I note with interest today, John McCain's new tactic of associating Barack Obama with oversexed and/or promiscuous young white women. (See today's new ad and this from yesterday.) Presumably, a la Harold Ford 2006, this will be one of those strategies that will be a matter of deep dispute during the campaign and later treated as transparent and obvious once the campaign is concluded.
But what I'm most interested in today is the new meme the McCain campaign has been pushing for the last few weeks that Obama is presumptuous, arrogant and well ... just a bit uppity. Ron Fournier picked the ball up early in his reporting for the AP. And John King was pushing it over the weekend on CNN. Is it arrogant or above Obama's station for him to meet with the Chairman of the Federal Reserve? If I'm not mistaken he is a sitting United States senator and also the presidential candidate of the Democratic party. Such meetings are actually the norm.
Now, I note that the Post, which has generally been in McCain's camp, has a front page story today that comes about as close as they feel able to confirming that McCain campaign and McCain personally have spent most of the last week peddling what they knew was a lie about Obama's called-off trip to the US military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. And there's also this piece in today's Times noting 'concern' among some Republicans over McCain's increasing use of personal attacks on Obama with what are often demonstrably false claims. How many demonstrable lies does the McCain campaign have to push before it colors the portrayal of his campaign?
As I alluded to at the top of this post, it is the norm that obvious campaign tactics that are treated as obvious after a campaign is over are nonetheless treated by most reporters as ambiguous or unclear during a campaign. But in this case it would be nice if that were not the case. Because here we have a candidate, John McCain, who is running on a record of straight talk and honorable campaigning running a campaign made up mainly of charges reporters are now more or less acknowledging are lies. But there's precious little drawing together of the contradiction. What's more, as everyone will acknowledge after the campaign, the McCain campaign is now pushing the caricature of Obama as a uppity young black man whose presumptuousness is displayed not only in taking on airs above his station but also in a taste for young white women.
So please keep an eye out for references to Obama's presumptuousness, arrogance, etc., from John King and other reporters. Let us know when you see them and send us in examples -- in text or video. McCain gets to run the campaign he wants. Remember, he hired the operative who put together the Ford/Bimbo ad. But I want to keep tabs on which reporters are helping him retail the message.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/206241.php
"I have great admiration and respect for Senator Obama." If so, McCain has a funny way of showing it. All we've seen and heard from him for the last month is a string of personal attacks, culminating in yesterday's ad smearing Obama as "the biggest celebrity in the world." He's just another famous, pretty face, in other words, and not ready for the presidency.
True? No. Childish? Yes. But that's not all. This ad is also deliberately and deceptively racist.
Of all the famous celebrities they could have compared Obama to, why not Tom Cruise? Or Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Donald Trump, or Oprah Winfrey? Why Britney Spears and Paris Hilton? Why two white blond bimbos?
Only one reason. It's a somewhat tamer version of the white bimbo ad used so successfully against Harold Ford in Tennessee. In juxtaposing Barack Obama with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, the McCain campaign is simply trying to plant the old racist seed of black man hitting on young white woman. Not directly, but subliminally and disgracefully.
One thing for sure. This isn't the John McCain we first saw in 2000, running a campaign on the issues. And this isn't the positive McCain campaign he himself promised us for 2008. This is a campaign that, from the beginning, is nothing but negative, personal, dirty and, yes, racist.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-press/john-mccain-plays-the-rac_b_116042.html
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@Leonidus82 congrats! you passed american history in the US! and you grew up in the eighties...smh
fuckronaldreagan 4 months ago
AMERICA WON'T VOTE FOR A PRESIDENT THAT MAKES RACIAL EQUALITY AND PRISON REFORM A SEVERE AMERICAN ISSUE.
wake up, people. -____-
fuckronaldreagan 4 months ago
LOL is this on fail blog under media fail LOL
rainick 1 year ago
PROMISCUOUS? BRITNEY? I DON'T THINK SO. DON'T MISTAKE THE RICH FAMOUS PARTY GIRL FOR BEING PROMISCOUS YU STUPID ASS HOE. PARIS YES, BUT BRITNEY? NO. GTFO AND DIE
LongIslandKidTV 1 year ago
SOLUTION:stop fckng all living and non-living things then.
utwaya 2 years ago
They were trying to subconsciously attack the taboo of White women and black men
gikib0i 2 years ago
How stupid do these people think we are? This has nothing to do with race!
Leonidus82 2 years ago
"McCain is qualify"?
He is losing his "minds"?
"Alzheimer"?
Looks like your the one who has Alzheimer's.
kutriNEEmaa 3 years ago
you ppl are stupid he picked the celebritys that ppl know about the most. DUH!!!
groveZee 3 years ago
no, there is nothing wrong with a white guy running for president. just that it's not exactly ground-breaking. But they're not the only reason our country is great - women and other races have had a lot to do with it as well.
agreed that McCain is a liar and without integrity.
unouluvme912 3 years ago