In a WaPo op-ed published this morning, the Prince of Darkness reported that the McCain campaign is getting ulcers in anticipation of an Obama endorsement by the Bush administration's former blurry photo analyst. While there's about a 50/50 chance that Novak is just making stuff up (he makes the classically B.S.-friendly claim that Powell will "probably" endorse Obama at a time of his choosing), he makes the interesting suggestion that the threat of a Powell endorsement makes the temptation of Rovian race-baiting all the more risky. As mystifying as it seems, Powell remains a respected moderate among independents and veterans, and there are few others who could cement Obama's CiC credentials in the MSM's warped reality of Beltway symbolism.
In the editorial, Satan argues that the "Obamacan" phenomenon is a temporary circumstance created by continuing anger towards Bush. While it is manageable for McCain, the situation makes him a victim of the very ambivalence that also makes him the only conceivably electable Republican nominee. The Devil writes:
Powell, Hagel and lesser-known Obamacons harbor no animosity toward McCain. Nor do they show much affection for the rigidly liberal Obama. The Obamacon syndrome is based on hostility to Bush and his administration and on revulsion over today's Republican Party. The danger for McCain is that desire for a therapeutic electoral bloodbath could get out of control.
In other words, McCain inspires few strong loyalists, and while this makes him more palatable to the center, it also means the far right is primarily driven by opposition to Obama. McCain has little influence over their actions, yet will likely be punished for the onslaught of overt racist attacks that will come from right-wing bloggers, activists, and 527s. We have already seen how his base's xenophobia destroyed his credibility among Hispanics, now it appears to be doing the same in regards to center-right African-Americans like Powell:
As an African American, friends say, Powell is sensitive to racial attacks on Obama and especially on Obama's wife, Michelle. While McCain strategists shrug off defections from Bruce Bartlett and Larry Hunter, they wince in anticipating headlines generated by Powell's expected endorsement of Obama.
Regardless of the veracity of Beelzebub's claims about Powell, his point is an important one that the rest of the MSM has faithfully ignored in their fealty to St. McCain: Obama's white racist problem is not nearly as dangerous as McCain's. Obama's problem is a static condition that he can ignore, whereas McCain will have to be careful not to be associated with a racist backlash against a historic nominee. While many of Obama's supporters get conniptions whenever NPR lets an ignorant hick rant on the air, the fact of the matter is that these goons only help reinforce the perception of the Republican Party as a bastion for gullible, hateful fools still living in the last century. The more McCain's base defines Obama as a symbol of change and social progress, the more appealing he will become to the center, and certainly, the more sympathy he will have among key constituencies in states like Texas and New Mexico.