We're not playing the race card, a McCain supporter insisted yesterday on MSNBC. J.P. Freire is the managing editor of American Spectator, a conservative rag, and he and his mag are both in the tank for McCain, of course. Despite all evidence to the contrary (every McCain and Palin rally over the last two weeks), Freire insists say that McCain isn't whipping up racists for votes (which they are). Why? Because that would be wrong? Nope, because it wouldn't be effective. Why not? "Unfortunately, no one wants to be a racist," says J.P. Freire (at the 2:01 mark).
And if you think Republicans would stoop to exploiting racial tensions, says Freire, "you have to assume that a whole bunch of Republicans are racists."
As Hugo Chavez welcomes Comrade Bush" to the land of socialism, he himself is boarding the train to neoliberalism:
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced a plan to help the country's businesses as rising inflation threatens the economy.
Under a stimulus package unveiled on Wednesday, Mr Chavez scrapped a tax and eased currency controls that made it harder for Venezuelan firms to operate.
He also announced a $1bn fund to help key industries such as food and oil.
Georgia Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights legend who John McCain has said he admires, today issued a harsh warning to McCain over the tone of his rallies:
What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse...
George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama...
As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all. They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy. We can do better. The American people deserve better.
John McCain's response? He's leaning right into it:
Congressman John Lewis' comments represent a character attack against Governor Sarah Palin and me that is shocking and beyond the pale. The notion that legitimate criticism of Senator Obama's record and positions could be compared to Governor George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign. I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I've always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track.
I call on Senator Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election. Our country must return to the important debate about the path forward for America.
UPDATE: The Obama campaign has now issued a response of its own that tries to thread the needle, disagreeing with the George Wallace comparison but condemning the "hateful rhetoric" from McCain's crowds and the "irresponsible charges" from Sarah Palin.
Sen. Obama does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies.
But John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night, as well as the baseless and profoundly irresponsible charges from his own running mate that the Democratic nominee for president of the United States pals around with terrorists.
As Barack Obama has said himself, the last thing we need from either party is the kind of angry, divisive rhetoric that tears us apart at a time of crisis when we desperately need to come together. That is the kind of campaign Sen. Obama will continue to run in the weeks ahead.
Sarah Palin dropped the first puck at the Philadelphia Flyers game tonightand just listen to the crowd boo when the "most famous hockey mom in America" steps out on the ice.
Considering that Philadelphia is a big city, and considering that sliming big cities is an important part of Sarah Palin's schtickexcuse me, campaign rhetoricshould it be a surprise that big city crowds aren't happy to see her?
After seeing the collections on this week's episode, can anyone deny it? Leanne's architectural math waves are the perfect distillation of her aesthetic while doing something that feels evolved and new. Kenley also delivered. The other two, not so much.
Counting the minutes till Leannimal's impending triumph....
