Is Obama playing the race card?

Is Obama playing the race card? It would seem so. His seemingly innocuous insertion of the fact that he is black into speeches and interviews would appear to bear that out.

Most recently: his assertions that he doesn't look like those other presidents on the dollar bills, and his assertion that McCain was trying to make voters "scared of him".

Then there is this from salon.com:

Is Obama playing the race card?

In a scathing article in "The New Republic," Sean Wilentz, a Princeton history professor, argues that everything you thought you knew about the 2008 Democratic presidential campaign and racial politics is wrong. Wilentz, a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton, charges that it wasn't Clinton, but rather Sen. Barack Obama who deliberately made race an issue in the campaign. He also alleges that the media's blind love for Obama has led it to portray innocuous actions by the Clinton campaign, such as Bill Clinton's comments about Jesse Jackson in South Carolina, Hillary Clinton's statement about Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King, as race-baiting behavior.

"The Obama campaign's most effective gambits have been far more egregious and dangerous than the hypocritical deployment of deceptive and disingenuous attack ads," writes Wilentz. "To a large degree, the campaign's strategists turned the primary and caucus race to their advantage when they deliberately, falsely, and successfully portrayed Clinton and her campaign as unscrupulous race-baiters -- a campaign-within-the-campaign in which the worked-up flap over the Somali costume photograph is but the latest episode. While promoting Obama as a 'post-racial' figure, his campaign has purposefully polluted the contest with a new strain of what historically has been the most toxic poison in American politics."

www.salon.com...

So he inserts race into the election and tries to make it sound like it was his opponent's doing, thus putting them on the defensive.

Slick, and it might have worked, except that it's only been used about a million times before.

I believe the best response to Barack Obama's use of the 'race card" was voiced by Lt. Col Allen West, candidate for Congress in Florida’s 22 District..

“My advice to Senator Obama is to run as a Man and Leader, and the American people will evaluate you as such, not as a victim. This is a Presidential race, based solely on a capacity to lead the United States of America. It is not about skin tone…however, perhaps we should come to expect these immature statements. It also seems rather humorous that the Presidential candidate who was supposed to be such a “uniter” and transcend race is the one talking about it the most. If Senator Obama was confident in his abilities and character, he would not need to create a crutch for failure. Senator Obama has just tipped his hand, any criticism of him and his policies will be directly attributed to racism. I congratulate Senator Obama for taking race relations in America back some 30 years.”

Source

I'm sure many Obama supporters will disagree with this statement, but in their hearts, they know every single word of it is the truth.

I agree. Obama really has nothing over John Mccain or anybody else except the fact that he is black. No offence to any other race/ religion but its highly unlikely Obama would of got this far into the elections if he was white. Nealy all publicity he got was about his skin colour. However smart move from him Gives him a headway over Mccain as it would deem to be racist if he wasnt elected.

This is a good post OP and i agree 100%. It is very disappointing that he thinks he can do whatever he wants. Using his Race to make people feel guilty is just plain stuiped. Good Thing McCain called him on this because he has been doing it since day one. Obama and his Marxist Pearcher need to get a reality check.

My two cents.

And here was Obama's response:
"I was in Union, Missouri, which is 98 percent white -- a rural, conservative [city]. And what I said was what I think everybody knows, which is that I don't look like I came out of central casting when it comes to presidential candidates."

Yeah, sure Obama, that's what you meant....hahahhahahahahahaha. Yeah, right.
Actually, Obama looks like he could come out of central casting. He has the charisma for it. He's not hideously ugly. He could be an actor. He sure is doing a good job at it now.

And why doesn't he look like the average presidential candidate?
Answer: He's black. Duh.

[edit on 1-8-2008 by rocknroll]

Originally posted by jsobecky
Is Obama playing the race card? It would seem so. His seemingly innocuous insertion of the fact that he is black into speeches and interviews would appear to bear that out.

Most recently: his assertions that he doesn't look like those other presidents on the dollar bills, and his assertion that McCain was trying to make voters "scared of him".

Then there is this from salon.com:

Is Obama playing the race card?

In a scathing article in "The New Republic," Sean Wilentz, a Princeton history professor, argues that everything you thought you knew about the 2008 Democratic presidential campaign and racial politics is wrong. Wilentz, a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton, charges that it wasn't Clinton, but rather Sen. Barack Obama who deliberately made race an issue in the campaign. He also alleges that the media's blind love for Obama has led it to portray innocuous actions by the Clinton campaign, such as Bill Clinton's comments about Jesse Jackson in South Carolina, Hillary Clinton's statement about Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King, as race-baiting behavior.

"The Obama campaign's most effective gambits have been far more egregious and dangerous than the hypocritical deployment of deceptive and disingenuous attack ads," writes Wilentz. "To a large degree, the campaign's strategists turned the primary and caucus race to their advantage when they deliberately, falsely, and successfully portrayed Clinton and her campaign as unscrupulous race-baiters -- a campaign-within-the-campaign in which the worked-up flap over the Somali costume photograph is but the latest episode. While promoting Obama as a 'post-racial' figure, his campaign has purposefully polluted the contest with a new strain of what historically has been the most toxic poison in American politics."

www.salon.com...

So he inserts race into the election and tries to make it sound like it was his opponent's doing, thus putting them on the defensive.

Slick, and it might have worked, except that it's only been used about a million times before.

JSOBECKY-

B"H"O may be playing the race card at this point,,, however I think you and the right have been playing the race card or difference card for some time now!

I have not once heard anyone of you guys say John Sidney Mccain III or JSM...
So why has it been so nessicary for the right on ATS, FOX etc to constantly and consistantly remind everyone that Barack Obama has his particular middle name???

Spin it how you want but you guys have been pushing the different/exotic/Islamic S for a while.
This is an attempt to get milk from both sides of the cow. You point out the differences
and now that he addresses this you get him for that? Just 'cause Rove is a genius does not mean you need to emulate him... You guys should win on merit.

I would hate to play ball with you guys...





[edit on 2-8-2008 by mental modulator]

Oh come on! McCain brought it up to the front stage, and thus he is the one by virtue of his actions who is playing the race card. There are so many undertones in this childish but very typical GOP strategy, that besides being a classical smear campaign is very racial..."presumptuous", "arrogant", "who does he think he is?", and "audacious" etc... oh and then comparing him to two white female pop stars! Come on McCain, can you tell us where you stand?

The real issue here is that the McCain campaign continues to spread lies and inuendos and anything other than tell us where he stands on the issues...This is what we should all be pissed off about. Seriously! Find your minds.