An interesting take:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/02/opinion/02herbert.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&oref=slogin

 

Below is a snippet from the article (bold emphasis mine):

 

Mr. Obama told them: “What they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me. You know, he’s not patriotic enough. He’s got a funny name. You know, he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills, you know. He’s risky.”

The audience seemed to appreciate his comments. Mr. Obama was well-received.

But John McCain didn’t appreciate them. RACE CARD! RACE CARD! The McCain camp started bellowing, and it hasn’t stopped since. With great glee bursting through their feigned outrage, the campaign’s operatives and the candidate himself accused Senator Obama of introducing race into the campaign — playing the race card, as they put it, from the very bottom of the deck.

Whatever you think about Barack Obama, he does not want the race issue to be front and center in this campaign. Every day that the campaign is about race is a good day for John McCain. So I guess we understand Mr. McCain’s motivation.

Interesting column with some hints of truth. There are still many Americans who simply cannot handle the "uppity" black man. The Rove-tinged ad that Congressman Ford had to put up with played to the fears of those whites who still cannot walk the walk when it comes to ignoring race.

 

Fear is a big motivator.

Obama keeps warning people that McCain is going to try to scare them into not voting for Obama and play the race card - but Obama is the only one focusing on race. Leave it to the NYT to spin the story to Obama's favor.

It is vastly in Obama's favor to bring race into this as much as possible. It makes him a sympathetic figure for casual voters and keeps their attention off his shallow resume and extremely liberal voting record in the Senate.

 

So far, Obama is the one bringing race into the equation, and if he's half the politician I believe him to be, you can count on him being the cat banging the race drum... not McCain.

BHO is the only one playing the race card. The longer this goes with McCain not mentioning race the bigger a fool BHO will make of himself. Barry needs to quit trying to get the sympathy vote and focus on his message, whatever it is. Tell America what changes you want to make and how you plan on making them. If BHO quit playing racial politics I think he would pick up quite a few moderates that may be offended by the use of the race card.

Maybe the reason John McCain is so touchy about the race card is because he voted against the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

Maybe the reason John McCain is so touchy about the race card is because he voted against the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

McCain should not have apologized. I do not know why John McCain voted against the holiday but I am not aware of anybody having accused him of holding racist views in the past. However, I am not surprised by the implications being made by Obama - he desparately wants this election to be about race.

 

I would have voted for a National Civil Rights day to honor all of those who fought and died for civil rights in this country, including Dr. King. More than half a million people of all races have died in this country to bring civil rights to all US citizens and it was not right to name the holiday after a single individual.

I can assure you that race is NOT the reason why I will not be voting for him. There are imo plenty of good, reasonable and very concrete reasons why not to vote for the man and race certainly is not one of them.

One question I would have is.....If Senator Obama was not wanting to play the race card then why did he bring it up in that speech? Of course he says he is not going there, if he did then that would be very damaging. Obama definately is playing the race card through little hints like that one and through plenty of others that are playing it for him. The man is not stupid, he knows exactly what he is doing and having others do.

Like I said and wil repeat, race is not an issue at al for me.....the radical lunatics that he has surrounded himself with for over 20years, his lack of experience, absolutely no military knowledge or experience, him getting ready to tax the American public at an unbelievble rate, imo will cut the military size and funding along with a whole list of other is why I am not voting for the man. So if any of our so called mind readers out there think that I am one that is going on race then you are dead wrong.

It is vastly in Obama's favor to bring race into this as much as possible. It makes him a sympathetic figure for casual voters and keeps their attention off his shallow resume and extremely liberal voting record in the Senate.

 

So far, Obama is the one bringing race into the equation, and if he's half the politician I believe him to be, you can count on him being the cat banging the race drum... not McCain.

 

:thumb: Exactly!

Question...what percentage of the time can race be mentioned at all in either candidates speeches? Zero?

Honestly, John McCain does not need to play the race card.

 

It sits squarely in the middle of this race without McCain alluding to it one bit.

 

Those who want to vote FOR Obama because of his race, don't need anyone bringing it up.

 

Those who want to vote AGAINST Obama because of his race, don't need anyone bringing it up.

Maybe the reason John McCain is so touchy about the race card is because he voted against the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

As I posted elsewhere, I'm not a huge McCain fan, so I'm not going to argue this point on his behalf.

 

What I will say is that MLK Jr was a brilliant speaker and tactician. His promotion of non-violent protest was shear genius. His "I have a dream" speech delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in front of over 200,000 people of diverse ethnicities was a masterpiece.

 

Two of my favorite lines from the speech are:

• "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'"
   
  
• "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

 

IMO, the dividing line of whether MLK Jr was truly a great man or not comes down to whether he actually believed in the vision and principles he spoke about or not. I believe them, and live by them. You are welcome to come to my church sometime to see them in action.

 

I was a young child when he gave that speech, and I have seen amazing progress in “racial harmony” in this country since then. No, we’re not living in The Promised Land just yet, but we’re also a long way from how things were being done in that summer of 1963. Following King’s teaching and ideals is a two-edged sword. On one side, we should not discriminate against anyone simply because of their race. On the other, we cannot cry foul and expect added favor simply because of our race. I agree with both. I am willing to examine Mr. Obama strictly on the content of his character and the merit of his ideas. Whether I choose to vote for him or not, will be entirely on the basis of his Senate record and clearly articulated policies… not on whether he has a sweeter tan than I do.

 

The fact that—so far—he’s the only one I’ve heard bringing up race as an issue is not helping his case with a lot of us. He is certainly free to talk about racial issues all he wants. It simply strikes me as a magician performing sleight of hand illusions… distracting us one direction, so we don’t look too closely at what’s really there.

As I posted elsewhere, I'm not a huge McCain fan, so I'm not going to argue this point on his behalf.

 

What I will say is that MLK Jr was a brilliant speaker and tactician. His promotion of non-violent protest was shear genius. His "I have a dream" speech delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in front of over 200,000 people of diverse ethnicities was a masterpiece. IMO, the dividing line of whether MLK Jr was truly a great man or not comes down to whether he actually believed in the vision and principles he spoke about or not. I believe them, and live by them. You should come to my church sometime to see them in action.

 

Two of my favorite lines from the speech are:

• "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'"
   
  
• "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
  

 

I was a young child when he gave that speech, and I have seen amazing progress in “racial harmony” in this country since then. No, we’re not living in The Promised Land just yet, but we’re also a long way from how things were being done in that summer of 1963. Following King’s teaching and ideals is a two-edged sword. On one side, we should not discriminate against anyone simply because of their race. On the other, we cannot cry foul and expect added favor simply because of our race. I agree with both. I am willing to examine Mr. Obama strictly on the content of his character and the merit of his ideas. Whether I choose to vote for him or not, will be entirely on the basis of his Senate record and clearly articulated policies… not on whether he has a sweeter tan than I do.

 

The fact that—so far—he’s the only one I’ve heard bringing up race as an issue is not helping his case with a lot of us. He is certainly free to talk about racial issues all he wants. It simply strikes me as a magician performing sleight of hand illusions… distracting us one direction, so we don’t watch what’s really going on.

 

:thumb:

I have missed your particpation in P & R.

 

Very nicely said.

An interesting take:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/02/opinion/02herbert.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&oref=slogin

 

Below is a snippet from the article (bold emphasis mine):

 

Mr. Obama told them: “What they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me. You know, he’s not patriotic enough. He’s got a funny name. You know, he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills, you know. He’s risky.”

The audience seemed to appreciate his comments. Mr. Obama was well-received.

But John McCain didn’t appreciate them. RACE CARD! RACE CARD! The McCain camp started bellowing, and it hasn’t stopped since. With great glee bursting through their feigned outrage, the campaign’s operatives and the candidate himself accused Senator Obama of introducing race into the campaign — playing the race card, as they put it, from the very bottom of the deck.

Whatever you think about Barack Obama, he does not want the race issue to be front and center in this campaign. Every day that the campaign is about race is a good day for John McCain. So I guess we understand Mr. McCain’s motivation.

 

So if Obama is playing the race card, McCain is not playing the age card? McCain jokes a lot about his age.

I brought up the King Holiday vote to prove a point. Senator Obama is wrong no matter what he does. Look at the responses it is being turned back around to how Obama is the only one talking about race.

 

When Senator McCain apologized for his vote in front of the Lorraine Motel he wasn't thinking about the race of people he was talking to? When he talked in front of the Edmund Pettis bridge he didn't factor race into deciding where to make that speach?

 

Let's be fair about this both campaigns are using race to a extent. If anyone denies that fact they are kidding themselves.