Follow the Smear Campaign
Has everyone heard of or seen the snippets of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sermons that have taken the Web by storm? How about Sen. Barack Obama's response from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia?
A column came across my desk at work the other day that squarely puts the blame for the YouTube postings and what not on members of the Republican Party. It's an obvious connection given the response from the likes of Fox News, which didn't do the same thing when Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell said far worse things.
Aside from the little bit of conspiracy theory, which was the least criticized, from what I saw and read, there wasn't anything countering what he said. Will people be ridiculed for speaking the truth, or some form thereof?
May I remind everyone of the First Amendment. Far more ignorant, libelous and blasphemous words have been uttered by Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly, darlings to some political citizens.
But they just blatantly attack one party in the government. How is it that simply criticizing American policy, as a whole, mind you, not even singling out individuals, is so much worse? Simply denying that the things he said happened puts you squarely in the group described with the adjective "delusional."
Perhaps it wasn't the Republicans, perhaps it was the underhanded tactics of the Clinton campaign, which is the other theory, but regardless of who was behind it, why does it matter?
Can't more people see it as the slimy tactic that it is? It's a distraction from any legitimate political debate. The reaction is bizarre. We claim to be individuals, but not being able to separate Obama from Wright proves we do nothing but group people and don't think of them as individuals capable to having their own thoughts. But, then I suppose that's the point and fault of any racist, sexist or simple-minded person.
Now why might this tactic have been used? Who is afraid of facing Obama, of losing to Obama? If it is the Republicans behind it, a reason might be that Hillary Clinton is an easier battle for John McCain, a more disliked politician incapable of pulling in GOP voters. Pushing Obama out of the running in such a fashion also raises the possibility of upsetting, disenfranchising and "re-apathizing" Black voters who have by now, after nearly a year of shifting, largely turned their backs to Clinton, who has upset many of them already with her campaign's actions that started with the South Carolina primary.
That Oprah, a darling of the white middle class, is involved in the church as well, but no one is suddenly boycotting or questioning her lends itself to suspicion.
Who is boycotting Oprah and her show for being involved in the same church? Nobody.
The reaction that should be coming out of this is how to ensure that the tactic backfires. If you're in Pennsylvania, where is your vote going to land on April 22?
