Thank you. And I like the rhymes.

Obama was discreetly pointing out that part of the Republicans' attacks on him will be based on his "differentness," i.e., his race.

All the code words for "different" (arrogant, elitist, etc.) can be read as code for "black." They are not necessarily code for black, but they can be read that way, and will be, by those who are susceptible to such tactics (a distressingly large fraction of voters--they can be identified easily by their tendency to deny the very existence of racism).

The Republicans ARE going to do this. McCain will attempt to distance himself from these attacks, but he will be benefiting from them. So he won't exactly be whole-hearted in his condemnations of them. Thus, he will be tacitly supporting them. Thus, McCain is racist, or at the very least, he is not anti-racist, which, in the USA, where racism is embedded so thoroughly in our culture, history, and institutions, amounts to the same thing.

Pointing out racism is not being racist. Really. Anyone who thinks so has a distorted view of race. Period.

I really loved the phrase a previous poster coined: McCain is playing the "playing the race card" card.

I appreciated your entire post. Then I really resonated to your analogy in your final paragraph: "McCain's like an old, deaf dog who's sweet most of the time, but easily becomes disoriented and angry. We don't want to get rid of the old dog, but we can't have him biting the kids either."

I know (of course) that you were using a metaphor. Still, despite never being a dog-owner myself, I could tell many tales with family & friends of exactly that happening--and some of the tales are reasonably mild (e.g., an old small family dog causing a few scratches on a little one's face) and others are terrible and scarring (e.g., an old big family dog taking out half of a young girl's face, a face which now has womanly four-decades scars as evidence). And gee, even my cute-as-can-be great-niece (2 1/2 years old) was in a "kiddy pool" in a backyard and yelling "Doggie, Doggie..." for the small much beloved old family dog to come over, when my niece (the owner of doggie and aunt to great-niece) said (paraphrasing, and at the time with humor): "She doesn't realize he's deaf."

Maybe I'm offering up propaganda, too. Ah, well, I've been accused of worse.

It just doesn't offer up much humor when it comes to electing the POTUS. We could laugh when old deaf beloved doggie didn't come over to the kiddy pool. Not so much when candidates for presidency can't hear.

Family pet. (MSM pet?). Mad dog? Deaf dog? Rabies shots? Bi-polar meds? Oops, that's not for doggies...

you can turn it around...would half of these guys in congress be where they are if they were not white?

But then you start to see the the ridiculousness of the question...as if any of us could be separated from our own identity.

Joan,

There's not one chance in a million that the Britney, Paris, Obama visual was not done to purposefully introduce the "miscegenation theme" into the minds of people who might react to it. This is what Republicans do. Every time. You are breathtakingly naive. And not to call the McCain campaign on this type of sleaze does no good for the progressive cause. Obama can't do it, but we sure can, and should.

"race and charges of race-baiting have been overused in this election, and it has divided our nation, and Obama has not stood up to it, and has even encouraged it on occasion. That is the primary reason why I'm refusing to vote for him."

I have up to now been agonizing over whether I would actually vote for Obama or stay home. I have finally decided that I cannot bring myself to vote for him. And jeb has summed up the reason here.

In my opinion, in successfully smearing the Clintons as racists, Obama has acted the same way as those who successfully painted Max Cleland as soft on terrorism. I have seen no sign from Obama that he regrets any of this. I just cannot get past it to vote for him.

I find that jeb expresses herself in a logical and thoughtful way without name-calling. What she says is exactly the way I feel, and I'm sure there are many more of us who feel this way.

ever since humans appeared on the planet, when the only natural boundaries wer mountains, deserts, oceans. Get used to it!.

It's important to be "correct", if not in the political sense. I meant to write "miscegenation".

Enjoy your vote and the next presidency, however and to whomever it goes. Jeb can sleep easy tonight. He's done his deeds. I could say more, but to what end? Congrats, Jeb, you got a convert. Keep fishing, get out your bait.

including deaf dogs, I'd like to remind the anti-Clintonites on this thread that Bill Clinton is in Ethiopia right now doing what was once called "the corporal works of mercy". That's what "racist" Bill is doing while people on this thread are moaning about how awful America is. Let Barack fight his own battles, if he's able, instaed of relying on what are charmingly described as "surrogates". Failing that, he could let Michelle do the talking, as she's a far stronger character than he is. "Leader of the free world"? He's too Daddy-obsessed, unlike brother Mark now resident in China. Get a grip on reality!

gehgoeson, I arrived at my vote decision all by myself. Jeb just happens to post in a concise way that reflects my feelings.

Obama supporters who do not see things the way I (and many others) do will understandably be frustrated. Thank you for not trying to persuade me otherwise. Likewise, while I try to explain my feelings, I do not try to persuade people not to vote for Obama.

I should have written "since" as we're not conversing (in the loosest sense of the word) in Latin as "sine" might indicate to Ivy League types. It's getting late here and, just now, "the game is not worth the candle" because there is no real debate at this stage except mind-numbing recrimination and finger-pointing.