TIMOTHY NOAH MAY 17, 2012
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The Super PAC crankocrat Joe Ricketts has already disavowed the $10 million plan prepared for his consideration to tar President Obama all over again with his association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright--a plan that Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg reported on in the May 17 New York Times. Ricketts could hardly do otherwise. The proposal, spelled out by Fred Davis of Strategic Perception in a 54-page document that has to be read to be believed, was so obviously racist that it included a chapter titled "Fending Off Racism" (by which the authors meant fending off charges that they're being racist). This was to be achieved by a.) hiring "an extremely literate, conservative African American" and b.) acquiring assistance from focus groups in "lessening any elements that could reasonably be deemed 'racist'" (note the assumption that there were sure to be some, and that these should be "lessened" rather than "removed").
The now-orphaned proposal, toxic though it is, at least provides some reassurance that the current scheming to smear President Obama is not being carried out by America's best minds, or even its second- or third-best. Start with the overall strategy: "The child is father to the man ... What we learn in our formative years, guides our actions as adults." This is a very weird approach to bringing down an incumbent who presumably has four years of governing to run against. It's a doubly weird approach to take on behalf of a challenger (Romney) whose early manhood, we just learned, included an incident in which he more or less assaulted somebody for being gay--an incident that the onetime demon barber of Cranbrook is now desperate to declare out of bounds. The Romney campaign most definitely does not believe the child is father to the man. It doesn't even want you to think that the governor (who invented Obamacare, among other offenses to the right) is father to the prospective president! And pretty soon it may not want you to think the primary candidate is father to the general-election candidate.
14 comments
I'm generally not a big fan of recurring to 'race' for such things, because (as Chait pointed out) Republicans questioned the legitimacy of Clinton as president just as ferociously, but I can't help but think that after more than three years of Obama as head of an administration, this shouldn't and probably couldn't work to any meaningful degree if it weren't so easy to generate images of him as 'other' in voter's minds.
- SEBASTIANSALING@HOTMAIL.COM
May 17, 2012 at 3:36pm
One of the many paradoxes of Obama is that, when I look at him and his family, I don't see an African-American family, I only see a successful and very good looking family. That's not to say that is as it should be. Because it's not. My law school classmate and good friend, the first African-American to attend Stetson University, and one of the first ten or so to attend our law school, once corrected me when I said that my hope was that our children not see each other as African-American or white but as Americans. No, he said, I want my children to see themselves as African-Americans because that's what they are. This from someone who knew discrimination. Who told me stories of his childhood, when the simple act of travel was an ordeal. An ordeal because they weren't allowed to eat in restaurants along the way, weren't allowed to relieve themselves in a public restroom along the way, weren't allowed to stay in hotels along the way; and were in fear for their lives when they drove down an isolated dirt road to relieve themselves, not knowing who might discover them there. Yet, this was not some radical, but rather someone who had risen to the rank of captain in the Army before attending law school, whose wife sang opera. That was over 35 years ago, and even though Clarence died long ago, I will never forget him or the lessons I learned from him. The most important lesson is that it's okay to be both an African-American and an American.
- rayward
May 17, 2012 at 4:16pm
I believe the SuperPAC that was planning to run a series of TV ads on the theme "Obama Batters Blind Doves to Death with Koran in Lincoln Bedroom" is also reconsidering.
- ironyroad
May 17, 2012 at 4:56pm
The "demon barber of Cranbrook" is (so far) the best Romney reference that I have seen. Bravo, Mr. Noah!
- wildboy
May 17, 2012 at 5:02pm
The "Demon Barber of Crabrook" and a shallow brook it is too.
- arnon1
May 17, 2012 at 5:34pm
Noah is right that the whole proposal seems really amateurish but there's another way to look at it than "not even the second- or third- best minds ...". Politics is a seasonal business, like running a restaurant on Cape Cod, and this right now is the high season. And in the wake of Citizens United it's the highest high season ever. Keep in mind that for the professional political operative, as with any professional, the main job is to stay employed and make money; getting your guy elected is gravy. So guys like Sheldon Adelson and Joe Ricketts are just popping out of the woodwork and begging to be allowed to give millions to the cause. And the professionals look at each other and say, hey, why not throw together a basic muslim-kenyan-socialist-jeremiah- wright smear package and cash in another $100K or so for an afternoon's work? I think the more instructive parallel is those TV ministers who give a bible thumping speech on Sunday mornings and spend the rest of the week cashing the checks that roll in from gullible people who similarly want to contribute to a godly cause.
- boyski
May 17, 2012 at 6:17pm
There's been some strange fallout from this whole thing in Chicago. The Ricketts own the Cubs and are currently asking for $150 million from the city to update Wrigley Field. While the Ricketts family have split political allegiances (Joe's daughter is a huge Obama supporter) there is almost universal revulsion at a family that will donate tens of millions of to a SuperPAC and then go begging to the city for money to run their business.
- Attrill
May 17, 2012 at 8:25pm
" . . . there is almost universal revulsion at a family that will donate tens of millions of to a SuperPAC and then go begging to the city for money to run their business." Sounds like a textbook example (almost a parody, indeed) of American predator capitalism.
- ironyroad
May 17, 2012 at 8:50pm
You write like a dream, Timothy.
- liberalref
May 17, 2012 at 9:37pm
Mayor Emmanuel isn't speaking to the Ricketts; good. I myself won't be attending a Cubs game any time soon, period.
- Sophia
May 17, 2012 at 10:22pm
PS Romney did not "more or less assault" a fellow student; he did assault a fellow student, with a mob of fellow cowards no less (who, amazingly enough, have NOT FORGOTTEN the incident).
- Sophia
May 17, 2012 at 10:23pm
Is this one of those 501(c)(4) "issues" we're funding with non-profit status? No wonder they are all over denying it. They should have their 501(c)(4) questioned.
- Nusholtz
May 18, 2012 at 7:54am
Rayward - nice comment my friend. Touching.
- Tristan
May 18, 2012 at 8:52am
As in the last election, Obama is the only normal person in the room . . .
- lump516
May 18, 2012 at 10:18am