A moment in history; Obama Wins Presidential Nomination.
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It’s official. Obama has won the Democratic Party nomination for the US Presidency. In response, McCain has launched a “verbal sortie” against him and the media has already begun disecting Hillary’s campaign.
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I’m excited about this, but I’m also a bit frightened: this is going to be the most dirty, vitriolic and racist campaign since the 1960’s. The Republicans are under no illusions that Obama has an enormous, singular weakness: his skin color.
Over the next 5 months, we are going to see the Republicans rip open every half-way healed racial wound this country has. They’re going to run TV ads in Ohio and Florida of Obama with quotes from Pastor Wright set to hip-hop music in the background. You’re going to hear AM radio hosts strongly hinting (never explicitly saying, of course, just hinting) that there are pictures of Obama smoking crack with prostitutes, or reading the Quran, or having an affair with a white woman. The pictures will never appear, of course, but thats ok. You don’t need pictures — just rumors.
You’re going to hear ominous reports from right-wing blogs (provided by, of course, “reliable sources in law enforcement” or something) that African-Americans will probably riot if Obama isn’t elected in November, and that patriotic white Americans should be prepared for “any eventuality”.
Republicans now have a single, unified goal: whip America into a furious racial frenzy by November 5th. As a strategy, it’s horrifying — but probably effective. If they can convince even 40% of white Americans that Obama represents an existential threat to their unquestioned dominance of American life, then it’s over. The Repubs will win by a landslide.
Hell, MSNBC just spent 5 minutes debating weather or not Obama can convince Americans that he’s “one of them”. What exactly is that supposed to mean, aside from a racial context?
No, the Republican party is going to spend the next 5 months tearing this country apart at the seams to keep Obama out of office. Worst of all, they might actually succeed.