Obama Plays the Race Card
June 21st, 2008 at 04:41pm Matt DiBari
Well, so much for being a post-racial candidate.
JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Reuters) - Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama said on Friday he expects Republicans to highlight the fact that he is black as part of an effort to make voters afraid of him.
“It is going to be very difficult for Republicans to run on their stewardship of the economy or their outstanding foreign policy,” Obama told a fundraiser in Jacksonville, Florida. “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?“
In many ways, its an absolutely brilliant strategy. It is impossible to prove a negative, and no one wants to be branded with the scarlet letter of racism. After far too many years in the country, we have finally reached an age where being a racist has a negative stigma attached to it. Unfortunately, this has also led to the dawn of an era where false accusations of racism can be used as a tool to gain political and financial leverage.
Men like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have cried wolf on racism for their own political and financial gain for decades now. It looks like we can add Barack Obama to that list as well.
Senator Obama, it has become very clear that you will say and do anything to become President of the United States of America. And if this is the campaign you choose to run, good for you. Call John McCain a racist until your face turns blue. Call whomever his running mate is a racist. Hell, call me a racist. And, if, by chance, you do happen to get enough votes to achieve your dream of the Presidency, I hope the damage you’ll have done to this country is worth it.
Change You Can Believe In.
Entry Filed under: Barack Obama, Campaign Issues
9 Comments
1. Democrat | June 21st, 2008 at 4:51 pm
He will win no doubt!
2. KMorrison | June 22nd, 2008 at 10:12 am
I really hope this was a mistake, and that he immediately stops these types of comments. A preemptive accusation of racism is terrible. I can understand if he says this privately if he believes these types of attacks are coming, but by saying it publicly he basically sums up Republicans as racists.
From a pure tactical standpoint I think it helps the Republican cause as it may help unite Republicans against him. However, if you take any sort of ‘good of the country’ approach this is terrible. I appreciate that he has an issue that no other candidate has had to deal with; but this tact is incredibly destructive to the cohesion of the country.
3. Eric T | June 22nd, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Many blacks will vote Obama because he is black, some whites will vote McCain because he is white. I really don’t see a problem with people feeling good or proud of their ethnic background or heritage. but, I think it is in bad taste for Obama to bring it into politics and try and make it an issue to run on. If Obama wants to make race an issue, then he is a racist. We don’t need a president that is going to make race an issue with anything, if we are all equal. I think white Obama voters will get turned off with Obama’s racism, and start visualizing affirmative action taxes, more quota hiring, reparations taxes, Jesse and Al blaming everything on the “white man”. Obama might swiftboat himself with this kind of stuff.
4. Eric T | June 22nd, 2008 at 2:52 pm
I think Obama is falling back on the race card because he realizes he lacks substance and experience. In most cases he is politically inferior and takes positions against the people.
Recently, stating that he thinks we are not paying enough for gasoline.
His stance on the guns is so bad that anyone can see, he can’t relate at all with the common folk. His votes are in lockstep with his extremist liberal buddies in their gated communities, with armed guards and police escorts. They have anti-gun records that clearly show that they would rather have your wife and kids left defenseless against 5 six and a half foot, football player sized intruders who break in when your at work, to rape and burglarize.
His foreign policy is weak.
5. Eric T | June 23rd, 2008 at 10:10 am
John McCain could use the same approach and say
“They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. He’s old and experienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s white?“
then ad something like “The democrats want to make you feel guilty and ashamed of being white, but you don’t have to”.
6. Tut | June 25th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Eric T,
I wish McCain could say that, but we know what would happen. There would be an uproar. The double standard would be something like, he is making a joke of the significant accomplishments of african americans, and refuses to recognize their progress because he old and obviously racist if he would act in such a manner. Furthermore, the mainstream media would probably not even play the original Obama video, and the hypothetical McCain response would be looped and played over and over for maximum effect. The double standard is a no win scenario for any white opponent. I do not believe that Obama can win if his past and associations become well known before the election, but if nobody finds out who Obama really is, and he keeps playing the white guilt card, I am afraid that he may be able to pull it off.
7. Obama -Racist | June 30th, 2008 at 6:42 am
How is his being racist against whites any more noble than whites theoretically being racist against him. I dread 4 years of this horsespit from him.
8. Obama Must Apologize | June 30th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
I am still waiting for an apology for that remark as well as his wife snide remark on 60 minutes last year about her assination fear reply of “I don’t lose sleep over it because the realities are that, you know, as a black man, you know, Barack can get shot going to the gas station, you know.”
9. Cindy S | July 1st, 2008 at 12:38 am
It would be a sad day if anyone won using the “race card “..or any tactic, they could use, I do not think John McCain would think about it, He is to honest, If he wins, it will be due to honest methods,,and by he just way deserves it much more (jmo ).