The Swiftboating of Barack Obama
Sat Jan 12, 2008 at 05:22:09 AM PDT
In 2004, John Kerry's greatest strength was the fact that he was a war hero. That strength was turned into a weakness by a tactic now known as swiftboating.
But swifboating is not a new tactic. McCain's strength in 2000 was his compassion as demonstrated by his adoption of a child. Karl Rove used that strength against him in the 2000 South Carolina primary race through lies and manipulation.
Max Cleland's greatest strength was his patriotism, and that was turned on its head by advertisements in such a twisted way that Saxby Chambliss was able to make enough Georgians actually believe he was not patriotic to win a Senate race.
We've seen the swiftboating of Barack Obama begin in this primary race.
Anybody who will deny there is a pattern to the racially charged comments that have been interjected into the presidential race is either naive or a liar. It cannot be denied and it's become quite obvious it is a calculated effort to turn what is Barack Obama's greatest strength against him.
Barack Obama's greatest strength is the fact that he transcends race, and this generates majority appeal. The Clinton campaign cannot afford to allow that to continue, thus a calculated dogwhistle campaign was engaged in to draw out charges of racism.
The racial code words of this dogwhistle campaign, however, were not directed at the racists in America. They were directed at the very community that had so embraced the Clintons for so long. They were directed at the African American community. It was imperative that the African American community see this as an attack on one of their own. An outcry had to be raised. The Clintons have plenty of people on their side who would credibly defend them against such charges, so the die was cast.
And now, race has been interjected as an issue into this campaign. The real vetting has begun.
I believe the Clintons view Barack Obama as an untested naive amateur when it comes to politics. They see Barack Obama as a phenomenon similar to the baseball pitcher who comes on fast and does so well, until he hits his first major league game where he chokes badly. This belief of mine is supported by former President Bill Clintons statements about running for president too early.
I also believe the Clintons have fatally underestimated Barack Obama's capabilities in the political arena.
There is another political strategy called "rope a dope", playing off the boxing strategy of Ali. Barack Obama appeared a bit cocksure when he stated that he came from Chicago where we're not afraid to mix it up.
And the Clintons bit. Day after day we have seen the racially charged comments from Clinton aides, endorsers, and even President and Mrs. Clinton themselves. They have been extremely clever, delivered in such a way so that there is plausible deniability (especially in the cases of the Clintons) or where there are no Clinton fingerprints, the classic delivery method of a swiftboat attack.
Then the Jesse Jackson Jr. statements come out and it looks like Obama has bitten on the Clinton line.
And now, the racial division issue has hit the mainstream media, because they bit, too. This is a story too rich with conflict and too viscious that the MSM could never let it go.
We will see the full vetting of Barack Obama in the coming days.
Anybody who has read The Audacity of Hope knows how Barack Obama addresses this issue. For a clue as to how this will be addressed, I would direct the reader to the debate prior to the Iowa Caucuses and how Barack Obama defended Joe Biden.
Race is now solidly interjected into the campaign as an issue. The swiftboat tactic worked as it appears Barack Obama will now be defined as the black candidate instead of the candidate who happens to be black. The strength looks now to become a weakness.
Looks can be deceiving.
The candidate himself will need to address this issue. There is nothing else to be done. Oh, it will swell and fester, probably for several days. It will get uglier as surrogates from both sides allow the accusations to fly. But in the end, Barack Obama will have to address the issue.
And what better way to address any issue than with a public speech?
We all know what happens when Barack Obama delivers an important speech.
How could the media not carry a speech by Barack Obama delivered on the issue of race? How could they not be willing to carry such a speech from such a man during primetime?
The dope has been roped, and it's too late to go back. The attempt to turn what was perceived as his greatest strength into a weakness will be defeated with Barack Obama's even greater strength, his power as an orator.
Instead of perfecting the swiftboat politics, Barack Obama is about to end them.
