I have tried to ignore the birthers and the other right-wing wackos as they blabber on against our president. At the end of the day it appears to be simply more of the same fearmongering and race-baiting about the first Black president.
President Obama always seems to take these things in stride. He is one of the coolest and calmest public officials that I've ever seen.
However, the attacks appear to be picking up speed as various conservative pundits use Professor Gates' arrest to claim Obama has a "deep-seated hatred for white people" (Glenn Beck) while others have promoted fringe conspiracies questioning if Obama was actually born in the US (Lou Dobbs.)
Media Matters created this video. They have other video clips from Glenn Beck ('Obama agenda driven by "reparations" and desire to "settle old racial scores') or Rush Limbaugh: ('I do believe" Obama is an "angry Black guy') or Limbaugh ('Here you have a Black president trying to destroy a white policeman').
I 'spose that when you can't win on the merits of your argument you turn to fear and race-baiting tactics. This is a strategy that worked for the Republican Party for many generations. Will it work in 2009 as well?
2 comments:
Villager,
The obvious strategy here is to steer the focus away from issues and onto hot button BS that they know will keep the lunatics engaged. That's been the tried and true Repub strategy since the days of Gingrich and Lee Atwater.
The not quite as obvious strategy at work here is what I would call the 'Harold Washington' strategy, which is what the white crazies in Chicago used to beat Harold down every day all day without cease until they killed him. They want to stress Obama to the point of exhaustion and frenzy.
I just pray the brother's legendary cool calm can withstand all this. Because at the end of the day, he's just a man. No doubt one of the most extraordinary men most of us will ever live to see, but still just a man.
Keith - I agree with your complete analysis. He is a remarkable man ... and I feel like he has prepared himself for this 4-8 year journey ... he understands that one of the magical things about him is his cool & calm presence. He can never afford to be the 'angry Black man' ... even for a moment...
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