I am sure I will get another round of dismissive, condescending comments about continuing to raise this issue, but the sad fact is that it's is not going away. If anything, it is starting to become a problem for Obama.
For those of you who are wondering what the hell I am talking about, please read my previous diary on this subject for the details. See also this Media Matters piece on the same subject.
In summary, an Obama volunteer office in Houston invited a local TV news crew into their office after the Potomoac primary victories.
On the wall of the volunteer office was a Cuban flag with the iconic image of Che Guevara squarely in the middle of it.
This caused an uproar in the wingnut-o-sphere that orginally started on the rightwing blogs, but eventually spread to talk radio and now even some local TV stations in South Florida are covering it.
Today, Obama's campaign has taken a more aggressive approach to dealing with this issue. From the Obama website:
This is a volunteer office that is not in any way controlled by the Obama campaign. We were disappointed to see this picture because it is both offensive to many Cuban-Americans -- and Americans of all backgrounds -- and because it does not reflect Senator Obama’s views. Barack Obama has been very clear in putting forward a Cuba policy that is based on one principle: freedom for the Cuban people.
Originally, I speculated that the flag was either put up by some naieve college students who don't really know anything about Che, and thought the design looked cool. Or, alternatively, that they were using the flag as an ironic joke playing on Obama's insurgent or revolutionary campaign.
Sadly, it turns out that neither of these explanations is likely.
The volunteer in question is a middle-aged Cuban Americam who cannot be labelled as ignorant of who Che is and what he represents. She also gave a rather defensive interview to the local Houston TV news affiliate about the controversy, that did not help the Obama campaign.
And, not surprisingly, some mini Malkins have dug up some interesting info on the volunteer, including a photo of her with Senator Obama!
Moreover, the rhetoric about this incident is metastisizing in rightwing circles. The fact that Obama thinks the flag is "offensive," and that it was put up by volunteers, not paid campaign staffers, is not being repeated by the wingnuts. They are portraying the incident as if it occurred in an official Obama campaign office, with Obama campaign employess, and that Obama himself had no problem with the flag.
Thankfully, at least some conservatives are recoiling at this characterization and think it is unfair. But, as you all know, the reasonable conservatives will always get drowned out by the batshit insane ones.
As I have pointed out previously, this line of attack on Obama is insidious. It is not a direct attack on him personally, but an attack on his supporters. Obama has a lot of crossover appeal with republicans and independents. So, by portraying Obama's supporters as a bunch of neo-Marxist moonbats, they might raise doubts in the minds of those voters about whether Obama isn't just a wolf in sheep's clothing. Or, even if Obama himself may be pleasant and moderate, his supporters will be swept into power and they will screw you.
We all know this guilt by association meme is complete bullshit and totally unfair. But not taking this seriously is a huge mistake. Ask John Edwards whether anecdotes about how expensive and large his house is and his expensive haircut cost him some votes or credibility.
The fact that this story is now being replayed in South Florida is a huge problem for Obama. Florida is a critical state in the fall. And while many here will dismiss the Cuban vote in that state, I think it is a huge mistake to do so. Many of them are actually sympathetic to Obama's arguments. Especially the younger generation. They see the all out boycott as not accomplishing anything. But, that doesn't mean they are fans of Che Guevara.
True, the use of Che's image in recent years has almost become kitsch. But, he was a reeal person who committed real acts and did real things.
Getting into a debate about who Che was, and whether he was a "Marxist terrorist," as the wingnuts call him, or whether he was a "revolutionary fighting for the rights of the poor and the oppressed," as many leftists would argue -- is a recipe for disaster.
It may be that the damage has already been done to Obama because of his campaign's tepid and relatively slow initial response.The more aggressive and definitive response has probably been lost in the wash. This does not bode well for the fall campaign, where his team will have to fight these kinds of daily smears aggressively in order to win in November.
Here's hoping they learn from this mistake, and that we all learn to take these "little" things seriously. In the meantime, we should take the opportunity to post the current Obama statement as a comment on all the rightwing blogs and newspaper comment sections we can. We should also e-mail this to the local news outlets that may be coveriung tehs tory so that the official Obama campaign version gets out there.