So it took till South Carolina for the Democratic race to pull out the gender and race cards. Oh sure its been mentioned many times before now...first woman president, first black president etc... but until now neither has been cast as a Woman candidate or Black candidate, they have just been Candidates. Hillary still isn't being viewed as a woman candidate, largely because Obama isn't going there. But the Clinton's are hinting like mad to poison the well (win) of South Carolina by all but outright saying that if he wins its just because he is black. Of course it might backfire if they win, but at this point that does not seem likely.
Welcome one, Welcome all to the re-birth of the Billary show. Bill Clinton the X factor of election '08 is in da house and he is a Teflon strawman able to say things Hillary (or any candidate) could never say or get away with in an election. His role is nothing new as major supporters of candidates have been in this position before, but none would get listened to as much as Bil. If Barak goes after Bill he chases the wild goose and goes off topic and Hillary can flay him for it. If he ignores Bill he is equally hosed unless he can actually convince everyone to ignore him or hope he self destructs. Both highly unlikely considering the past. I don't envy Barak, he is up against one of the slickest political teams ever assembled, run by two of the best pure politicians... and unfortunately Bill is the slicker by far and he is now comfortably tucked away in a largely un-asailable position. He goes to far he is just an ardent supporter of his wife "I just love my wife and perhaps I am just over compensating for not always being there for her....". He gets attacked he asks why he is being debated instead of the candidate.. "Hey Hillary is running not me....". Pretty much anything that can happen bad to Clinton can be deflected into support for Hillary. It is beautiful. It is the never before seen dynamic of a former president being the spouse of a front running presidential candidate. They are playing a well known hand but with never before encountered circumstances... which means the playbook for how to handle it has been tossed out the window. Sure it is a high wire act, but they are the flying Clinton's, used to the heady tripwire laden, land mine abundant field of the national stage. Never you worry they will keep up their end. It is up to Barak to find the right response to this new dynamic... and he had best find it soon.
Admiration for the genius of the Clinton machine aside, I find their tactics appalling and despicable. Turning SC into a racial debate is like taking candy from a baby, and is demeaning to the state as a whole because right now the Clinton's have managed to phrase the outcome of the election in such a way that it will only be judged racially by the media (and thus largely by the sheep of the general public). If Barak wins it will be pointed out that it was due to Black support for a black candidate and not because he was the best candidate. If Hillary wins it will be because they were able to transcend race when casting the vote... regardless of the fact that means whoever wins South Carolina will do so because of the support of the Black vote. Why is that? Because South Carolina IS 60% BLACK. This is highly unfair to the people of SC. Is race and issue? Certainly. Are the vast majority of folks swayed by race and race alone when it comes to choosing a candidate ? NO. Is it wrong to desire a candidate that is more similar to you? No. If white presidents have not been derided in the popular media as having won only because they are white and through support of a largely white voting population, it should not be a reasonable claim that Barak winning SC is only due to the color of his skin. It should be because he is the most appealing candidate to the voters there.
I think Barak has to take the high road here. He doesn't have to be the Black candidate, and he does not have to be 'unblack' or anything. He just has to be American. As for how to do that without directly speaking to the racial spin slowly but surely developing as the filter through which his entire campaign will be viewed? All I know is it is going to be tricky. Talking to it just means that many more sound bites where all a potential voter hears is Obama talking about race. Not addressing it means allowing the opponent to define the race with innuendo. In a chess match this is called a fork. He is forked if he does and forked if he doesn't. The ball is as always, in the Clinton's hands and they have to drop it for him to run with it... at least so long as he allows them to define the game. Barak has got to come up with a new game with new rules. Sooner or later he is going to have to break the mold he is being shoved into... and the way he has been campaigning is not going to be enough.
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