"I'm Voting for Obama Even Though He's a Terrorist"

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Wednesday October 15, 2008 · 10:44 AM PDT

2008/10/15 · 10:44

Okay, that's a paraphrase of this quote from a woman in a focus group:

Well, I don't know much about this terrorist group Barack used to be in with that Weather guy but I'm sick of paying for health insurance at work and that's why I'm supporting Barack.

Not too much should be made out of the view of one person, but it suggests Obama has been successful in explaining McCain's health care plan. More than that, it suggests why people who might be susceptible to backlash fear-mongering are this year unmoved: because McCain and the GOP in general have failed so monumentally. Better the devil you don't know. Leave it to Republicans to be so bad they somehow neutralize the political power of racism and other deep-seated fears. Listen to another participant in the same focus group:

I'm gonna hate him the minute I vote for him. He's gonna be a bad president. But I won't ever vote for another god-damn Republican.

So, to sum up: people who think that Obama is a terrorist an that he's going to be a bad president are going to vote for him. And then there are the sixty percent or so of the country who have a favorable opinion of him. The Ayers attack simply can't trump GOP failure, McCain's pathetic response to the economic crisis, or his bankrupt policies. On the contrary, McCain is only hurting himself with these attacks.

Obama knew this; that's why he shrewdly challenged McCain to bring up Ayers in the debate: he wants McCain to pull out a gun that can only backfire. On the other hand, if at this point, McCain doesn't mention Ayers, he looks like a coward. That's called a box, friends.

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