"Convicted felon Tony Rezko. Unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers. And the race-baiting Rev. Jeremiah Wright. It is hard to think of any presidential candidate before Barack Obama sporting associations with three more execrable characters. Yet let the McCain campaign raise the issue, and the mainstream media begin fulminating about dirty campaigning tinged with racism and McCarthyite guilt by association."
So begins Charles Krauthammer in his October 10 diatribe against Barack Obama. He goes on to spew more, but let’s not give him the pulpit here.
The one thing that’s REALLY driving Krauthammer and his ilk crazy with rage is the fact that Barack Obama, as an African American, is almost totally bulletproof to the usual attacks the Republicans have hurled on White candidates since Dukakis. They know it, and it KILLS them.
Obama is the perfect candidate, and not just because of his progressive positions and exceptional intelligence and bearing. Obama is the perfect candidate because he is the first Democratic candidate that has an answer to the Republican kryptonite that has destroyed our previous candidates. Obama has the impenetrable force field of racism charges to deflect any and all attacks. It’s working like a charm, and its driving Repugs NUTS.
As if that wasn’t enough, we now have a generation of young people who have been fully immersed in media worship of African Americans – from MTV to NBA, and every other movie released in the past fifteen years using Morgan Freeman, Will Smith, Wesley Snipes, and Michael Jordan (remember his kids’ movie with buggs bunny?) to massively upgrade the image of African Americans from criminals to Gods (literally, in the case of Morgan Freeman). Republican racism doesn’t work on these young people – they’ve been inoculated.
Expect more and more vicious attacks on Obama like this Krauthammer hit piece in the weeks ahead. Republicans are wounded and desperate, and they’re dangerous.