12:01 pm

    Never forget, when push came to shove, McCoward chose his own ass over everyone else.

    Plus he’s a zillion years old and can’t lift his arms over his head. I’d love to see McCain and Obama step in the Octogon, then we’ll see who can protect who!

    Don’t be fucking dickheads. This kind of shit is just as repellent as the Purple Heart band-aids.

  36. 36.

    canuckistani

    February 28, 2008 at 12:02 pm

    Candygram for Dug Jay..

    Hey, how come no one ever mentions how much more experience at surrendering McCain has the Obama? Or is that a cheap shot?

  37. 37.

    Jen

    February 28, 2008 at 12:02 pm

    Um Jen? You don’t know satire when you see it? Of course it is pretty low – it mimics the mud-slinging of the reichtards. I doubt even the leftiest spoofs here would assert such an argument in earnest.

    Maybe. Didn’t sound like it to me. Or Zif, apparently.

  38. 38.

    Jen

    February 28, 2008 at 12:03 pm

    Or tBone.

  39. 39.

    vishnu schist

    February 28, 2008 at 12:05 pm

    Hell ya Dug Jay you tell ’em. Except the whole “deal” scam bullshit was debunked in like 2006. Seem ‘ol Barack Muhammed Hussein Ali G Shiek or whatever the hell the reichwing wants to call him, put an offer in on a house that had been on the market for some time and viola! his was the high offer and they got the house. I know in the reichwing mind this equates to one of two things:

    1. For a republican it is just good biznezz.
    2. For a librul it is a felony.

    oh and some how he paid above the market rate for the strip of land from Rezko. To the reichwing mind this equates to one of two things:

    1. For a republican he obviously wanted the land and was willing to pay for it.
    2. For a librul it is a felony.

    Oh well like I always say the rightwing assholes these days would have cheered on jeebus’s cruxifiction.

    Links galore!

    http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/124171,CST-NWS-obama05.article

  40. 40.

    Billy K

    February 28, 2008 at 12:06 pm

    and who dodges slime like a combination of Michael Jordan and Super Mario.

    Can I use this next time someone asks me why I support The MUP?

    “Dude! He’s a combination of Michael Jordan and Super Mario!”

    (It’s not racist, is it?)

  41. 41.

    srv

    February 28, 2008 at 12:08 pm

    So John, what you’re really saying is that Obama is mainstream? He believes everything we do, except he’s just black. Is that what change is?

    My vote for him would be predicated on believing that he’s much more like his mom than what y’all consider mainstream. I want to believe his playing you.

  42. 42.

    Xenos

    February 28, 2008 at 12:08 pm

    Maybe I misread it. A few days ago somebody commented on how feeble McCain looked, and got harshed on by the powers that be – specifically about McCain’s partial paralysis being a result of torture. I thought it a sly reference to an old controversy (or a deliberate spoof by ‘Bootlegger’, a persona never heard from before or again in the future), rather than a real slur of McCain.

    And no, it was not me!

    Just wait ’til Redstate has an article about those nasty Balloon-Juicer Commentariat Communists in about half an hour. If so, we will know it was an agent provocateur all along.

  43. 43.

    John S.

    February 28, 2008 at 12:08 pm

    Maybe. Didn’t sound like it to me. Or Zif, apparently.

    Or tBone.

    You’re wearing the mantle of ‘official blog bouncer’ that demi layed across your shoulders rather well, madam.

  44. 44.

    myiq2xu

    February 28, 2008 at 12:18 pm

    As Josh goes on to point out, if you think it is an accident that all these surrogates are saying nasty stuff if an accident, I got some cheap sub-prime loans you might be interested in. They let them blurt out the nasty stuff to get it out there, and then mcCain repudiates it and looks like he is running a clean campaign. A twofer, as Digby notes.

    Do you really think that would work? What a novel idea.

    Specifically, Sen. Obama’s surrogates or in some cases his campaign staff or advisors were repeatedly making false charges of racism against Sen. Clinton while Sen. Obama pretended to be above the fray by mouthing the usual platitudes about her – this is a pretty standard version of the swift-boating tactics used against Sen. John Kerry in 2004 (in Kerry’s case, the swift-boating was largely done by people who were not part of George Bush’s direct campaign team in order to allow for some level of deniability; the Obama campaign has not been that careful – and they didn’t have to be since the media has been in the tank for him for quite a while now).

    I guess Obama doesn’t just copy other people’s speeches.

  45. 45.

    Tom

    February 28, 2008 at 12:31 pm

    “Dude, whatever. If you were in a Vietnamese prison for five years, I’d like to see how long you would last. You want to come after him for being a Bush-kissing torture lover who doesn’t mind Vietnamizing Iraq, go nuts. You want to go after him for caving under torture… well, no shit. That doesn’t mean McCain is weak, it just means that torture sucks.”

    Umm, actually I wasn’t going after him for caving under torture. I was asking what, exactly and with detail, he did that qualifies him for the label “hero.” Perhaps I’m not as fluent in English as I should be, but don’t heroes do things like save people from horrible stuff happening or lead their tribe/nation to great victory? How does getting captured and tortured qualify? What part of Mr. McCain’s service indicates he would be able to protect the US from its enemies?

    And if John McCain is a hero because of being captured and tortured by the victors of his particular war, what does that say about the prisoners at Guantanmo? Are they heroes too?

  46. 46.

    AkaDad

    February 28, 2008 at 12:44 pm

    If you’re in the military, then you’re a hero by default, until you question the war or any aspect of it, then you’re a phony soldier.

  47. 47.

    Neal

    February 28, 2008 at 12:46 pm

    Um, guys? There are plenty of things to dish on McCain about without insulting his service. That’s pretty low.

    Agreed. And no, the satire wasn’t readily apparent. Text does that sometimes, I suppose.

  48. 48.

    SGEW

    February 28, 2008 at 12:49 pm

    I guess Obama doesn’t just copy other people’s speeches.

    Yeah, yeah, yeah. A presidential candidate (who happens to be dark skinned) pointing out possibly racially insensitive comments made by a rival Democratic candidate’s campaign (even if you believe the TNR article and that Obama was the one who politicized it, and the comments were totally appropriate (which is a hard one to swallow, but I’ll let it go)) is just like impugning and insulting the personal war record of another candidate through outright lies and distortion.

    Yeah. Exactly the same. Obama took one right out of the Rove play book, all right.

    And, hey, stick to the Wilentz article for your quotes, could you? Bringing in theleftcoaster to pump up the rhetorical volume doesn’t help you very much (in my mind, at least – the eriposte article you linked to doesn’t really add anything to Wilentz’s point beyond teeth gnashing and verbiage).

  49. 49.

    Xenos

    February 28, 2008 at 12:54 pm

    Tom-

    You are stuck in a pagan conception of heroism, along the lines where Achilles is a hero but Hector is not, on the basis of their success, and not their inherent merit. Martyrs have been heroes, too, for the last 2000 years or so.

    And in American culture since, say, the 1670s, survivors of captivity are central characters of heroic myth. In cultural terms, John McCain is an updated version of Mary Rowlandson. Under that cultural trope, a survivor of captivity is living proof of the redemptive power of God, and recapitulates the pilgrim’s progress in the course of their ordeal.

  50. 50.

    crw

    February 28, 2008 at 1:03 pm

    McCain’s made it pretty clear he’s going to throw talk radio under the bus. I half suspect the wingnuts are using these ridiculous smears because they damn well know it will sink his campaign. And as a bonus, it fires up the 28%ers for some good ol’ obstructionism. Make the country ungovernable for Obama. Slam him for failing to get anything through. Then retake Congress in 2010 and the White House in 2012. I would not be surprised if that’s their plan.

    Meanwhile, McCain gets the Bob Dole farewell tour.

  51. 51.

    Martin

    February 28, 2008 at 1:09 pm

    Yes, either it was a swiftboating campaign from the Obama camp or the Clinton camp couldn’t stop saying stupid shit. Not hateful shit, just stupid shit, like dismissing every group that wasn’t her base until you had no choice to conclude that she was dismissing black voters. My 10 year old son figured that out on his own. And you can’t blame the media – blame Mark Penn for making everyone some kind of ‘group’ that is either for them or against them. Honestly, that shit is insulting to white people too.

    And the outrage over the LBJ issue stemmed from the fact that they were tone-deaf. MLK didn’t bring us civil rights, nor did LBJ – the public did (which MLK would have admitted to merely being a part of) and forced civil rights to happen. It was viewed by quite a few people that she was trying to downplay the role that broad public support can play in getting things done as a way to minimize Obamas popular support, forgetting that a lot of Obamas popular supporters sacrificed a great deal to see civil rights happen and weren’t about to sit idly by and get waved off as being irrelevant. That tactic might have worked if the group she was trying to diminish were dead, but instead it was people that not only were alive, but were alive and had a voice. Did the president play a role – absolutely, but the ‘took a president to get it done’ was simply a selfish statement to bolster her current situation.

    It wasn’t a racist comment, but is was an insulting one and seemed to have missed a main point that MLK was making at the time. That some people took it as racist is no more surprising than the people that took ‘periodically’ as sexist.

  52. 52.

    myiq2xu

    February 28, 2008 at 1:10 pm

    A presidential candidate (who happens to be dark skinned) pointing out possibly racially insensitive comments made by a rival Democratic candidate’s campaign (even if you believe the TNR article and that Obama was the one who politicized it, and the comments were totally appropriate (which is a hard one to swallow, but I’ll let it go)) is just like impugning and insulting the personal war record of another candidate through outright lies and distortion.

    Yeah. Exactly the same. Obama took one right out of the Rove play book, all right.

    The Rove playbook says attack your opponent’s strong points. They turned Al Gore, a guy who is so straight arrow he’s kinda boring, into a liar and a crook.

    They took John Kerry, a bonafide war hero, and turned him into a coward and a phony.

    The Obama campaign (plausible deniability) turned Bill Clinton into a racist.

    Rove must be jealous. Of all the shit they threw at Bill the last 16 years, racism was never part of it. If six months ago somebody would have suggested that Bill would be accused of being a racist I would have laughed my ass off.

  53. 53.

    Martin

    February 28, 2008 at 1:17 pm

    Anyone who has volunteered to stand in the line of fire can take the hero label as far as I’m concerned.

    I hope Obama doesn’t try to point out the hypocrisy of McCain’s position on torture as it relates to his service, because the game is over if he tries that. Even if he gets it logically correct, they’ll bury him. So far, Obama has done nothing but praise McCain for his service, which is the right move – it takes it off the table as far as the formal campaign goes. I think he can attack him on his recent positions, however.

    Oh, and McCain is doing no harm to radio. Right now, the more they go on and the more he repudiates, the more other media is talking about radio and not talking about other things. It’s free advertising – they love it.

  54. 54.

    SGEW

    February 28, 2008 at 1:23 pm

    The Rove playbook says attack your opponent’s strong points.

    Gosh. So does Sun Tzu’s playbook. Obama is a Manchurian Candidate! Literally! (sorry)

    The Obama campaign (plausible deniability) turned Bill Clinton into a racist . . . . If six months ago somebody would have suggested that Bill would be accused of being a racist I would have laughed my ass off.

    Hmmm. I see your point. No, seriously. But I disagree that it was the Obama campaign that really made people believe the whole “Bill doesn’t care about Black People” meme that’s popped up. It was, well, Pres. Clinton’s rather clumsy gaffes on camera, coupled with a string (some legit, some not so much) of similarly themed actions and statements that emanated from Sen. Clinton’s national campaign. Obama’s campaign may have run with the story line (perhaps unfairly, perhaps counter-productively: there are many finer points to be made), but the attacks on Sen. Kerry were totally fabricated, apropos of nothing, and invented the entire “controversy” out of whole cloth. I see it as a very large difference.

  55. 55.

    crw

    February 28, 2008 at 1:23 pm

    Obama’s strategy vs McCain is very much to frame this as Old And Busted vs The New Hotness. So I wouldn’t expect him to bring up torture at all. Instead, he’ll keep emphasizing McCain’s 50 years of public service and tie him to George Bush’s White House. And considering McCain’s tongue is stained black from licking Bush’s boots so much this past year, there’s a good chance it’ll work.

  56. 56.

    Martin

    February 28, 2008 at 1:28 pm

    myiq-

    Race wasn’t one of either Bill or Hillary’s strong points. It was one of their least weak points. A lot of Democrats viewed the southern strategy of appealing to black voters as little different than the Republican strategy of appealing to evangelicals. Get their votes with words, but don’t actually do anything for them.

    Once Bill showed that he was willing to throw his constituent groups under the bus (don’t ask don’t tell) a lot of people wondered if the black community wouldn’t be next. That never happened, but the Clintons never went to bat for them either. That really isn’t discussed broadly because it serves no good to the party, but there’s a reasonably large number of people that felt the Clintons used the black vote in the 90s.

  57. 57.

    Jen

    February 28, 2008 at 1:37 pm

    You’re wearing the mantle of ‘official blog bouncer’ that demi layed across your shoulders rather well, madam.

    Aww…shucks….

  58. 58.

    J. Michael Neal

    February 28, 2008 at 1:37 pm

    I tried to use the analogy the other day in a debate that Obama in African garb is no different than me in a kilt

    So, you dress like a girl?

  59. 59.

    Jake

    February 28, 2008 at 1:38 pm

    Is it twu what dey say? O, it is twu, it is twu!

  60. 60.

    myiq2xu

    February 28, 2008 at 1:45 pm

    Yes, either it was a swiftboating campaign from the Obama camp or the Clinton camp couldn’t stop saying stupid shit. Not hateful shit, just stupid shit, like dismissing every group that wasn’t her base until you had no choice to conclude that she was dismissing black voters. My 10 year old son figured that out on his own. And you can’t blame the media – blame Mark Penn for making everyone some kind of ‘group’ that is either for them or against them. Honestly, that shit is insulting to white people too.

    Oh my! What a shock. Black people are overwhelmingly supporting the first really viable black candidate for President! Is it racist to recognize that? Hell no.

    Personally, even though I think Obama was the one who played the race card, I really don’t think it had nearly as much effect as winning Iowa did.

    Black people aren’t stupid (another shocker!) and I doubt they all suddenly changed their minds about the Clintons. If Obama was not perceived as a viable candidate many blacks would likely support the best viable candidate, even if that candidate was white. Why waste your vote on a token candidate?

    Hillary had a lot more support in the black community a couple months ago than she does now. IMHO when Obama won Iowa he also showed he could win it all, and that was what caused the shift in support, not the “race card” bullshit.

  61. 61.

    Tom

    February 28, 2008 at 1:50 pm

    “You are stuck in a pagan conception of heroism, along the lines where Achilles is a hero but Hector is not, on the basis of their success, and not their inherent merit. Martyrs have been heroes, too, for the last 2000 years or so.”

    Ok. Then how does having a heroic martyr as a leader = our country is safer?

    Really, the more I learn about Mr. McCain, the less reason there is to believe he is any different than the rest of the GOP filth. His recent actions with regard to the use of torture by Americans and his campaign finance nonsense certainly reinforce that impression.

    “Anyone who has volunteered to stand in the line of fire can take the hero label as far as I’m concerned.”

    So he’s willing to take a bullet for the US. Great. He’ll be the first one gone then if the US is ever actually threatened.

  62. 62.

    SGEW

    February 28, 2008 at 1:59 pm

    If Obama was not perceived as a viable candidate many blacks would likely support the best viable candidate, even if that candidate was white. Why waste your vote on a token candidate?

    Right on (see, e.g., Nader, Kucinich, etc.). Early on, before Iowa, many people loved Obama (for whatever reason), but worried that:

    A) Yo. America’s racist. A black guy named “Hussein Obama”? Yeah, right.

    Iowa changed that. Look at all those white people voting for him! People literally wept with pride for our country. That adds up to a lot of votes.

    And,
    B) Sure, maybe he’ll win, but he’ll be assassinated. Motherfuckers do it every time.

    Not sure how this’ll play out come November. Honestly, I can’t even think about it too much, or I’ll go mad.

  63. 63.

    Martin

    February 28, 2008 at 2:00 pm

    She wasn’t recognizing that though. She was doing the process of elimination on who mattered. Caucus goers didn’t matter. Rich voters didn’t matter. She suggested that if you look at the bread and butter of the democratic party and process, working class voters that can all vote in a primary, that she’s a more viable candidate. But then she excused Alabama as not mattering. Well, Alabama is just working class voters, and they had a primary. So a lot of people could only conclude that Alabama didn’t matter because they were *black* working class voters.

    It’s that kind of stupid shit. Why tell voters they don’t matter – particularly ones you would need in 8 months if you win? And it’s not just on race that they said stupid shit. Bill’s ‘rich people don’t really need a president’ is pretty fucking stupid too. As was the first-class and second-class delegates crap, essentially buying into the red/blue permanence frame. The politics of marginalization is wholly repugnant to the current democratic party and the people wanting to lead can’t seem to grasp that. So, no shit people lashed out at them. They were arguing for delegates on a separate but unequal basis, and people got in their face about it.

  64. 64.

    Martin

    February 28, 2008 at 2:04 pm

    Ok. Then how does having a heroic martyr as a leader = our country is safer?

    Well, the Republican base is largely authoritarian now, so they make all sorts of batshit associations, but basically the argument goes that because he has demonstrated his loyalty, patriotism, bravery, and toughness, that in the face of a national threat be loyal, patriotic, brave and tough. And we’ve always valued military service in a president so that if it comes down to it that he’ll get that added touch of respect from the military. Now, if the war is just, that’s not needed. If the war is unjust, you need every bit of help you can get.

  65. 65.

    canuckistani

    February 28, 2008 at 2:08 pm

    McCain is a hero because he volunteered to drop jellied gasoline on Vietnamese civilians from 30000 feet.

    yeah, I’m a bad man, but I don’t believe in giving people a free pass just because they wore a uniform. I always thought heroes were the guys who threw themselves on grenades to save their buddies, or risked their lives to bring in their wounded sergeant from between the lines. Did McCain actually do anything heroic, or is he just a beneficiary of a debased word?

  66. 66.

    SGEW

    February 28, 2008 at 2:17 pm

    Please excuse me. I have a lot of free time today.

    Did McCain actually do anything heroic, or is he just a beneficiary of a debased word?

    Well, I think that (symbolically speaking) “heroes” don’t have to always actually do anything to gain the honorific. For instance, the victims of terrorism became, one and all, unimpeachable national “heroes” in 2001. Most of them didn’t “do” anything: it was done to them.

    Sen. McCain was tortured for years by soldiers of a hostile nation while (and because) he was serving in the U.S. military. He is, therefore, a “hero” (for a given value of “hero,” of course).

    So, in other words, yes. A beneficiary of a word that no longer precisely meets its original definition, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it “debased.”

  67. 67.

    Andrew

    February 28, 2008 at 2:37 pm

    Did McCain actually do anything heroic, or is he just a beneficiary of a debased word?

    He’s not a hero because he was in the military or because he got tortured. He’s a hero because he refused special treatment and early release, offered because he was related to an admiral.

  68. 68.

    canuckistani

    February 28, 2008 at 2:43 pm

    He’s not a hero because he was in the military or because he got tortured. He’s a hero because he refused special treatment and early release, offered because he was related to an admiral.

    OK, I’ll accept that as heroic behaviour. Please ignore my previous snark.

  69. 69.

    Martin

    February 28, 2008 at 2:46 pm

    I always thought heroes were the guys who threw themselves on grenades to save their buddies, or risked their lives to bring in their wounded sergeant from between the lines. Did McCain actually do anything heroic, or is he just a beneficiary of a debased word?

    Honestly, how much different is that local act to the social act of going into a situation where you are considered an asset to be expended (preserved as best as possible) on behalf of your countrymen?

    Is the guy who dives on the grenade and dies more deserving than the guy who dives on it and lives? No, it’s the willingness to dive on it that matters. It’s the willingness to serve and die for your country that matters.

  70. 70.

    SGEW

    February 28, 2008 at 2:55 pm

    He’s a hero because he refused special treatment and early release, offered because he was related to an admiral.

    Really? (reads internets) Oh. Huh. I didn’t know that. Good for LCDR McCain: that Code of Conduct really is some heroic stuff (no sarcasm: fo’ real).

    Doesn’t change my mind about his legislative record, but I’ll concede to the military hero thing.

  71. 71.

    Tim F.

    February 28, 2008 at 3:01 pm

    If we want to talk semantics, Duke Cunningham was a hero. That doesn’t mean that he is a hero.

  72. 72.

    Andrew

    February 28, 2008 at 3:07 pm

    If we want to talk semantics, Duke Cunningham was a hero. That doesn’t mean that he is a hero.

    Indeed.

    My somewhat right-wing girlfriend (hey, she’s really hot) asked last week why I dislike McCain so much. I said it’s because he was a hero who survived torture in Vietnam and that makes his capitulation to Bush on torture even worse.

  73. 73.

    jcricket

    February 28, 2008 at 3:29 pm

    Basically there’s nothing we can do, no candidate we can nominate, that will stop the right’s absurd deathmarch into Crazistan come every election season. The interests and players are too entrenched on their side, and the politics too embraced, for them to do any different.

    There is also nothing we can do to win over the 28% crowd. Not. Gonna. Happen. Not worth it. 80/20 rule and all that.

    The best we can do is nominate and support Democratic candidates that

    1) Increase voter turnout among people who are already Democrats. Voter turnout matters a lot.

    2) Convince some of the 5-10% (15%?) of “true independents” to vote for Democrats. I’m convinced there are increasingly few true independents when it comes ballot season. Most are like John Cole, in that they cling to their old identity for a while, hoping Republicans will “come back from the dark side”. They might never call themself a Democrat, but their voting pattern shows otherwise.

    We’re talking presidential politics. 50+1 is “good enough”. 55-60 is better, but the best way to increase popular vote margins, IMHO, is go after #1 (increased turnout in people who are already “natural” Dems). You may not win a lot more electoral votes, but you’ll certainly help the “mandate” issue if your candidate wins, and a lot of down ticket races that are often quite close are won/lost on turnout.

  74. 74.

    jcricket

    February 28, 2008 at 3:32 pm

    My somewhat right-wing girlfriend (hey, she’s really hot) asked last week why I dislike McCain so much. I said it’s because he was a hero who survived torture in Vietnam and that makes his capitulation to Bush on torture even worse.

    It’s this point where the “intellectually honest” conservatives are separated from party hacks. If Mr. POW himself can contort into a position where torture is justified on our current crop of prisoners, he’s no better than any other Republican – and as you point out, is in some ways worse (because he has first hand knowledge and does know better).

    This is why it used to be 35-38% support for Bush, now it’s 25-28%. That 10% drop wasn’t Democrats leaving (they left). It’s the John Coles of the word saying “I’ve had it”.

  75. 75.

    Timb

    February 28, 2008 at 3:34 pm

    Thanks to Andrew from me (whoever I am) for this

    Andrew Says:

    He’s not a hero because he was in the military or because he got tortured. He’s a hero because he refused special treatment and early release, offered because he was related to an admiral.

    Whatever I think about Senator McCain now, and he is not my favorite, what he chose to do in the Hanoi Hilton is a absolutely selfless acts and those are damn rare anywhere at anytime. Choosing to stay behind with your men, when you know what that entails is incredibly admirable.

    Nonetheless, doesn’t mean you’d be a good President.

  76. 76.

    canuckistani

    February 28, 2008 at 3:54 pm

    Honestly, how much different is that local act to the social act of going into a situation where you are considered an asset to be expended (preserved as best as possible) on behalf of your countrymen?

    Sorry, I have a higher standard of heroism. It may be noble and self-sacrificing to serve*, but I would expect a hero to go above and beyond the call of duty in the face of real danger to meet the standard. You know, do the stuff they give medals for.

    *not counting people who sign up because they are desperate for a job, psycho gun-fondlers and people who are just too dumb or ignorant to realize what they are getting into.

  77. 77.

    Timb

    February 28, 2008 at 5:04 pm

    He did more than serve, Canuck, he was offered the chance to leave and he refused to go without his men. That’s leadership at its most personal and visceral.

    Don’t mistake my admiration with his war service with any sort of advocation for his policies. He’s a war-monger and I have had enough of those.

  78. 78.

    Tax Analyst

    February 28, 2008 at 5:40 pm

    It’s crap to rag on people for their military service and it’s bigger crap to rag on someone who was held captive and tortured, no matter how they responded. Being tortured is not an “exercise” nor a test. And fuck anyone who judges the real-life, real-time response of someone who had torture inflicted on them. Honestly, fuck you. I’ve never been tortured and hope I never am. You should fervently hope the same.

    Being held captive and tortured is neither a positive or a negative point in a Presidential candidate’s resume. It is something that happened and certainly shapes their POV. In McCain’s case it seems to have given him a visceral distaste of the concept, but not enough to get him to repudiate the Bush administration’s “It’s not torture” shell game, so fuck him for THAT.

    A “Mildly opposed to”, or a “it’s bad, but…” stance to torture doesn’t impress me or move me to support such a candidate. It surely tarnishes his credentials, at least to me.

  79. 79.

    myiq2xu

    February 28, 2008 at 6:21 pm

    John McCain is a bona fide hero. He showed courage in the face of danger, and he showed even more courage and behaved honorably while in the hands of our then enemy.

    For that he deserves respect and gratitude.

    But his behavior during one part of his life does not entitle him to the Presidency, nor does it qualify him to hold that office.

    Furthermore, McCain has besmirched his own honor during the years since he was released from captivity. And that renders him unfit for the office of the President.

  80. 80.

    D-Chance.

    February 28, 2008 at 7:13 pm

    Josh Marshall and Digby are asserting that McCain engaged in a “Sistah Soljah” moment? Wasn’t that episode part of the BILL CLINTON campaign?

    So, basically, Democrats are outraged that Republicans are engaging in Democrat politics… gotcha.

    Now, ‘scuse me while I whip this out, er, swoon over the fauxrage.

  81. 81.

    myiq2xu

    February 28, 2008 at 7:26 pm

    Josh Marshall and Digby are asserting that McCain engaged in a “Sistah Soljah” moment? Wasn’t that episode part of the BILL CLINTON campaign?

    Yep. The Big Dog criticized Sista Souljah for saying that black people should set aside one week a year to only kill white people.

    He also dinged Rev. Jesse for making her part of his “Rainbow Coalition.”

    At the time he did it he was criticized for doing it as part of a “triangulation” strategy to separate himself from the black community because he was being Limbaughed for being “too black.”

  82. 82.

    ThymeZone

    February 28, 2008 at 7:29 pm

    John McCain is a bona fide hero. He showed courage in the face of danger, and he showed even more courage and behaved honorably while in the hands of our then enemy.

    For that he deserves respect and gratitude.

    But his behavior during one part of his life does not entitle him to the Presidency, nor does it qualify him to hold that office.

    Furthermore, McCain has besmirched his own honor during the years since he was released from captivity. And that renders him unfit for the office of the President.

    I agree with every word of this. I hope that this disturbs you as much as it disturbs me ….

  83. 83.

    myiq2xu

    February 28, 2008 at 7:33 pm

    BTW – I think it’s kinda suspicious that Limp Dick Morris “predicted” that the Clintons would “play the race card” before they were alleged to have done it. It was like he knew exactly what was coming.

    But when he predicted it, he mentioned SS as an example, but he said Bill criticized her over the national anthem and that he did it because he was in a close primary in New York with Jesse Jackson.

    Jesse didn’t run in 1992. He ran in 84 and 88.

    None of the bloviating gasbags (including a few prominent lefty bloggers) called Morris on his lies.

  84. 84.

    myiq2xu

    February 28, 2008 at 7:35 pm

    I agree with every word of this. I hope that this disturbs you as much as it disturbs me ….

    The student is but a pale reflection of the master.

  85. 85.

    TenguPhule

    February 28, 2008 at 10:40 pm

    Um, guys? There are plenty of things to dish on McCain about without insulting his service. That’s pretty low.

    I await St. Unity Pony’s repudiation of my words which of course in no way are connected to his campaign.

  86. 86.

    TenguPhule

    February 28, 2008 at 10:42 pm

    Similarly, if some big chunk of shit floats by in the right-of-center sewer (H/t Tom McGuire for the metaphor) and McCain doesn’t denounce it, it’s proof of Republican racism and troglodytism.

    Is McCoward in the habit of requesting large pieces of shit to introduce him?

    Cold Fury should be renamed Lukewarm Stupidity.

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    […] So, as I understand it and as Josh Micah Ezekiel Isaiah-begat-Hezekiah Obadiah Marshall and John Cole put it, if McCain tees off on people for race baiting / Muslim-baiting Barack Obama, it’s a contrived display and also proof of Republican racism. […]

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