Letters to the Editor
abe_jrdn
Published Letters: 56 Editor's Choice: 3
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Kate-Tex - You Say Obama's "Machiavellian. Prove It.
[Read the article: Geraldine Ferraro still needs to apologize]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You write: Obviously, you're missing the whole point. Obama is doing well because he's doing things down and dirty.
Please allow me to repeat myself:
I hate that this race has come down to this identity politics junk - but it is largely Senator Clinton's doing that it has. I have seen absolutely no compelling evidence that Team Obama somehow, with expert cunning, managed to make Senator Clinton look racist without her very willing cooperation.
You keep asserting in post after post that Senator Obama is winning by playing dirty but you never back up this assertion with details as to how. I strongly believe that Senator Clinton is running a very dirty campaign, trying to portray Senator Obama as a clueless prettyboy who would endanger your children at 3AM, while at the same time hinting that he might be her vice-presidential pick. It IS the Politics of Fear and it is Karl Rove's game.
The Ferraro incident is probably the clearest example. The Obama campaign did not hesitate to ditch Samantha Power even though she issued an immediate retraction - still the Clinton campaign tried to make hay of it. When Geraldine Ferraro essentially said the importance of Senator Obama's race exceeded any talents he might have, the Clinton campaign let it slide for several days, giving her airtime on national TV to spread the word in textbook Southern Strategy terms (these blacks have it so easy, us whites are getting shafted and when we simply say so we get called racists etc.) Senator Obama never even called Geraldine Ferraro racist. Then Senator Clinton spoke before a black audience to say she was sorry if they were offended.
I don't think it is at all coincidence that this racialist argument entered the campaign from the Clinton side just as Senator Obama was beginning to say: OK, let's start to take a closer look at Senator Clinton's claims to "a lifetime of experience".
Look: Being a good speaker is not Down and Dirty. Using catchy slogans is not Down and Dirty. Running a good campaign and inspiring enthusiastic support from young people and other newcomers to politics is not Down and Dirty. Raising tons of money through the net from many small donors (as opposed to from a few wealthy lobbyists and their clients) and then spending heavily in key states and speaking to large crowds, shaking lots of hands is not Down and Dirty. Playing to your strengths and pointing out aspects of your political record or positions that contrast favorably with your opponent is not Down and Dirty. Keeping your composure and sense of humor when being attacked by your opponent during a debate (and greatly improving your ability to explain your views in debates over time) is not Down and Dirty. Getting votes from people who look like you who have never in their lives even dreamed of getting a chance to vote for "one of their own" is not Down and Dirty either.
(I know several black people who supported Senator Clinton early on, partially because they did not know much about Obama but also because they just assumed he had no chance of winning and- unanimously - they still think it highly likely he will be assassinated before ever getting his hand near that bible.).
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The Chicago Tribune
[Read the article: Geraldine Ferraro still needs to apologize]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The comments are like those elsewhere on the net, but I think more populated by people who are actually from Chicago/IL. I didn't think most of them were that loony, but of course you are going to have your trolls saying "Obama is sooo corrupt! He is a muslim terrorist who hates America! He cannot win!" (you also have trolls saying "Hillary and Bill are just a couple of sleazy crooks!". It's an anonymous internet forum.
Plenty of the letters defend Obama, saying in effect "This story has been done to death and you journalists have not managed to squeeze anything substantial out of it". Others are concerned about the possible political fallout of this Obama-Rezko relationship.
I think KcM's point was any article about Obama on an anonymous internet forum right now is going to attract people who are just looking to spew their hate about him, whether they be Clinton supporters or right-wing Republicans. It is certainly not some kind of accurate measure of Obama's appeal to middle-America.
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The Candidate Who Cannot Bear the Light Of Day
[Read the article: Michigan primary law ruled unconstitutional]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]But can he perform an "evasive maneuver" while under fire from snipers? That is the real test of the toughness I seek in a president.