There is a reason why the MCcain campaign is accusing Barack Obama of "playing the race card." And it is not simply to defend themselves from the legitimate complaint that the MCCain campaign is laundering race-nbaiting appeals through their surrogates in the rightwing noise machine and the RNC. [More after the terrorist fist jump]
The very attack: "He's playing the race card" is itself a racially coded attack on Obama designed to equate him with Agfrican American figures such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton who are not popular among independents (or Jewish voters).
The idea is to portray Obama as "just another race hustler." A guy who uses the color of his skin and attacks his opponents as "racist," or "playing the race card" to avoid legitimate criticism.
This cuts right at the heart of Obama's appeal as a post-racial candidate who can bridge the gap between white voters and African Americans.
This is another version of what Hillary Clinton tried to do during the primaries, and SUCCEEDED with in states such as Ohio, pennsylvania and West Virginia.
So, the Obama campaign should use McCain's statement that :"there is no place for this" in the campaign against him.
Obama himself should say something like:
"John McCain said yesterday that there is no place in our politics for making appeals to voters based on race and racial prejudice. I agree with him. And, throughjout thsi campaign I will hold John MCcain too his promise not to endgage in our countenance this kind of politics, and make sure that when his allies in the Republican party, on talk radio, on Fox News or anywhere else make these kinds of attacks, that he steps up to the plate and condemns them for it.
The only way these attacks will stop is for the candidates to nost just refuse to engage in them, but for the candidates and their campaigns to take active steps to comdemn anyone who does.
Let's see if John MCcain wants this campaign to be about ideas and the future of of country -- or if he just wants have the same old politics perfected by George Bush and Karl Rove that do nothing but appeal to people's fears and prejudices."
This puts the onus back on the McCain campaign to do more than kick low level staffers who put out racist Youtube ads out of his campaign.
MCCain, of course, will attack Obama for "playting the race card" first. But Obama can actually make the same argument I am making.
That the very attack is designed to divide people and make this campaign about race and not the future of our country. If McCain wants to have a civilized debate then he should stop throwing around racially charged accusations.
MAJOR UPDATE: Check out this ad put out by the McCain campaign BEFORE Obama made his comments about "not looking like other presidents on the" currency. NOTICE ANYTHING?!?
Make sure you all e-mail this to Keith Olbermann [letters@msnbc.com] and other news outlets. This is outrageous.