People should have seen this development coming long ago. The only surprise is the timing and the slimy tactics of the Clintonites.
I've watched some of the spin doctors, and of course the tenor of the Obama discussion hasw changed, including what the media mavens who were saying a couple weeks ago and months before how exciting he is. The susecptibility of an ignorant public to visceral stimuli sans any deep grasp of the political landscape is a big problem now bearing bitter fruit. The marketing of Obama's image, which got him this far, is now taking a big hit. The question is how long this will persist, now that reality is once again rearing its ugly head. I caught part of an interview Tavis Smiley did with Skip Gates. Gates, as a secular rather than religious figure, was mighty astute about this situation. He even suggested that bridging the black-white divide necessitates an economic pitch that would address the economic disadvantages of white workers and blacks. Both Tavis and Skippy wondered aloud whether Obama or Clinto were exactly the black or female candidates bestsuited to make the historic leap into the presidency. The manipulation of imagery, the packaging of candidates based on personality profiles and emotional appeals, the need to placate too many constituencies at once, all this renders all the Democratic candidates vulnerable to sudden reversals of public opinion, which have happened with both Clinton and Obama. The obvious vulnerabilities may well have been calculated by the media gatekeepers who set up Clinton and Obama as the front-runners in the first place. I haven't changed my overall perspective, but it was Obama's speech and the aftermath that made me pro-Obama doe the first time, not because I harbor any illusions, but the excessive reaction to the race issue based on a minor offense of being associated with a blowhard preacher has me alarmed, esp. since the Clinton camp has alienated so many people. -----Original Message----- >From: Charles Brown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sent: Mar 24, 2008 2:41 PM >To: marxism-thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu >Subject: [Marxism-Thaxis] O and racism > > >Of course, the term "racist" should be used here. Obama has racist obstacle in >his path. He took a tack of "transcending" race as the only way he could >remotely get masses of white votes. > >Charles > >Racial problems transcend Wright >By JIM VANDEHEI & JOHN F. HARRIS | 3/18/08 8:16 PM EST Text Size: > > _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
