Jeremiah Wright approves. [rquoter]Obama says Republicans will use race to stoke fear Fri Jun 20, 2008 7:19pm EDT By Caren Bohan JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Reuters) - Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama said on Friday he expects Republicans to highlight the fact that he is black as part of an effort to make voters afraid of him. "It is going to be very difficult for Republicans to run on their stewardship of the economy or their outstanding foreign policy," Obama told a fundraiser in Jacksonville, Florida. "We know what kind of campaign they're going to run. They're going to try to make you afraid. "They're going to try to make you afraid of me. He's young and inexperienced and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black?" He said he was also set for Republicans to say "he's got a feisty wife," in trying to attack his wife Michelle. "We know the strategy because they've already shown their cards. Ultimately I think the American people recognize that old stuff hasn't moved us forward. That old stuff just divides us," he said. Obama, born to a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya, has cast himself as a candidate who can bridge divides within the country, including those involving race. It has been rare for him to bring up the topic during his presidential bid. In March he gave a widely praised speech on the subject after receiving criticism over racially charged comments by his longtime pastor. Obama, who faces Republican John McCain in the November election, would be the first black U.S. president.[/rquoter]
That line has been part of Obama's regular speech rotation about "new politics" for a while. (like, at least 3-4 months) Did you just now notice? I'm not sure that Obama skewering the GOP's use of his race against him qualifies as using "the race card" either. For example, is pointing out someone else's use of race as a wedge, or divisive issue, playing the race card? Don't think so.
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_vZF5ZTu2Go&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_vZF5ZTu2Go&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Of course they will the G.O.P has along history of this...Here is the Ad the G.O.P ran against Harold Ford Jr in 06 who was running for the Tennessee Senate seat . Anti-Harold Ford Jr. "Ad Seen as Playing to Racial Fears" The Times fronts the controversy over a supposedly racist campaign ad mocking Rep. Harold Ford Jr. for attending a party for Playboy magazine. Posted by: Clay Waters 10/26/2006 11:03:28 AM The Times jumps into the liberal-inspired brouhaha over the RNC's supposedly racist TV ad against Democratic Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr., who is running in Tennessee against Republican Bob Corker. Robin Toner gets Thursday's front page with "In Tight Race, Ad on Black Candidate Stirs Furor." The online headline is even blunter: "Ad Seen as Playing to Racial Fears." "The Tennessee Senate race, one of the most competitive and potentially decisive battles of the midterm election, became even more unpredictable this week after a furor over a Republican television commercial that stood out even in a year of negative advertising. "The commercial, financed by the Republican National Committee, was aimed at Representative Harold E. Ford Jr., the black Democrat from Memphis whose campaign for the Senate this year has kept the Republicans on the defensive in a state where they never expected to have trouble holding the seat." "The controversy erupted over one of the people featured: an attractive white woman, bare-shouldered, who declares that she met Mr. Ford at a 'Playboy party,' and closes the commercial by looking into the camera and saying, with a wink, 'Harold, call me.' "A spokeswoman for Mr. Ford, who is single, said he was one of 3,000 people who attended a Playboy party at the Super Bowl last year in Jacksonville, Fla. "Critics asserted that the advertisement was a clear effort to play to racial stereotypes and fears, essentially, playing the race card in an election where Mr. Ford is trying to break a century of history and become the first black senator from the South since Reconstruction. "Hilary Shelton, director of the N.A.A.C.P.'s Washington bureau, said the spot took aim at the sensitivities many Americans still have about interracial dating. "John Geer, a professor at Vanderbilt University and a specialist in political advertising, said that it 'is playing to a lot of fears' and 'frankly makes the Willie Horton ad look like child’s play.'" Since when does the N.A.A.C.P. have moral authority when it comes to criticizing "offensive" campaign ads? Remember the notorious ad from the NAACP Voter Fund from 2000, comparing then-Gov. Bush’s refusal to endorse hate-crime legislation in Texas to the brutal 1998 murder of James Byrd, who was chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged to his death. On October 24, 2000, the Fox News Channel ran a clip (available here in RealPlayer format) featuring the NAACP ad. And you can watch the RNC's ad attacking Harold Ford Jr. here (the Times helpfully terms it a "controversial attack ad"). Decide for yourself which ad is more objectionable. Toner ignores the N.A.A.C.P.'s ad history, and continues: "Mr. Corker, a former mayor of Chattanooga, quickly tried to distance his campaign from the advertisement. The Corker campaign had been claiming momentum in recent days, citing a flurry of recent polls indicating the Republican had regained a slight lead after steadying its message and its campaign organization. "A spokesman for the Corker campaign, Todd Womack, said the campaign was pleased that the spot had been taken off the air. 'It was tacky, over the top,' Mr. Womack said. 'Tennesseans deserve better.'" Strange, that the usually hypersensitive Times can't spot the religious hypocrisy angle when it comes from a Democrat. National Review editor Rich Lowry touched on it yesterday at National Review Online: "…it's my sense that that controversial RNC ad scored a direct hit in Tennessee. It forced Ford to say 'I like football and I like women.' There's nothing the least bit wrong with that. But it runs counter to the pious image he was cultivating with statements like, 'I love Jesus, I can't help it' (from Newsweek)." Toner paints the Republicans in a defensive crouch: "The furor puts [RNC Chairman Ken] Mehlman in a difficult position. He has spent considerable time as the national chairman preaching the inclusiveness of the Republican Party and its openness to black candidates and black voters. He said in an interview Wednesday night that he did not believe that this would damage his Republican outreach efforts." Toner is halfway to installing Ford in the Senate, if not Mount Rushmore: "If he wins, the campaign Mr. Ford has been running here will be considered a roadmap for Democrats in conservative and rural areas. [Tennessee Democratic Rep. Lincoln] Davis invariably introduced him this week as a man who would never 'take away your Bible or your gun,' but would raise the minimum wage so people could afford them. "With just 13 days to go, Mr. Ford is generating an intense response on the campaign trail as elderly white women reach for his hand and tell him they are praying for him, and he is swamped by autograph hunters and picture takers. "At one point, Mr. Davis's eyes welled up as Mr. Ford worked his way through a crowd -- largely friendly, although not entirely so -- at a heavily Republican barbecue. 'You’re watching history,' Mr. Davis said. "Mr. Ford said later that he was not thinking history. 'I'm trying to win a race,' he said, before he jumped into his bus, whose destination sign read, 'success express.'" http://www.timeswatch.org/articles/2006/20061026103542.aspx
Based on your OP, Obama didn't mention McCain by name. The GOP isn't stupid. No way McCain will bring this up; that's for underlings and operatives outside of his staff who have no scruples at all. McCain's only involvement will be how fast and fiercely he reacts when the hatchet men start their work. If he snaps at them hard and makes it very plain it has to stop, I will be proud of him. If he does like Bush and waits 3-4 weeks until damage is done and THEN demands it stop when the pressure gets heavy, I will be very disappointed. Fortunately, John McCain has 10 times the character of our current pathetic president. Obama's comments are correct and I can't wait to see how the country reacts as a whole. This is one of the main reasons I wanted him to win the nomination. The way this campaign is conducted will be an extended examination of where this country is on race. Like it or not, good or bad, we are going to learn a lot about ourselves in the coming months.
"Playing the race card" is a silly cliche that white people love to use. Not sure if you noticed ...but Obama is in fact black. Oh, and one more tidbit ...there has never been a black president before. As a country, are you expecting us to NOT talk about this? HINT: You have three choices when talking about different race's or cultures. 1. Learn to be politically correct. 2. Actually learn something about the culture you are talking about. 3. Unleash a verbal upchuck with no regard. If you go with option #2, you don't have to be PC cause you'll be able to form an intelligent sentence without sounding like an arse and insulting somebody. Obama's comment falls in the category of #2. You, however, have fallen for the trap and think it is a #1 comment. Being PC sets guidelines for people to use when they have no idea what they are talking about ...or maybe even when speaking TO people that have no idea what they are hearing so that there are no misinterpretations. Basso, you are so "climatized" by people always falling into the #1 category that you are unprepared for people coming from category #2. In the real world, any conversation about race and culture is perfectly acceptable if you are coming from category #2. Obama represents a potential awaking in this country where people can start openly having conversations about race and culture ...and that is a good thing. Having spent a lot of time outside of America ...I routinly have conversations with people about race and culture BECAUSE people know what the F they are talking about when they open their mouth. ...and they are not PLAYING THE RACE CARD. It's just an open conversation about legitimate thoughts and ideas that too often get surpressed in this country cause people are afraid to talk about it. Obama wasn't "playing the race card". He was making a perfectly legitimate point about a subject that just happens to involve RACE.
Obama's comment fell squarely in #3. nobody, in fact cares whether Obama is black, and his heritage is certainly not african-american, tho he seems intent on telling everybody he is, from his 20 year involvement with the right racist rev wright, 20 his pre-emptive strike in the OP. people don't want to vote for Obama because he's inexperienced, dangerously out of his depth on national security, and has never run anything larger than a chicago ward. america is not racist- but obama may in fact be.
^ stop being disrespectful of the next president, you are being a real racist. "certainly not african american" Wow - this fact does not stop a jackass like yourself from gleefullly tossing racial stereotypes at him
Actually his heritage is quintessentially that of an African-American as he can trace his roots directly back to Africa. I can trace back my Native American ancestry ,and that is over 3 generations ago, and my Euro-American ancestry ,almost 5 generations, sadly moreso than my African ancestry. How that happened is a debate for another day and I wouldn't want to be accused of dropping the race card I don't believe Senator Obama or Senator McCain is a racist. I believe the GOP has been very careful not to use race as a platform to promote fear. However , the same cannot be said of their supporters and the fair and unbiased commentaries of Fox News.
I bolded part for emphasis. That is one of the silliest things you've ever posted. You are absolutely wrong that nobody cares that Obama is black. FOX NEWS certainly cares and they use disrespectful slang about his wife because of it. Other people certain care which is why Obama has needed secret service protection earlier than any other candidate in the history of this nation. People who are scared that he as a connection Louis Farrakhan certainly care, even though no tape with his wife calling anyone a whitey exists. Certainly the Americans who are on record as saying that race plays an important factor in who they vote for care. The Americans who called up and left racist messages on his campaign's answering machines certainly care. All of those who pretend like he's a muslim, won't put his hand on his heart, was sworn in on the Koran, etc. certainly care that he's not white at least. So for Obama to mention the tactic that has been used to paint him as a scary black guy isn't playing the race card, it's commenting on the reality of what he faces. Yet you present the idea that because he mentions this tactic which is currently in use against him, might make him a racist? That's laughable. Are you turning into ill-skillz? Your inability to comprehend most of Wright's messages and label things that clearly aren't racist as racist shows that the person out of their depth on some of the issues here isn't Obama. The one substantive topic you mentioned was out of his depth on foreign policy. So I will address that now. Which candidate has a better understanding of the Sunni and Shiia factions at play among the political and insurgent groups in Iraq? Which candidate has clearly demonstrated a far superior knowledge of the actual amount of U.S. troops involved in Iraq? Which candidate has a firmer grasp on which nations in the region Al-Qaeda might use as allies and for support? McCain's supposed foreign policy strength seems to be severely lacking.
Not sure why you are limiting this to Fox News - basso himself likes to employ this tactic. I am reminded, ironically, of the incident a while back, when not in jackass mode basso asked "Where does it come from in terms of perceived racism from his children.
Lets go blow by blow about how immesely wrong you were in virtually EVERY facet of your statement. It's impressive, really. #1. IF Obama is talking about racial issues as they pertain to himself, by definition, he knows what he's talking about. lol #2 People don't respond to things that they don't care about. So why are you responding? Is it cause you care. lol lol #3 Uh, his father is African and he is American. bwahahaha. #4 Every candidate for any position that has EVER been in the history of the world has discussed how their personal background will affect their candidacy. eyes are watering. #5 Guilty by association? Then what does that make McCain? pwned. #6 "people don't want to vote for Obama because _________" Everybody has their own reasons. Your blanket statement about "people" is no more valid than saying people don't want to vote for McCain because he's too experienced ...and may croak before his term is up. Your statement is completely empty and meaningless. pwnded again. #7 Obama and McCain are both senators so neither one of them has a track record of running anything larger than the responsibilities of holding that office. #8 "...a chicago ward" He a senator. Then using that logic, McCain has never run anything larger than a bunch of cactus. pwned again. #9 Seriuosly. Do you realize how many facts and figures I could throw at you to dispute that claim. It would be an almost endless list of things. #10 Obama is racist despite that his grandparents are white. bwahahaha. In 3 sentences, you managed to pull together 10 completely false or at least wildly speculative points of crap. That's actually difficult to do in 3 sentences. Bravo.
The second phrase of this statement betrays your point. As to the first: And that was in a Democratic primary. There's much vedant ground in the GOP party for racial appeals... and they will use it to try and drive up the enthusiasm of those potential voters if nothing else.
Why in the world would those respectful and classy republicans use the race card against Balack Hussein Osama?
Did you really post this, basso? You often surprise me (I guess I must be easily surprised), but I can't recall seeing you post something like this. Perhaps I missed it in the past. For someone who has stood up for gay rights several times here, it seems more than a bit out of character for you. Impeach Bush.
So, your posts get eviscerated by a bunch of people who put in a lot of time to refute your positions and you don't deign to respond to them, but you, of all people, can only muster a response to me of link? Sad. U.S. History, 1964-present. See chapters on Nixon, Southern Strategy, footnotes on Reagan Announcement, Willie Horton, Helms vs. Gantt, etc.
