Activism Works

Irony, My Shirt

Two weeks ago the New York Times ran a specious editorial claiming that Hillary Clinton implied Martin Luther King "needed a white man's help." She never said that, and House Ways & Means Chairman Charles Rangel called the Times's argument "absolutely stupid."

But now Obama needs Ted Kennedy to help him handle Big Dog? Do I have to say it?

Apparently I do. The image of white-maned white man Ted Kennedy coming to a black candidate's aid in the middle of a hot campaign -- do I have to say it?

Apparently I do. First Obama invokes conservative figurehead Ronald Reagan to support his own figurehead presidency--he'll
'set a vision' for Zbigniew Brezinski, and Zbiggie will actually execute policy. Set a vision, okay. Then a bunch of white men--including Emblematic Democratic Loser Tom Daschle*--tell Big Dog Clinton he's playing too rough with the black guy. That image screams out 'Obama needs the white man's help' a lot louder than Clinton's straightforward facts about the MLK-LBJ partnership.

Jon Alter writes "There is little precedent for a former president's engaging in intra-party attacks." What does precedent have to do with this election? First viable woman candidate -- unprecedented. First viable black candidate -- unprecedented. First Former First Lady running for President -- unprecedented.

And first time the party leadership ever stepped in to tell one campaign not to play so rough with the other. What precedent is there for that? Did the RNC tell Bush to lay off the rumours about McCain's illegitimate baby? Did Kennedy tell Obama's communication director Bob Gibbs to lay off linking Howard Dean to Bin Laden? Did Kennedy tell Axelrod to stop blaming Hillary for the Bhutto assassination? Did the DNC tell Obama to stop repeating the Republican talking point ("The Democrats voted for the War")? Did Kennedy tell Obama to stop sucking up to Ronald Reagan's ghost?

I just can't escape the feeling that if John Edwards were in a tight head-to-head with the Clintons, everyone would see how non-Presidential Edwards would look if the party elders stepped in and told the Clintons to back off. "Oh, Not so harrrrrd! That's hurts."

It says a lot about Obama that he would accept this patronizing gesture from Ted Kennedy. I love Ted Kennedy, by the way. But Big Dog respects Obama's manhood more than Ted Kennedy does.
_______________
*I think Daschle is having flashbacks to the Republican rough-housing he was no match for. All he could say was 'that's outrageous, that's outrageous.' My most shame-filled moment as a Democrat was watching Repubs swat our Majority Leader, Ken Griffey-style, right out of the Senate. Memories of Daschle are among the biggest reasons I support Hillary. She knows how to fight and she knows how to win.

Custom T-shirts from Art = Smart

posted by 10-K @ 4:58 PM (permalink)