Posted on 05/18/2012 9:50:33 PM PDT by Qbert
The renewed focus on President Barack Obamas 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.
Romneys 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 consultants proposal for a wealthy super PAC to launch the $10 million ad blitz.
Romney himself followed suit hours later, saying I repudiate the attack.
But if Boston saw a news cycle lost, Chicago found an opportunity to link Romney to the more hard-edged elements of conservatism. Obamas campaign issued repeated, scathing attacks on the Romney teams response, calling out Romney for violating the unwritten rules of the 2008 campaign on Wright and race. Obamas campaign declared that the Republican was not sufficiently forceful in denouncing a proposal that described Obamas attempt to portray himself as a metrosexual Black Abe Lincoln.
Anything that makes the election less of a pure referendum on the incumbents performance benefits Obama.
But a discussion of race also reinforces the historic nature of Obamas 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 Obamas 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] doesnt want to undo this progress if it doesnt have to. So voters would like him to be successful. But theres this weird thing that happens sometimes in campaigns, and its very dangerous for incumbents. When voters get the idea that youre not quite ready for the job, they [vote you out] to help you not hurt you. Its: Were not dispatching him, were 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 didnt work and its 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, theyre 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 didnt rise to the occasion.
Another Obama adviser said any discussion of race would only intensify the support from the presidents African-American base, who, this adviser said, already think: Were 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 presidents 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 Obamas 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 campaigns sharp response to the Times story to watching Jimmy Carter invoke Reagans bigotry in 1980.
They will want to raise it if they can find anything to divert, whether its on racial issues or anything else. Theyll try to find a way to get peoples 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 cant 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 dont 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.
You never get honest answers unless they really are racist, he said.
Now that Obama officials have shown theyre less hesitant than they were in 2008 about race being introduced into the campaign, the question is how Romney handles the topic when its forced upon him, as it was Thursday.
Even when race isnt 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 dont ever want to look like youre 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 its not in him.
While the Romney campaign issued a swift response to the Wright proposal, Romneys later performance worried some senior Republicans. They dont 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.
Romneys Thursday afternoon press conference went well at first.
I want to make it very clear, I repudiate that effort. I think its 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 Hannitys radio show in which he brought up Wright something he had just repudiated.
Im actually Im not familiar with precisely, exactly what I said. But I stand by what I said, whatever it was, Romney said. And with regards to Ill go back and take a look at what was said there.
Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman contributed to this report.
(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.
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.
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!!!
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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