I've noted with interest the communiques from Rick Davis of the McCain camp accusing Barack Obama of playing the so-called race card during the past 24 hours. Mike Glover wrote in today's Huffington Post :
McCain took on the role of aggrieved victim, his campaign waiting almost a day after Obama's remarks to charge that he had injected race into the presidential campaign. "Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck. Its divisive, negative, shameful and wrong," McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said.
As much as it's become a social taboo to bring up the topic of race in this presidental campaign, we are obliged to do so because we are tiptoeing around the real intent of the latest barrage of negative statements from the McCain camp, about Barack Obama.
Barack Obama is too much of a gentleman say so, but the Republcans are race-baiting him in order to drive down his numbers in rural swing states.
What we have here is a case of snarky disingenuous Republicans pointing the finger at Obama and accusing him of "playing the race card", while they wink at each other for putting that "uppity" Barack Obama "in his place."
The use of the term "playing the race card" it racist, in and of itself, is a racially loaded term because of it own ignoble origins..
"Playing the race card" was a term that originated with the O.J. Simpson trial when Johnny Cochran, his highly paid super lawyer, was accused by white Americans of "playing the race card" to the predominately black jury to get Simpson off the hook for murder.
Cochran did indeed play the race card but since the Simpson trial, the GOP has recoined the meaing of the term for use in ways not intended by it's original meaning. For Republicans, "playing the race card" has become a code phrase to silence anyone that dares to comment on the very real racial divisions in this nation. It's a subtle way of placing the label of "racist" upon any black American who comments on race relations.
"Playing the race" provides cover for pious GOP members to claim they are "color blind", even as they tar and feather Obama with racial stereotypes.
When the McCain campaign calls Obama presumptuous and arrogant, it conforms to the old southern racial stereotype of the "Uppity Negro", or the well educated black man who doesn't know his know his place.
The McCain campaign also insinuates that Obama is a "Crazy N#gger" by telling us that Obama is not like the rest of us, lacks the experience and is even dangerous.
The Republicans have spent the entire campaign spreading rumors that Obama is not loyal to the United States, maybe Islamic and tied to radical jihadists, black militants or radical pan-African groups. It's clearly intended to scare white voters by insinuating that Obama is a "Crazy N#gger."
Of course McCain will never come out and make a racist comment because his goal is to bait Obama until Obama goes on the defensive and "plays the race card." McCain takes umbrage when Obama says,"McCain wants you to notice that I'm different and don't look like any presidents on the currency."
In reality Barack Obama doesn't look like other presidents, because he's black and they're white. Is McCain denying that? Is Obama "playing the race card" by making that statement?
McCain is engaging in racist tactics if he continues to insinuate that Obama is too uppity and too crazy to be president because it's a common stereotype of rural white southerners of educated black men.
There is all kinds of racism and racist stereotyping coming from the McCain camp the last few days and Obama is right to set Americans straight about the racial subtext of the McCain message.
And it's racist to bait Obama, then turn around and accuse Obama of "playing the race card". (Nod, nod...wink wink.. "You know the same kind of "race card" O.J. used to get off the hook for murder").