It looks like the blogosphere-dubbed
"Muhammad Horton" ad is only the opening salvo in what I am honestly starting to think might become the most vicious (and long!) presidential campaign in a while. It's not that I didn't previously realize that this was a distinct possibility, but I definitely became convinced a few minutes ago when I read Eric Boehlert's
Salon article
profiling the man who created it, Alex Castellanos.
Castellanos, for those of you who don't recognize his smug face from his many appearrances on "Crossfire," is the scumbag responsible for some of the all-time lows of campaign advertising, including several flat-out lies and the infamous "White Hands" ad whose race-baiting was sadly key in assuring Jesse Helms' narrow 1990 re-election (more on all of that in the article). That someone with his history is in on the latest from Bush-Cheney '04 should absolutely erase all doubts that they are full of a certain four-letter word when it comes to feigning innocence about trying to capitalize on Arabs-as-potential-terrorists fears.
This has only started to get ugly. And as much as I am absolutely primed for the fight and the opportunity to expose these kinds of tactics for what they are, I really do fear that the now-in-tune American people might eventually get so disgusted as to simply start ignoring the campaign down the line. Which might be the GOP strategy in the long run anyway-- try to destroy Kerry early on in lieu of his strong post-primary position, then hope that even if that doesn't help Bush, people will just see the whole race as sickening, leaving room for the wingnut base to carry the day. It's sick and anti-democratic in spirit, but hey, what else can you really expect from people who have already found a way to win even while getting less votes than the other guy?