Friday, September 19, 2008

Putting Lipstick on the Race Card

Was it only last week that McCain was faking outrage about "sexism" over Obama's use of the phrase "lipstick on a pig"? Now we have a blogger at Time Magazine claiming that McCain is "playing the race card" because of an ad that tries to tie Obama to former Fannie Mae Chairman Frank Raines.

I've watched the ad in question and all I can say is: get real, Ms. Tumulty. The ad is cloying and deceptive, but that's typical of all McCain ads. I don't see any racism there, unless one is looking for it, much as McCain was last week with the porcine makeup products.

1 comment:

Sean said...

It's bait very subtle but bait nonetheless. Take shady pictures of Obama, put them together with some equally shady pictures of another black man, and then portray a little old white who looks scared/sad. The implication is two shady looking black guys conning/abusing little old white lady. Their saying "Don't vote for 'them' because they will hurt 'us'."

The intelligent will write it off as nothing but the same lying deceptive drivel the GOP always produces. But in other parts of the country with more archaic social leanings this imagery sends a very effective visual message.

The other man wasn't solely selected because he worked for Fannie Mae (although that does give it more legitimacy), or because he has ever seriously advised Obama (which he hasn't) He was chosen because he was black and they could make it look like a credible add, while still creating a powerful visual message that would only get picked up by the people they want to vote for them.

It's like my grandma used to say about implicit racism "They throw a stone, but show no hands". And if Obama calls them on it they can bring up the race card and look justified, even though their the ones stoking those sentiments with their imagery. Once again distracting the election from the issues and effectively slowing down Obama's momentum.

Very underhanded and clever. Welcome back to the culture wars.