Gutter warfare

I've been doing my damnedest to try not to post on the Obama-Clinton wars raging throughout the Democratic Party, but I thought that this post by Booman was too much in line with my own thoughts to not share it (Full disclosure: I'm in the Obama camp). The post mainly deals with how a recent NY Times story deals with the racial aspects of the controversy, which is fitting given the media's role in all this, including their misogynistic treatment of Sen. Clinton.

"Carl Hulse and Patrick Healy's article in the New York Times, Clintons Move to Tamp Down Criticism From Blacks About Recent Comments, accomplishes precisely what the Clintons needed to happen. It's actually even better than they had any right to expect. First, it makes absolutely no mention of comments from Fmr. Sen. Bob Kerrey, New Hampshire chairman Bill Shaheen, supporter Andrew Cuomo, or anonymous Clinton advisers. It doesn't touch on Bill Clinton's patronizing use of the word 'kid' to describe Obama. All it addresses are two comments: Hillary's comments about MLK Jr., and Bill's comment about a fairy tale."

...


"Never mind that Billy Shaheen suggested that Obama was a cocaine dealer, or that an anonymous Clinton adviser was quoted in the Guardian as saying, "If you have a social need, you're with Hillary. If you want Obama to be your imaginary hip black friend and you're young and you have no social needs, then he's cool." Never mind the rest of it.

Here is how it works. The Clintons push some racially sensitive buttons and elicit an emotional response. Then they go apologize explain themselves on the Al Sharpton radio show. The New York Times only covers the most innocuous of their comments. The result is that they remind voters that Barack Obama is not the post-racial uniter, but a typical black candidate, supported by serial whiners Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Nothing could undermine Obama's campaign more among the white vote, and the Clintons know it. And there is nothing, nothing, that Obama can do about it. If he complains, he only makes it worse. If he doesn't complain, these subtle allegations that he is a lazy, drug-dealing Muslim do damage all on their own.

Congratulations to the Clintons. You really are good at this campaigning thing. I'm so impressed. "

It really is amazing to me that the Clinton campaign is doing this. In fact, though I had been a tepid supporter of Obama early on as he was the only major candidate to have opposed the invasion of Iraq, it was Billy Shaheen's racist comments coupled with Clinton's attempt to suppress the college vote in Iowa that pushed me firmly into the Obama camp. Apparently they feel they need to do this in order to bring down Obama and win the nomination. Maybe so, but I don't think they should expect African-Americans and young people to come running back to them in the general election when all the smoke has settled. Defense contractors and lobbyists only provide so many votes, Sen. Clinton.

The Nevada caucuses are in one week. We'll see how this plays out there. Predictions???