<p>I don’t think Obama has accused McCain himself of playing it. It is just that he, unlike McCain or any other serious presidential candidate in the history of the United States, has to fend off racist attacks that benefit McCain. These attacks began long ago, and have occurred as a national phenomenon. Because they all come from those who support McCain, Obama rightly lumps them into a group of “them” and by implication encourages the rest of us not to join “them”. That is not playing the race card in the least. It is simply facing the fact of the racism that he has to endure and that McCain does not.</p>
<p>But of course we ought not expect this because it would require honor. It is now “playing the race card” to simply mention racist attacks that overwhelmingly benefit John McCain. These people apparently do not care about the dishonor of it all. They seem only to want the president they deserve.</p>
<p>Oh, stop. If the Democrat were white, with a few years as a part-time state legislator and one year in the US Senate, he would have been laughed off the stage announcing for President. He was awarded the Democratic nomination by winning 90% of the black vote, extreme racial bloc voting. To whine about race in this election is absurd.</p>
<p>It is not the media here that is at fault. The article actually speaks what is apparently true. The poster here is who misrepresented the article in an act of “apparent” dishonesty.</p>
<p>Uhh, the part in blue above is ABC News’ title for the link to their article. It’s not Simba’s characterization. Take it up with ABC News. Tell them they are being unfair to the Democrat.</p>
<p>All I did below is copy the link to the ABC news article. This is what appears. Try it yourself:</p>
<p>Oh, and guess what? Whatever characterization the big media like ABC puts out there is the characterization that is accepted as “fact”. That’s the way the media works and that’s why I believe it is the most corrosive force in our democracy today. But, it is what it is and it is now a “fact” that the Democrat played the race card.</p>
<p>If he were white, running against a party that has gotten us in a meaningless war and that has increased our debt to such an extent that no relief is even possible, he would be voted in practically before November rather than running dead even with a guy of the same party. The fact is, Obama is not taking the most savage hits purely on his inexperience. Were that the case then I would not post here on it because I have long admitted that Obama is a political lightweight compared to McCain. It is very clear to me that he is being assaulted by McCain supporters as part of a national phenomenon, that it hurts him and benefits McCain, that it is unfair, and that it ALL exists simply because of the man’s race. Where he white, none of it would have happened. They would instead swift-boat him based on some issue in his past, which, while perhaps dishonest, would not have been racist and nasty.</p>
<p>Very well. I will take your word for it, in which case I owe Simba an apology (I apologize) and now direct my ire toward ABC. It is quite dishonest of the network to portray this as it has.</p>
<p>Why not? It certainly DOES matter. Indeed, it is what this race is all about. Obama cannot run in the same way that McCain runs. He must tiptoe around race in a very special way, lest he be condemned as just another “black candidate”. Race is the gigantic pink elephant that America tries to overlook while at the same time sticking it to the black guy with impunity. It is all about race, and McCain has to suffer none of it. Were Obama white, he would not have to suffer it either. His candidacy shows that the notion of a post-racial America is just utter stupidity. In a massive self-congratulatory exercise, Americans are going to cheer and throw confetti at Obama events right up until they get behind the poll curtains. Then they are going to elect the president they deserve. No one wants to openly admit this, but it is the truth and we all know it is the truth.</p>
<p>I think you are wildly underestimating the degree to which the Democratic coalition has been blown apart. My wife is a yellow dog Democrat. She has never voted for anyone but a Democrat. She went into this campaign loving Obama, wishing he would get some seasoning as Clinton’s VP and get elected President in eight years in his early 50s. </p>
<p>She cannot stand the man today. She can’t even watch him on TV. She is beyond disgust with the Democratic Party.</p>
<p>I am saying discussing the hypothetical situation is a waste of time because Obama is not white; he’s black. That said, I mostly agree with your analysis. I think that the way we went about condemning discrimination was poor. I don’t think people acknowledge how complex of an issue it is.</p>
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<p>I don’t buy that. Most people who do not harbor some sort of racial or “Obama” prejudice are over the Hillary versus Obama race.</p>
<p>No. Not in the least. I always understood, and have long said it, even here, that that coalition could never hold as long as it had to get behind a black guy.</p>
<p>See, you just implied that my wife is a racist for developing an intense dislike of the Democratic candidate and you did so without having the first clue what she has spent her entire career doing. This is precisely why she, and many others, are angry and why the Democratic candidate’s repeated playing of the race card has blown the Democratic coalition apart. Remember, your candidate’s campaign has said they they don’t need the votes of older white women like my wife.</p>
<p>No, you are just over sensitive. You even said your wife has an “Obama” prejudice: “She cannot stand the man today. She can’t even watch him on TV. She is beyond disgust with the Democratic Party.” How is that not an “Obama” prejudice?</p>
<p>I think that older Americans are so ridiculously out of touch when it comes to race relations. You all need to attend some sort of diversity seminar.</p>
<p>I see. So now you Democrats think all older Americans are racists and need to attend diversity seminars. That is precisely the arrogance that has blown apart the Democratic coalition.</p>
<p>BTW, in addition to accusing the Democrat of playing the race card from the bottom of the deck, the McCain campaign released a new ad today, entitled “The One”. I would say this falls into the “hard hitting” category!</p>
<p>I am saying that older people always think people are calling them racists when they really aren’t saying that at all. You guys are so sensitive.</p>