When John McCain's campaign manager last week accused Obama of playing the "race card," the Clintons or their supporters could have provided a powerful rebuttal. Instead they were silent, and in private, some even quietly cheered.
Heh, yeah and I was one of them and I'm pretty sure I wasn't alone.
"Say whatever you want about Bill Clinton, but it's deeply unfair to suggest his criticism of Obama was race-based," McCain adviser Steve Schmidt told Politico, after his campaign blasted Obama for suggesting the McCain campaign would use his race against him. "We knew it was coming in our direction because they did it against a president of the United States of their own party."
...several former [Clinton] aides said that being tarred as racists, if not by Obama's campaign, then by his supporters, had left deep scars on a campaign whose top officials were black women.
"We were being considered a racist campaign, and it was very painful personally and politically for a lot of people," said a former Clinton advisor. "People feel they lost the primary in some fashion due to that, and so there aren't a lot of people rushing to inoculate [Obama] on that account."
One Clinton aide said a recent Clinton conference call had featured another Clinton advisor remarking that "the chickens have come home to roost" -- in the form of McCain's denunciation of Obama's comments.
Chicago - we have a problem!
Could this be why there are so many of Hillary's supporters who aren't quite ready to jump on that unity pony? Of course Hillary's team are on board. As the article states, they figure if they don't do right by BHO - it hurts Hillary. And Hillary will be out in force at fundraisers and unity events later this week now that Congress is out of session. Thankfully, her many supporters our here on the ground are not held to that same standard - we can (and do) call BS when we see and hear it.
Yeah we all know the history... Billy Shaheen set off a firestorm when he suggested the goopers would speculate as to whether BHO not only used drugs, but that he sold them too. Hillary fired him for that btw - and apologized in person to BHO for Shaheen's comments. Then there was the "fairytale" comment of Bill's re BHO's record re Iraq, which Donna Brazile quickly used in some sick and hateful attempt (in her position as an impartial CNN commentator no less!) to tar Bill as a racist. They jumped on everything at Camp Obama, and accused Bill of racism when he noted that another prominent AA politician and civil rights leader (someone who I (and I'm sure the Clintons) respect and admire a great deal) the Rev. Jesse Jackson won SC's primary just as BHO had. Nothing untrue in that statement.
The list goes on and on as to what BHO tried to use against the Clintons - at one point they could barely utter a word or challenge anything BHO said or did without being called a racist and it was absolutely disgusting. It watered down the meaning of racism and insulted anyone who's every dealt with real racism or marched with Dr. King and Rev. Jackson for civil rights back in the day - but still BHO used it for his own selfish political gain.
On Obama's side, much of the animus evaporated when Clinton conceded. And some in Clinton's camp blamed Bill Clinton all along - not Obama - for the racial edge to the primary.
Talk about a fairy tale!
Most former Clinton aides, though, expressed mixed feelings about McCain's effectively putting Obama on defense on the issue of race.
"I think the McCain campaign is doing the right thing by pushing back, and I feel slightly vindicated," said yet another former Clinton aide. "But at the end of the day I hope it goes away pretty soon."
They're not the only ones who feel vindicated. Look at the polls after the latest dust-up between McCain and BHO over the race card and you'll find that these tactics from the primary wars aren't working now that they've moved into general election mode. I've been saying this for months guys - this stuff won't fly against the goopers or their voters.
Besides, even among Democrats I think BHO's gone to this race baiting well a few too many times. It's worn thin with us and people are finally starting to cop on.
I just hope and pray the Superdelegates start to realize that this tried and true tactic of BHO's will backfire and lose us votes come the general election, and back the one candidate with substance and a real shot at beating McCain in November.
After all, we've got to re-take the White House this year. Too much is at stake and too many lives are in the balance - literally - for them to gamble on someone who clearly doesn't know what he's doing. |
