Haha Rowman, Haha, charade you are!

Oh cann4ing,

I am so pleased to see that you finally put away your favorite, overused word… discourse. If this is where you come for discourse, you must be intellectually starved. Why, even the short time I have been here, I have only observed you offering insults. Nothing remotely close to what someone would consider a discourse. So thank you for recognizing this and putting that word away.

Here is a new word for you. Indolent. You see, when I read your attempted insults, a picture is painted in my mind of the type of person you are. Indolent is the word I would use to describe that picture. Good day sir.

Oh you guys are just too much.  Obama continues to bring race into the discussion, not McCain. Case proven.

Cyrena needed examples where he continues to bring up race. Why do I care what is ancestry is? Why should you? If you’re blind to racism, it should not matter but something is very askew here.

Lets say it again. If your blind to racism, a learned behavior, it should not matter. But someone keeps bringing it up and making it an issue. It is by its very nature divisive.

So Obama told you the McCain camp would do something to scare you with race. But you look and you don’t see it. But surely Obama would not lie to his own people. Surely not. So you look real hard at the ads McCain puts out – but you still don’t see anything. You listen to his campaign speakers words, but you still don’t hear anything.  You watch and listen closely for weeks… still nothing.

But then it hits you. They must be using super secret racist unconscious code words! Yep. That must be it because Obama would not use racism for political gain. Surely not.  So you declare elitism a racist word and level charges against all who use it. Where does it end????

We have already proven that by your standards of evidence, anyone and everyone is a racist if we so wish to call them that. All I would have to do is claim that you used a secret “code word”. In your case, you are accusing the McCain campaign of racism for using the word Elitism. Its nonsense and baseless.

Maybe so Ernest, maybe so..

“I know I’m about to break a rule I just laid down for myself, but I can’t resist.”

BUT I’m so glad you did!!!

And, I’d like to add that I’m exceedingly proud of my OWN melting pot identity. Yep. I think it makes us ‘special’.

(or ‘uppity’ whichever one chooses to call it) That ability to ‘transcend’ is no small blessing you know.

I know I’m about to break a rule I just laid down for myself, but I can’t resist.

When President Kennedy referenced his Irish/Catholic ancestors, no one dreamed of suggesting that JFK was “playing the race card.” The same could be said when Senator Lieberman made reference to his Jewish ancestry.  But for Senator Obama to make the factual statement about his mixed parentage, as “the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas,”
that is seen as “playing the race card?”

Oh my F’ing God!  Can you not see the blatant racism in your own accusation, rowman?  Did it ever occur to you that when Senator Obama made reference to his mixed parentage, he did so not because he was seeking some slack, some affirmative action head start in this presidential race, but that the man actually takes “pride” in his mixed parentage--that it provides him with a wonderful ability to transcend race?  Of course you haven’t.  Racists like you continue to operate under the delusion that racially pure whites are superior; that African-Americans must resort to “affirmative action” to succeed--never mind the intellectual inferiority of what Paris Hilton referred to as “the wrinkly white haired old dude,” who, even in his prime finished 894th in a class of 899 at the Naval Academy compared to his African American opponent who graduated Magna Cum Laude from this nation’s most prestigious law school, Harvard, before going on to teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago.

I am the product of mixed parentage.  My father was British; my mother a Russian Jew.  My wife is Chinese; and my son, well you might say that with that background, he exemplifies the melting pot that is this nation’s ideal.

It seems painfully obvious that in the racist mind of TD’s rowman, the only way Obama can avoid the charge of playing the race card would be to deny his African heritage and never mention that which should be readily apparent just by looking at the man.  How absurd is that?

By cann4ing, August 7 at 6:27 pm

• “I don’t know about you three, Cyrena, Tony & ITW, but I am growing weary of dealing with stubborn, moronic posters like Rus or this guy rowman who doesn’t appear to be operating with both oars in the water.”

Actually Ernest, rowman knows exactly what he’s doing, and he and rus sound exactly the same. But it’s true that they don’t operate with ANY oars in the same water the rest of us must navigate through, which is why I’m perfectly comfortable using them as poster creatures for the racist mentality that has so destructive to society, and has been for so long. It’s people exactly like this. They’ve always been there, and they’ll never go away. They are MORE NOTICEABLE with the advent of the internet, since they are likely to be far more careful in their in person dealings. On the other hand, some (dependent on where one is located in the country) don’t even bother with trying to cover it up even then.

And yes, the latest reply, apparently directed to me, is just as ignorant as all of the rest, and not even worth a comment. I asked him to cite some examples of Obama always bringing up the race issue, and NOT just by nature of his being black and running for President. So what does he cite? Quotes from Obama RESPONING to all of the bullshit that has been stirred up during the past year, by the rowman types and their associated groups. Every single comment that he sites, is an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT by Obama, of the reality of this dynamic that they are leaning so heavily on. In other words, Barack Obama has not himself, (or his campaign) generated a single solitary iota of the stuff that he’s been forced to respond to. And rowman knows exactly what that’s about. In short, he’s a racist.

That said, what is even more obvious, (despite all of the tricks, and all of the long held, never give it up race hate)is that things HAVE improved dramatically, over these past few decades, which is evidenced by the fact that we have such an accomplished person running for the office, and the majority of Americans know that, and are not the least bit swayed by the bullshit. By no means am I tempting fate here, or even underestimating the damage that they can do. We’ve watched that happen twice in the past 8 years, and we’ve all suffered enormously as a result. US and the rest of the world.  Still, I think there are enough intelligent people in our midst, to eventually keep us all from that final plunge into the abyss.

At the same time, I have to acknowledge that we might have this horrific regime to thank for that. The fact of the matter is that Obama had no viable competition. I say no viable competition because the few others that could have done as well, simply were not gathered into the momentum in the way that Obama was. At the end of the day, he did start with an excellently organized campaign, and he’s worked very hard, making it a point to get to every single state, and address the entire population, and not just the corptocracy. I honestly do give most of the credit here to our youth. That’s just my own opinion, but I believe it carries some weight. I’m surrounded by them, in my professional career and my personal life, and I know that they have long ago realized, (obviously more than the racist morons have) that we’ve blown it. Maybe they recognize that it isn’t entirely our fault, but they still understand in their own wisdom, that THEIR birthrights are at stake, and they’ve been willing to take the action to get things back in balance. So maybe it’s primarily because we’re at such an awful place now, that Obama is the *only* obvious choice for those who want to survive. And, we far outnumber that 1% of the Robber Barons who have stolen it all, and destroyed us in the process.

Meantime, the cancerous infection that rowman et al represent already has a vaccine. We’ll just think of them as a flu shot. Just enough of the virus to make the body immune to the more dangerous full blown disease.

At first I sincerely believed that you were drawing wild conclusions from random information in similar fashion to that of the schizophrenic John Nash. He was obsessed with patterns where none existed.

Now I understand that it’s a secret racist club you have that shares secret unconscious racist codes.  It is quite racist to believe everyone thinks like you or shares the same secret unconscious racist code book.  Obama is right – you are injecting race into the politics. But he does not realize that it is from within his own party I guess.

I just don’t see McCain or his campaign doing it.

“I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas.”

“we’ve heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action”

“This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either “too black” or “not black enough.” We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well.”

“We know what kind of campaign they’re going to run. They’re going to try to make you afraid. They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. ‘He’s young and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?’”

“we’ve heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike”

Need I go on?

Can you cite any examples from McCain????

I don’t know about you three, Cyrena, Tony & ITW, but I am growing weary of dealing with stubborn, moronic posters like Rus or this guy rowman who doesn’t appear to be operating with both oars in the water.

I question whether either of these two has the power to comprehend a level of discourse beyond the Rush Limbaugh/Fixed News talking points of the day.  I’m sure that the level of their ignorance is such that they could watch something as classically racist as the 1919 film, “Birth of a Nation” and fail to see even the overt racism reflected in the film’s depiction of African-Americans as helpless children or savage men lusting after white women.  Indeed, I doubt seriously that Rowman would take issue that the film depicted the guys dressed in white sheets and hoods as heroes, or with the idiocy created in the character played by Hattie McDaniel in “Gone with the Wind"--this despite the fact that any “thinking” American would simply shake their head, realizing that the real idiocy lay in the racist sentiments of those who wrote the script.

Frankly, I can not see how further discourse with rowman to be productive.  So, while I know he will respond to this post with another of his childish remarks, I will look past it.

Inherit the Wind…

Get it?  Code words and phrases.  Please, if you can think of more, add to the list!

~~~~~

I dunno, I think you such a good job here, that it might be difficult for me to come up with more. But, that won’t keep me from trying. I see you added “uppitiy ni@@er’ along the way. That’s a really appropriate one, (already saturated to overuse and it’s only August) because of that education liability that Obama has.

I mean, if only he was stupid, and couldn’t talk, or walk, and would just shuffle and mumble, and
keep his head down and all, and just stay in his DAMN PLACE, (he’s ‘posed to KNOW better than to be using all of those two and sometimes even THREE syllable words!) then maybe they could ignore the fact that he’s black. 

Ya think?

Nope. But, it was fun saying it.

~~~~~~

Rowman, just for grins, can you site any examples here:

• “Stop with the John Nash nonsense. The only one that has been bringing up race is Obama.”

Let’s be really specific rowman, since you say that THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS BEEN BRINGING UP RACE – IS OBAMA…can you just cut and paste us some specific quotes where Obama has done this? I’m sure you’ll have many, since you say he’s the only that HAS BEEB bringing it up. (that assumes plural, as in more than once.)

I’d really be interested in the specific words or phases that he used to ‘bring up race’. (no, you can say that he ‘brings is up’ every he appears in public. – you have to cite what he’s actually said.)

~~~

Tony,

• “…Good post, ITW! Rowman does not understand the subtext and context of these ads, as cyrena would say. These are subliminal appeals to unconscious racial images that are very widespread….”

The hell he DOESN’T understand! He wrote a whole long lesson plan on what all of this stuff means, just a few short posts later. .. By rowman, August 7 at 10:32 am

So no…he’s of the group I included who PRETENDS *NOT* to understand the subtext and context. So one minute, he’s posting this : ““Stop with the John Nash nonsense. The only one that has been bringing up race is Obama.”, and the next minute he’s giving us an explanation of EXACTLY what we’ve been saying about the code words, and the context and subtext.

And then ITW called him out on it immediately, because he damn well does know what this is all about, no doubt because he practices it religiously…karl rove protégé that he is.

In between all of that, he was mumbling stuff about how nothing of this exists breaks the top of the bullshit meter that Louise keeps track of for us, and sent Ernest into rolling on the floor scale laughter, and me with my jaw not far behind.

Matter of fact, I’m STILL in shock. I’m starting to thing that Rus and Rowman cover each other’s days off. Or maybe rowman is like the ‘vacation relief’ shift, and there’s some sort of contest on who can bust the bullshit meter the most times.

So elitist is an unconscious code word for what? how?

Wow. I never heard of that before.  What book store do you shop in buddy? Mine seems to be out of the secret list of unconscious racist code words. It must be privately published for secret members only.

My father used to call that secret group the Klan. KKK for short I believe and they were not very friendly to my family. I remember them leaving lovely little poems on our lawn but they didn’t contain any code words. They were rather direct.

So No, I do not know the secret unconscious racist code words nor do I associate with anyone that would. That is your world not mine. It would be wrong to assume that I did and it would be wrong for you to accuse anyone else for knowing this either.  If someone uses one of your secret words, it does not mean that they are one of your racist pals. It may simple carry the same meaning found in the merriam-webster dictionary http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elitist.

ITW, when McCain has stumbled over his own tongue, his campaign actually said that McCain does not necessarily speak for the campaign.  They’ve done it twice.

rowman, August 7 at 1:54 pm #

Specifically, what unconscious code words did McCain use?
************************************************

Did I say McCain said any? Did I? No, and if you actually read what people wrote rather than spewing propaganda you’d know that!

What I DID say was his CAMPAIGN was using code words.  When Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a member of John McCain’s campaign team describes Barack Obama as “elitist” (truly bizarre considering McCain’s background contrasted with Obama’s) it means only one thing to his SC GOP constituents: Obama is “uppity” and “uppity” is ALWAYS paired with the “n-” word...just prior to lynching a Black man for acting like a man.

So, please, cut this stupid $#it.  You know you know EXACTLY what code words are and how they are used.

That’s rich, rowman the neocon projecting that someone who criticizes his repetition of the Fixed News talking points “must work for the Bush administration!”

Thanks rowman.  I can’recall a TD post that made me laugh this hard.  You might want to send our colloquy to Keith Olbermann.  Maybe you could qualify for Countdown’s “Worst Person in the World,” right along side the disjointed mumblings of Billo the Clown from Fixed News.

Re: Inherit The Wind, August 7 at 1:38 pm #

Specifically, what unconscious code words did McCain use?

Tony,
Being that your evidence is based on something perceived, one could apply the same standards and draw the conclusion that you are the racist for implying that it exists in the absence of concrete facts. Therefore, you are easily cast as the very thing you criticize. That is what happens when you eliminate the standards of evidence.

Rowman,
Code words are real and you know it.  A former recruiter for the American Nazi party revealed the he used code words as tools:
“Crime and Welfare”: Blacks, get it? They all commit crimes and are on welfare.
“International Finance”: Jews. Get it? They are all rich bankers and have not national loyalties.
“Socialists”: Democrats...Get it?

This was on 60 minutes.  Here are some more that are popular:
“Silent Majority”: White people who work for a living.
“Effete Snobs”: Democrats with education.
“Southern Strategy”: Convince Dixiecrat racists they belong with the GOP.
“Pro-terrorist”: Anti Bush.
“Troublemakers”: Anyone questioning corrupt practices.
“Supply Side Economics”: Tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans regardless of the impact on the economy.
“Klinton”: Bill Clinton
“algore”: Al Gore.
“Martin Luther McCoon”: MLK--anyone using this is clearly saying they are a nazi or KKK member.
“Zionists”: Any Jew arguing that Israel has a right to exist. Also “Zionist Racist”.
“English Only”: “I hate Mexicans and other Latinos.”
“Lib’rals”: Sick perverts who want to legalize all sex especially for Gay pederasts and bestiality.  Also in favor of giving psychedelic drugs to everyone, especially children.  Every one of them is a lilly-livered cowards. “Lib’rals” actually work for the Devil and want evil to triumph.
“Amer’ca was founded as a Christian nation”: Let’s instituionalize Southern Protestantism as the state religion and outlaw all other.

Get it?  Code words and phrases.  Please, if you can think of more, add to the list!

Oh you’re ego is just too much.

By uninformed, you must be referring to that which does not exist e.g. Subliminal appeals, unconscious code words. Or rather, something that lacks any tangible proof.
As such, you attempt to use propagandist techniques when challenged on this e.g. name calling, neocon.

So what do we have? Something that does not exist combined with propaganda…

You must work for the Bush Administration!

By rowman, August 7 at 9:40 am #

Oh common. Subliminal appeals, unconscious code words?

Next you’re going to tell me that the space aliens are in on it too.

Stop with the John Nash nonsense. The only one that has been bringing up race is Obama.
---------------------------------------------------
rowman,

I won’t call you names. Race is subjective phenomenon. It exists, you might say, but in the eye of the beholder. So, then, you take the ad at face value. It’s just saying Obama is some kind of celebrity lightweight like Paris Hilton. The McCain campaign is are doing the same thing with the tire gage business - trying to paint him as a lightweight, and instant celebrity with no accomplishments and no experience. It’s just the usual dirty politics of negative image-making to destroy your opponent. I think the Obama campaign is smart enough to not allow this strategy to work and will not have to respond in kind. “Not this time”, as they keep saying. Obama has plenty of money to put on instant response ads to counter this kind of thing, while going on to make and reiterate serious proposals and statements of real concern to the American people.

So, you may not see the racial subtext in this ad while many black people might be acutely aware of it. There may also be those white people who have unconsious racial images who might be influenced by these ads to vote against Obama in spite of the fact that Obama represents their interest far more - the “working-class whites” or “Reagan Democrats” which McCain is trying to target.

Sorry Rowman, but your uninformed posts reflect that the the Party line, aka, neocon propaganda amounts to the sum total of your knowledge.  That is presented as an objective assessment of your contributions at TD--no emotion attached.  I never called you a “name.” I simply made what I believe to be your rather insignificant assessments.

The next time you avoid pushing the reset button on your talking points memo of the day and actually contribute meaningful discourse at TD will be the first.

Re: cann4ing, August 7 at 10:10 am #

Why am I not surprised you would invoke such childish antics as name calling? Get over yourself already.

The name-calling technique was first identified by the Institute for Propaganda Analysis (IPA) in 1938. The name-calling technique links a person, or idea, to a negative symbol. The propagandist who uses this technique hopes that the audience will reject the person or the idea on the basis of the negative symbol, instead of looking at the available evidence.

The most obvious type of name calling involves bad names. For example, consider the following:
•Fascist
•Pig
•Yuppie
•Bum
A more subtle form of name-calling involves words or phrases that are selected because they possess a negative emotional charge. Those who oppose budget cuts may characterize fiscally conservative politicians as “stingy.” Supporters might prefer to describe them as “thrifty.” Both words refer to the same behavior, but they have very different connotations. Other examples of negatively charged words include:
•social engineering
•radical
•cowardly
•counter-culture

Amazing what you can find on the internet….

Why am I not surprised that an issue like subliminal messages does not pierce the thick, neocon disinformation bubble surrounding our rowman’s little mind?

More thoughts on race:

As the world gets smaller and anyone who wants can travel to any part of the planet, there is naturally going to be more and more interracial mating, and as this happens, the concept of “race” will lose meaning as all the races become blended. Then there will emerge in the place of this concept a universal concept of the “human” race which will express global human solidarity. Obama represents this trend.

Oh common. Subliminal appeals, unconscious code words?

Next you’re going to tell me that the space aliens are in on it too.

Stop with the John Nash nonsense. The only one that has been bringing up race is Obama.

Re Inherit The Wind, August 7 at 9:13 am
Re rowman, August 7 at 8:15 am #

Im not voting for either but I must say that I have not observed any race baiting by McCain.
*******************************************

If, by McCain, you mean the man himself, that’s probably true.  But if you mean his campaign---HAVEN’T YOU BEEN LISTENING?????
----------------------------------------------
Good post, ITW! Rowman does not understand the subtext and context of these ads, as cyrena would say. These are subliminal appeals to unconscious racial images that are very widespread.

This whole race business does not make sense when you really look at it. Obama’s mother is white and his father is black. Therefore he is no more “black” than “white”. His skin is not “black”; it is only darker than most people who have two “white” parents and lighter than most people who have two “black” parents. So why don’t we just say he is of mixed race? They used to call such people “mulattos”. Then you had your “quadroons”, your “octaroons”, your hexadecaroons, and so on. These racial terms are no longer in use. People just don’t keep track anymore, which is a sign of progress.

rowman, August 7 at 8:15 am #

Im not voting for either but I must say that I have not observed any race baiting by McCain.
*******************************************

If, by McCain, you mean the man himself, that’s probably true.  But if you mean his campaign---HAVEN’T YOU BEEN LISTENING?????

99% of McCain’s campaign is having surrogates use code words that have well-known meaning.  In South Carolina, Lindsey Graham calls BO “elitist” Translation that every Carolinian understands? Obama is “uppity” (long a lynching offense down there).  Elitist?  The man can from a broken home and pulled himself up by his brains and ability.  McCain, is an admiral’s son and grandson.  He married money (Cindy).

The infamous celebrity ad? Two young white women famous for showing too much in public, including their underwearless groins.  Black man, white women, and sex--oldest prejudice in the world. If they REALLY wanted celebs and aren’t playing the race card, why didn’t they pick, say, Oprah Winfrey and Queen Latifah, or Denzel Washington and Halle Barry?  DUH!!!!!

And, as Obama himself so well noted, they are trying to portray McCain as a “real” American and Obama as the other who is “risky”.  Translation? McCain is a typical White Guy and Obama is a serious unknown as a Black Guy.

Do I think McCain is racist? No, of course not. Look at his youngest daughter (the one who was the subject of the Bush’s disgusting push-polling in 2008 in SC).

But I think he’s sold his soul to the devil and Karl Rove to try to get elected, and the ONLY thing he has going for him is he’s White and BO is Black.

I’m reminded of the answer Malcolm X gave when asked if he could wish for anything at all, what would it be.  He said, “To be white.”

Being black in America is something no one who is white can begin to comprehend, conceive, or perceive. It’s about time we white people quit lynching Obama.

Im not voting for either but I must say that I have not observed any race baiting by McCain.

I do recall the black community beating Obama up early on with all the “is he black enough” bs. I do recall him explaining that he is both caucasian and black. I do recall him telling us his grandmother used racist remarks. I do recall him referring to himself as black but never hear him refer to himself as caucasian. I do recall him in a recent rant about “how they are going to scare you” …. “oh and by the way, he is black”.

So I hear much discussion about race but it all seems to come from Obama. Can’t remember McCain ever telling us the race of his parents, or that he is Caucasian or speaking to Obama’s race so how exactly is he race baiting?

He called Obama out and rightfully so. If Obama does not want race to be an issue, why does he spend so much time discussing it and making it an issue?

Oh, I doubt, Cyrena, that the Rovian race-baiters in the McCain campaign want to see all Black folks killed off.  They’d be satisfied if Black folks were simply placed in chains and sent back to the plantations.  Hell, they’d even be so magnanimous as to make Condi & Clarence Thomas house slaves, since they have already demonstrated an ability to fill the position.

Recall how Malcolm X described the mentality of the house slave.  When the master got sick, the house slave said, “Master, we be sick.”

By Inherit The Wind, August 6 at 5:08 pm

Inherit,

Glad I added some humor to the moment. Ya gotta admit the truth of it is actually pretty damn scary.

Meantime, I did the same thing, (LMAO) when I started reading the latest comment from MackTN..

“...By mackTN, August 6 at 6:50 pm #

“Why don’t we just have Obama deny he is a black person?  Would that work?  What if he vows not to speak to any black people while president and not to use any black people in his campaign.  Would that work?  What if Obama campaigns to have all black people killed.  Would that work?”

~~~~

He got a little carried away with the part about having all black people killed off. (not like Obama or anybody else has to ‘campaign’ for that). But the other part? Like say we just have Barack DENY being black? Yeah, that would probably work. I’ve already heard a bunch of other folks on this very same site, make the same claim that..."He’s *NOT* black!” And, they’ve been highly annoyed that he wouldn’t deny it.

So, that would solve it. All he has to do is deny it,
AND...at the same time, tell us that we’re all blind, and therefore qualify for the special tax credit for blind people. Does that still apply? I haven’t filed an income tax return in years, so I don’t know. (no income, no filing hassles.)

Then everybody could claim to be blind, and not have a clue to what color Obama is. If they slip up and make some complaint that he’s black, they would be incriminating themselves, and admitting that they aren’t really blind. Then we can throw ‘em jail for tax evasion.

Just a thought.

Re Edward, August 6 at 4:12 am #

Spew Republican talking points much? Dittohead, perhaps?

Why don’t we just have Obama deny he is a black person?  Would that work?  What if he vows not to speak to any black people while president and not to use any black people in his campaign.  Would that work?  What if Obama campaigns to have all black people killed.  Would that work?

It’s a sad state of affairs when people vote against their own interests because they can be manipulated by racial fears.  What is the fear all about anyway?  Retaliation? 

I do have fears, the biggest being that we would reelect Bush for 8 more years via McCain.

Although, he does start off giving these folks too much credit:

On the *OFF* chance??? Ha! He must not read the comments here on these threads. There’s a whole shit-load of folks right here that don’t know text from subtext, from context. Or, they certainly pretend not to.
*********************************************

OK, Cyrena, OK.  You got me! I read this and nearly fell on the floor LMAO!  Too true and too funny!

I find it ironic that a man named Robinson is describing the behavior Barack Obama must exhibit that is exactly the same as that another Robinson had to demonstrate.  Branch Rickey warned Jackie Robinson that he would have to suck it up and laugh off abuse no matter HOW vicious if he wanted to break down the barrier to nothing more than a kid’s game.

Now, 62 years later, an intelligent, clever, logical, rational and moral man is running for President and all that matters is how much melanin he has in his skin.  Folks, EVERYBODY has melanin in their skin (unless they are albino) and melanin only comes in one color.  Know what that means?  We are all the same color! , only some of us are more of it, and some of us are less.

And Sen. Graham is a fine old Southern Brahman used to manipulating the working class to get them to do what Brahmans want: To serve the Brahman interests at the cost of their own.  Racism is the classic weapon.  I’m not saying Graham is a racist--I think he’s far to savvy to be that.  But he’s perfectly willing to use race as a weapon when his party’s candidate is failing on every issue.

BobZ--I neglected to mention that the accident left McCain’s first wife, the former beauty queen, disfigured.  No doubt she was discarded as damaged goods by the Shallow Hal McCain.

BobZ:  Thank you for the compliment.  I would add that McCain’s first wife was also a trophy wife--a former beauty queen.  She was not simply ill.  While McCain was staying as an unwilling guest of the Hanoi Hilton, his first wife was involved in an horrific auto accident.  Upon returning to the U.S., McCain promptly dumped her to take up with Cindy, who is an heiress to a beer distributor fortune--therein lies the man’s true character.  When John Rhodes (R.AZ) announced that he was retiring from Congress, McCain instructed Cindy to purchase a house in Rhodes’ district from which he parlayed his “returning hero” status into his first Congressional office.

Cann4ing:
Excellent post. Karl Rove’s fingerprints are all over McCains recent attack ads, and Lindsey Graham was one of the point persons in this attack as McCain’s closest confidant in the U.S. Senate (what does that tell you). Your contrast of McCain’s background versus Obama’s was enlightening. McCain is yet another Republican politician who got into a prestigious university by virtue of his connections, and became a Navy “playboy”, until he got sent to Vietnam. He betrayed his first wife when he got out of prison, when she was in ill health, and married a trophy wife. He is incoherent on the campaign trail just like Bush, and yet he tries to paint Obama as the inexperienced one. Obama’s upbringing by contrast is the embodiment of the “American dream”, starting with nothing and getting into the top universities by working hard, and earning his way into a top teaching position. McCain will emulate George W. Bush if he is elected, by continuing the hawkish practices of his predecessor and rewarding his corporate benefactors with more do nothing regulatory practices.

“Slime” is the main currency of Rovian politics.  For Republicans, it has become an essential part of political campaigning because the policies they advocate serve only the interests of the privileged few which make up less than one percent of the electorate.  In this case, it also serves as a means to deflect attention from the intellectual inferiority of their designated nominee.

Ever since Lloyd Benson told Dan Quayle, “Senator you’re no John Kennedy,” Republicans have slammed any and all who would question the intellectual capacity (or lack thereof) of their selected candidate.  “Elitism” is the moniker they usually hang around their opponent’s neck.

But we are dealing with electing someone to the world’s most intellectually challenging office, and it thus becomes a matter of manifest public interest to note that John McCain, whose privileged status as the son and grandson of powerfully placed admirals could get him into the Naval Academy, a place where he finished 894th in a class of 899 whereas Barack Obama, the product of a broken home, parlayed hard work and a superior intellect into becoming the first African American President of the Harvard Law Review, graduating from that prestigious institution Magna Cum Laude, before going on to teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago.  (Now, after the last eight years, there’s a refreshing thought--a president who has actually read the constitution).

Any objective observer who compares McCain’s incoherent mumblings to Obama’s brilliant erudition comes away with an understanding that this is a classic intellectual mismatch.  So what is a good Rovian to do.  Attack!  Always Attack!  Come out with a fatuous ad that not only links the brilliant Obama to two celebrity air-heads at the same time injecting a subtle hint at mysogeny through a subtle overlay of Obama and the two women--being ready to then blame Obama for playing the race card the moment he calls them on it. 

The irony is that the ad seeks to suggest that the intellectually superior candidate is an empty headed celebrity, not ready to lead, when, in truth, it is McCain who perhaps spend his time on hands and knees, searching for his marbles.  But then the Rovians did not count on Paris Hilton purchasing her own ad where she referred to McCain as the “wrinkled old dude” and in which, while somewhat silly, the ad revealed that even a celebrity air head like Paris has more coherent ideas than the presumptive Republican nominee.

I watched the Sunday show with L. Graham and T. Daschle from way over here in Spain. Yes, Graham was his usual self...a slime ball. I have observed him over the years and as self assured as he wants to portray himself, he always shows his REAL ass. How he has continued to be a senator is a real mystery of our time! But, given the state he represents, he is likely to fall dead on the senate floor!

Hurls got it right in one.  Nobody in here but us monkeys: white monkeys, black monkeys, brown monkeys, all monkeys together.  These simple minded politicians need to get over it.  When they grow up, and cure that avarice disease that runs in their families, they can be monkeys too.

Double U,

You’re more than welcome. Seems like it might be helpful to appeal to a certain level of common sense for those who are capable of exercising it.

No..Sue Cook wasn’t joking, (at least not intentionally) so this will be wasted on her, but the majority will figure it out.

Not to worry, Sue Cook was equally condemning of Michael Moore when he was interviewed by Larry King a few months back. She remarked on his ‘appearance’.

Go figure.

Thanks cyrena.
Bob Herbert read my mind, again.  He’s absolutely spot-on!

Running While Black
Saturday 02 August 2008
by: Bob Herbert, The New York Times

~ “Gee, I wonder why, if you have a black man running for high public office - say, Barack Obama or Harold Ford - the opposition feels compelled to run low-life political ads featuring tacky, sexually provocative white women who have no connection whatsoever to the black male candidates.

Spare me any more drivel about the high-mindedness of John McCain. You knew something was up back in March when, in his first ad of the general campaign, Mr. McCain had himself touted as “the American president Americans have been waiting for.”

There was nothing subtle about that attempt to position Senator Obama as the Other, a candidate who might technically be American but who remained in some sense foreign, not sufficiently patriotic and certainly not one of us - the “us” being the genuine red-white-and-blue Americans who the ad was aimed at.

Since then, Senator McCain has only upped the ante, smearing Mr. Obama every which way from sundown. On Wednesday, The Washington Post ran an extraordinary front-page article that began:
“For four days, Senator John McCain and his allies have accused Senator Barack Obama of snubbing wounded soldiers by canceling a visit to a military hospital because he could not take reporters with him, despite no evidence that the charge is true.”

Evidence? John McCain needs no evidence. His campaign is about trashing the opposition, Karl Rove-style. Not satisfied with calling his opponent’s patriotism into question, Mr. McCain added what amounted to a charge of treason, insisting that Senator Obama would actually prefer that the United States lose a war if that would mean that he - Senator Obama - would not have to lose an election.

Now, from the hapless but increasingly venomous McCain campaign, comes the slimy Britney Spears and Paris Hilton ad. The two highly sexualized women (both notorious for displaying themselves to the paparazzi while not wearing underwear) are shown briefly and incongruously at the beginning of a commercial critical of Mr. Obama.

The Republican National Committee targeted Harold Ford with a similarly disgusting ad in 2006 when Mr. Ford, then a congressman, was running a strong race for a U.S. Senate seat in Tennessee. The ad, which the committee described as a parody, showed a scantily clad woman whispering, “Harold, call me.”

Both ads were foul, poisonous and emanated from the upper reaches of the Republican Party. (What a surprise.) Both were designed to exploit the hostility, anxiety and resentment of the many white Americans who are still freakishly hung up on the idea of black men rising above their station and becoming sexually involved with white women.

The racial fantasy factor in this presidential campaign is out of control. It was at work in that New Yorker cover that caused such a stir. (Mr. Obama in Muslim garb with the American flag burning in the fireplace.) It’s driving the idea that Barack Obama is somehow presumptuous, too arrogant, too big for his britches - a man who obviously does not know his place.

Mr. Obama has to endure these grotesque insults with a smile and heroic levels of equanimity. The reason he has to do this - the sole reason - is that he is black.”~

The rest is at the link.

http://www.truthout.org/article/running-while-black

Cross-posted on the EJ Dionne piece thread.

I keep waiting for Sue Cook to drop the punch line.  I mean, she is joking, isn’t she?  Yes, she’s joking, it’s just too bad it’s unintentional.

I watched Lindsey Graham on Fox News Sunday and he acted like a real"slime ball”. Then I realized he is from South Carolina possibly one of the most racist states in the union. He was creepy in his “wink wink” dialogue with Chris Wallace. As one media analyst put it “I am from the south and I know the racist code words when I hear them”. I don’t know who the Republican’s are trying to kid in this day and age. They call Obama “arrogant”, “cocky”, and “elitist”, when they really mean “uppity” and “not knowing his place”. This kind of crap may appeal to the Republican base but it won’t fly with the rest of America.

With a noted few exceptions, I’m surprised there’s little mention of the Corporate Media’s role in directing this presidential campaign.

We allow them to ignore real issues and instead, launch into endless and meaningless “Obama said, McCain said,” “McCain meant, Obama meant” bullcrap. Can we focus on policies instead of perceptions? Could we maybe, just maybe, discuss health care, the national debt, extrication from our occupation of Iraq, stem cell research, abortion, our crumbling infrastructure, education, and energy? 

Nope. Here’s why: Our Corporate Media craves a close race. Nobody leaves a football game when the score is tied. They all stay to watch (and watch the commercials). This race is the same. Instead of focusing on substance the Corporate Media goes for the sizzle. I mean really, the “race card,” patriotism, flag pins, eliteism, etc. and etc. are mindless distractions. Yet those are the very distractions that push our buttons and play on our fears...and keep us tuned in.

If we were to focus flat-out on issues, this race would be a hand-off to Obama as McCain’s record matches the failed policies of Bush 95% of the time (and his recent reversals are taking care of the remaining 5%). But add in the sizzle and ta-da, we have a race!

Case in point? The recent studies that revealed Obama is, in fact, receiving far more attention from the media than McCain. BUT, he’s receiving far more negative attention. The Corporate Media realizes that McCain coverage is boring - the guy puts viewers to sleep. Obama, on the other hand, can actually lift spirits and compel viewers. “But,” they think, “He’s too good at it compared to McCain. And we need to keep this game exciting! So let’s give legs to this crap about elitism, tire inflation, or playing the race card! That’ll keep ‘em watching!

And, as it did in 2000 and 2004, it’s working like a charm!

Re: By felicity, August 5 at 8:21

• “Given the now rampant proclivity of Repubs to employ Straw men when campaign going gets hairy, an entire high school history unit should be devoted to Straw men - what they are, how to spot them, how to reason beyond them.”
~~~~
Felicity,

We DID this…this very summer, a shorter session than the average, (6 weeks) and actually an undergraduate lower division course. The students LOVED it, and we used this very website (and a few others) for the bulk of the material. There’s enough Straw Man stuff here to kill a horse. (you know horses will just keep on eating as long as the hay is there, and eventually eat themselves to death). So at best, (if they are carefully fed to prevent them from overeating) we wind up with a bunch of horse shit. At worse, (if they are allowed to eat as much as they want) we wind up with dead horses.

With that in mind, the students were able to figure out what they are, spot them, (some are easier to spot than others) and eventually reason beyond them. BUT…that’s the tricky part, because many cannot not be ‘reasoned beyond’. Take this most recent example from one of our current straw men that cannot be reasoned with, (one of many)

Sue Cooks writes:

“…By Sue Cook, August 5 at 8:59 am #
• “If Obama is innocent of playing the “victim” and the “race” card, then he shouldn’t act the part.”
OBVIOUSLY, she didn’t ‘get’ the entire point, which Eugene makes exceedingly clear:

• “As Graham well knows, Obama has taken great pains to sanitize his campaign of even the faintest whiff of victimhood. He understands that in order to be elected president, he has to come off as the least-aggrieved black man in America…”
•
In other words, not only has he *NOT* “acted the part”, he’s bent over backwards, sideways, and upside down, to AVOID exactly that!

Then Sue Cook continues with her ‘oh so very’ transparent bias, by blaming him for Hilary’s loss,

• “…By those very same words he used against Hillary during the primaries, he certainly is coyly doing just that! ….He’s fooling no one but his most ardent admirers. (dazed followers.)”
and PROVING herself to be exactly what she accuses anyone who supports Obama of being. (a dazed, and now disgruntled follower of Hillary).
So, *what* ‘very same words”, did Obama supposedly use against Hillary, Sue? He *didn’t* of course. Rather, these same tricks that Hillary used, are exactly what blew right back in her face, and her “SUPPORTERS” didn’t HELP her. In fact, they made it worse for her.
And ultimately, this very same thing is going to happen to the McCain scoundrels as well. Already Obama is (depending on which polls one pays attention to) anywhere between 7 and 10 points ahead of McCain, and that’s been steady for a couple of weeks now. This is exactly the reason for the most recent onslaught, as Waris Shere explains in his or her post here:
• By WARIS SHERE, August 5 at 7:20 am
”The firestorm erupted since Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic candidate for president, had scored huge success on his latest trip to several countries in Middle-East and Europe. In building their case against Barack Obama, the McCain campaign has employed several lines of viscious attack.”
The ‘case’ against Barack has of course been on-going since the beginning. (I’ve posted the list of groups and individuals behind it several times). Still, this is an UPDATED and even MORE VISCIOUS effort since the recent successes that have sprinted Obama up so favorably in the polls. (again, depending on which ones are compared)

Meantime Felicity, I’m gonna take you up on your suggestion, and we’ll have one of the history classes work on this, and use the more carefully documented historical examples of the same.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Big E brings up an interesting point. The dimmocrats may want to follow the repug playbook from 1976 and BLOW THIS ELECTION! Judging the American people’s penchant for forgetfulness, whoever is elected this year, and his party, will ultimately be blamed for what is shaping up to be a disasterous next four years. (keep in mind, Carter bore the blame for the post Vietnam/Watergate recession)
It’s a good thing that Obama and his cadre of idiots have begun his sellout to right early, as he may still have time to blow this thing (insert euphemism here) Let McCain have the White House, the dimmos will still have the house and senate.
And what a four years it’s shaping up to be!!

I think for the avid Obama supporters, it is time for them to stop debating policy and start thinking about what it will take to get their candidate to win the election.
http://www.streetalker.com/

‘Presumptuous’= Uppity
‘elite’= Uppity
‘Able to handle tough decisons’- lacks mental logic/intellect.
Oh the list of insults and innuendo which all other minority know & have exeprienced- esp Women- are endless.
What they fail to recognize- we have known they think the same thoughts about US- ‘Whiners’ “Mental Recession”.
How dare We decide Obama is a better candidate than Hillary. Who do we think we are demanding answers and accountability? who are we to question their decisions. How dare we actually refer to the past to explain the present (following the dots, to a logical conclusions, blood for Oil profits)!
Let’s be honest the first dealer of the ‘Race Card’ Was the Clintons, who then slide it BACK under the table to those who Mac works for. She tried to divide and Conquer- pitting Race against Gender. She failed because those of US who know the bottom line to Equality saw the Ruse. It’s an ALL or nothing proposition and Goal. Can’t win by dividing up access to a level playing field.Otherwise you just undermine your own chances at a fair shot.Add to that Hillary’s demand that counts be changed to her advantage, that the sexist statements came out of the Obama campaign (although she was the one consistnetly crying she was being treated unfairly because of her gender- by everyone including the media).she expected everyone to except her failed explanations for her lies, sent out surrogate psuedo ‘Feminists’ to use race as an issue.Basically cried the entire time for the bar to be lowered because she was the only female running- Reinforcing the Stereotype and prejudice against women . So the Clintons not only revealed their treason to the Black Community- they prove it to Women. They give a shit about Neither.
So when it comes to regaining Power the Clintons are willing to throw the nearest minority under the bus.
So now ‘Libbers’ have to go back and Undig the Hole The clintons have dug- re assure that females do NOT want special privildges, nor expect the bar lowered so they can compete and re build bridges with the other minorities regarding our committment to Equality for All. Heckova Job HillaBilly! You’ve made the Neo Con Corp Whores Proud!

If Obama is innocent of playing the “victim” and the “race” card, then he shouldn’t act the part.

By those ver