Race and politics; Farmers Branch layoffs

The Nightly Build...

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McCain Uses Race

All hell has broken out in the presidential campaign this week, as John McCain first accused Barack Obama of wanting to lose a war to win the Presidency, then accused Obama of hating the military, then associated Obama with young, untalented, airy (and white) starlets Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

James Mitchell, in The Dallas Morning News Opinion blog, was the first to raise the question of race in regards to this ad. For him, it was an insult to African-Americans:

"The comparisons to a couple of airheads whose celebrity status is due only to this nation's fascination with all things Hollywood is a deplorable, deceptive putdown of Obama's accomplishments and indirectly the achievements of millions of African-Americans who have worked hard, really hard, and often against long odds for impressive gains."

When McCain first used the Obama/Britney/Paris ad, I thought it was silly, not racist. I've changed my mind. Others have pointed out the similarities to the television ads used against Harold Ford, the 2006 Senate candidate, ads that paired the African-American with white women in sexually suggestive contexts. The same people responsible for that ad now work for John McCain. Then, the McCain campaign accused Obama himself of playing the race card "from the bottom of the deck." That phrase became famous during the OJ Simpson murder trial. Using it in the context of Barack Obama serves to remind voters of OJ Simpson.

The people who craft these images and words are professionals. They are paid to elicit these subliminal messages. Moreover, they celebrate when the subliminal messages are received and become openly talked about in the press because now their message is delivered openly by others while the candidate himself can deny any such thoughts.

The more I learn about the history of negative ads, the more convinced I am that McCain and the Rove lieutenants working for his campaign have dived deep into the mud to run what may turn out to the most dishonorable presidential campaign ever.

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Farmers Branch Cuts 28 Jobs

Eric Celeste, in Frontburner, tells us the rest of the story behind the announcement by Farmers Branch:

"The city of Farmers Branch is cutting 28 jobs because of rising fuel costs, reduced revenue, and $424,000 in 'special legal fees' -- which, translated into lay terms, means 'Tim O’Hare’s insane anti-immigrant campaign.'"

I like a journalist who can write clearly.