Race issues return with Rev. Wright (It's racist to point out the president's ties to a racist)

The renewed focus on President Barack Obama’s controversial pastor is reviving the issue that neither presidential campaign wants to discuss directly: race.

But the differing reactions Thursday from Obama aides and Romney officials to revelations about a planned ad campaign linking Obama to Rev. Jeremiah Wright shows that Obama has more to gain than Romney if race enters the 2012 campaign.

Romney’s campaign, irritated at what they saw as a distraction from their economic assault on the president, quickly put out a statement from their campaign manager in response to The New York Times report. The campaign accused the Obama team of “running a campaign of character assassination” while distancing Romney from a GOP consultant’s proposal for a wealthy super PAC to launch the $10 million ad blitz.

But if Boston saw a news cycle lost, Chicago found an opportunity to link Romney to the more hard-edged elements of conservatism. Obama’s campaign issued repeated, scathing attacks on the Romney team’s response, calling out Romney for violating the unwritten rules of the 2008 campaign on Wright and race. Obama’s campaign declared that the Republican was not sufficiently forceful in denouncing a proposal that described Obama’s attempt to portray himself as a “metrosexual Black Abe Lincoln.”

Anything that makes the election less of a pure referendum on the incumbent’s performance benefits Obama.

But a discussion of race also reinforces the historic nature of Obama’s presidency. The election of the first black president was a profoundly meaningful moment for African Americans and an aspirational vote for others. To remind those voters of the history they made — particularly through crude attempts at using Obama’s race against him — is to make them wonder whether they want to turn out the first black family from the White House.

“I do think this country feels it has made a tremendous amount of racial progress in electing the first black president,” veteran GOP consultant Alex Castellanos said. “It knows how this story is supposed to turn out. [The country] doesn’t want to undo this progress if it doesn’t have to. So voters would like him to be successful. But there’s this weird thing that happens sometimes in campaigns, and it’s very dangerous for incumbents. When voters get the idea that you’re not quite ready for the job, they [vote you out] to help you not hurt you. It’s: ‘We’re not dispatching him, we’re teaching him.’”

Privately, Republican elites worry about how to articulate a message that the first black president has been a failure without falling prey to the backlash that would come if their attacks were construed as: ‘It didn’t work and it’s time to return to the usual white guys.’ But many conservative activists and some donors are itching to attack Obama on Wright, believing that John McCain forfeited a promising line of attack four years ago.

Obama advisers had little interest in discussing what rejecting Obama after a single term might mean in terms of race in America. But after handling anything related to race like a pinless grenade four years ago, they’re now less circumspect about alluding to the topic.

“Today, Mitt Romney had the opportunity to distance himself from his previous attempts to inject the divisive politics of character assassination into the presidential race,” said Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt in an email to reporters late Thursday. “It was a moment that required moral leadership, and once again he didn’t rise to the occasion.”

Another Obama adviser said any discussion of race would only intensify the support from the president’s African-American base, who, this adviser said, already think: “‘We’re not going to let the folks who dislike the president take this from us.’”

This Obama adviser, only discussing such a topic without attribution, said the campaign will likely never be explicit about the president’s race-based appeal to blacks — but acknowledged “there would be something visceral to the image of sending this guy packing.”

Ken Khachigian, a senior adviser and chief speechwriter to Ronald Reagan, argued that Obama’s campaign has more incentive to discuss race in 2012 than it did in 2008 because then it was an open question whether the American public could select a black man as president. He likened the Obama campaign’s sharp response to the Times story to watching Jimmy Carter invoke Reagan’s “bigotry” in 1980.

“They will want to raise it if they can find anything to divert, whether it’s on racial issues or anything else. They’ll try to find a way to get people’s minds off the economy,” Khachigian said.

Romney officials think that few up-for-grabs voters will go into their polling place pondering any history besides their own over the past four years.

Whether rejecting Obama would partially undo racial progress or carry freighted symbolism, this argument goes, is a luxury that economic-minded voters can’t afford right now.

Both sides know just how volatile the issue is. Anything that smacks of playing the race card by Republicans will energize blacks and turn off centrist whites. But if Obama is seen as leaning on his race — something he has carefully avoided — it could turn off whites who want to judge him on his merits and don’t want to be guilted into casting their ballot.

Democratic strategist Jim Jordan said race remains as unpredictable a factor now as it was four years ago. “[Race is] a last-minute issue, the kind of thing that causes voters to think at the last minute,” Jordan said, adding that polling on the subject remains murky.

Now that Obama officials have shown they’re less hesitant than they were in 2008 about race being introduced into the campaign, the question is how Romney handles the topic when it’s forced upon him, as it was Thursday.

Even when race isn’t at the forefront, trying to unseat the first black president is no easy task.

“The problem with running against every incumbent president, but especially this one, is that you don’t ever want to look like you’re rooting against America,” said Democratic strategist Paul Begala, an adviser to the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action. “So Romney needs a deft touch. And it’s not in him.”

While the Romney campaign issued a swift response to the Wright proposal, Romney’s later performance worried some senior Republicans. They don’t want him to deviate from his jobs-and-economy message and cringed at what they saw as a tortured response by a not-very-nimble candidate.

“I want to make it very clear, I repudiate that effort. I think it’s the wrong course for a PAC or a campaign,” he said. “I hope that our campaigns can respectively be about the futures and about issues and about a vision for America.”

But the former Massachusetts governor hit heavier weather a few minutes later when asked about a February appearance on Sean Hannity’s radio show in which he brought up Wright — something he had just repudiated.

“I’m actually — I’m not familiar with precisely, exactly what I said. But I stand by what I said, whatever it was,” Romney said. “And with regards to — I’ll go back and take a look at what was said there.”

(It’s racist to point out the president’s ties to a racist)>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Thats just wrong. It should be: (Its rascist to point out thet the president is a racist.)

And for those who do not think so, remember:

” If I had a son, he would be just like Trayvon.”

Thats Obama the racist coming out of his Reverend Wright Black Liberation Theology closet.

And we need to lay the wood to Obama , revealing that truth to ALL.

Welcome to Amerika, ca 2012....where facts = “hard-edged conservatism”, “racism”, etc., etc., ad nauseum.

Note to Dims: screw yourselves. Wear it. Embrace it. Hug it. Do Obama’s thing and have oral sex with it. It’s yours. Spin doesn’t always work.....and despite what these two authors say, it will NOT help you.

this one is not going to be close.
the economy is just terrible, it is getting worse.
b.o. has absolutely nothing to say about it, or his leadership.
No reason to mention, write, cocaine, or anything else.
Just get zero to talk about how wonderful his leadership has been.

Obama and liberals are crapping in their pants because of the Wright issue... Their reaction is hysterical...LOL... They know that this issue alone would destroy him or else they would not be so scared... Even if Romney says that he is against bringing up this issue, a group on our side would eventually bring it up... May be Wright himself will bring it up...

I think Romney made a mistake repudiating the PAC’s plan on Rev Wright and his relationship to Obama. It effects the country's social fabric. Look what Obama has done with the race issue in his term of office to date. He has made it a point to polarize the sides in order to take our eye of the economic ball and his record. I would be beating him over the head on not only the economy, social programs, strong arm tactics, Eric Holder, Obamacare, but also his relationship with Reverend Wright. Make him answer the questions that should be answered. Also, ask Obama if the statements made by Reverend Wright about him in Wright's interview with Mr Klien are true. This is all very important to the future direction this country will be placed by another four years of Obama. We need answers.

Its not an ordinary election. Just give it a few more weeks, and the whole campaign will be about race, despite the GOPs not wanting it to be.

They have to be prepared to fight a fight they do not want.

If the GOP sticks its head in the sand, then Romney will lose.Just like McCain lost by not allowing the truth about Obama to come out by avoiding certain issues such as Black Liberation Theology, Article II of the Constitution, and the NAtionalist Socialist aspect of the Obama movement. Then there is Obama’s stone walling strategies in Congress as well as the economy issues.

Those issues are still hanging, and not addressing them head on will bring an Obama victory, if Obama is allowed to again create his false imagery for America.Let the PACs produce and the fur fly.

Obama’s campaign issued repeated, scathing attacks on the Romney team’s response, calling out Romney for violating the unwritten rules of the 2008 campaign on Wright and race......

Yeah and who exactly was responsible for these "unwritten rules" in 2008?

It was a combined effort by the corrupt, biased, far left media, encouraged by the Dear Leader campaign staff (in order to give him cover and keep anyone from legitimately questioning his lack of experience, he non-existent record, etc.) and meekly acquiesced to by the wuss, RINO, girly-guy Juan McPain, the GOP and all other neutered Republi-tards who were more afraid of being called a "racist" than defeating this fascist, neo-commie, scumbag.

While it was bad in 08, as the O'Bummer campaign falters and goes into panic mode, they will be even more forceful in attaching this false narrative to ANY criticism of the Messiah and Mittens has just played into their hands and sooner than later, this will tie his hands completely and he won't be able (even if he were inclined, which he is not) to attack Barack Hussein Obama.

We are sooooooo screwed!!!

Romney wasn't as strong in his repudiations of the smears against Newt by super pacs.
The Rev. Wright is fair game. Obama wrote about him in his book as being his mentor. Obama sat in his church for 20 yrs. Reading the tenents of the church that Obama embraced is certainly a factor because Obama himself bragged about it.

Romney can rise above the fray if he needs to, but the superPAC's need to pound Obama will everything they can find...EVERYTHING!

Ef this racism charge. Obama is the racist and it is high time everyone saw the evidence!

I prefer to know that the association shows that Obama is a Marxist and the Polocies that he has Implemented prove that fact, in spite of the medias attempt to continue to portray him as an American. When he said he was Going to fundementally transform the United States Of America,Change Our Traditions and our History,he did not mean it in a Good way. Its Simple folks ,his Radical Past has to be exposed so as to tie him to his true Ideology.
The Marxist tells us out of his own Mouth what he is about but the Republican Party ,cowards as Usual refuse to engage in the fight Obama says this election is about,yes he is correct about what this election is about when he states that he has a totally different idea about the direction the Republicans want to take the Country and the Vision he has. If the Stupid Republicans dont tie his polocies to his PAST ,Present and the Obvious Future this Country is Doomed. Tax Cuts and Jobs is not alone going to do it,This guy wants to impose a Dictatorial government,Marxism thats who the Hell he is and you cant be afraid to call him Anti American because that is what he is and the Evidence is all around us.

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