Bob Herbert's NYT piece today titled Running While Black is a gem. Reminding us of the infamous Harold Ford ad from 2006 is appropriate yet admittedly Team McCain's approach is much more subtle. He's right to remind of McCain's early ad of "an American president Americans have been waiting for.” That in 2004 St. John was "sick and tired of re-fighting the Vietnam War" yet the first ad he rolled out in 2008 used the same is also another angle beyond possible racist code.He's also correct in writing, "Every day that the campaign is about race is a good day for John McCain." Progressivism, even the sorta kind version I fear Obama represents, will trounce the conservative foolishness of the last three decades.
As for the post title, I am thinking mostly of the Wallace-Brewer race in 1970. We've come a long ways from the infamous "Wake up Alabama" flyer that had the little white girl surrounded by several little black boys yet the emotional response that sort of thing generates is still out there for many. Conservatives have been winning elections on emotions rather than issues for decades now.
Professor Dan Carter's The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics is essentially The Bible in understanding George Wallace and also a good chunk of how the GOP is able to convince so many poor folks to vote against their own economic interests.
Finally, as for Obama with a white woman, I think the above image does quite nicely. John Gunn
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