What Geraldine Ferrero is doing is most certainly a calculated attempt to draw attention to Barack Obama's race and to marginalize him as "the black candidate" in Pennsylvania, a state where even the governor says race still matters. Obama supporters (and even some Clinton supporters) have seen Geraldine's tactic for what it is, and have spoken -- loudly -- and rightfully so.
But as an Obama supporter, I think we have a problem. There are a significant number of Americans who now have the perception that it is the Obama campaign who is injecting race into the election. For proof of this, just take a gander at any blog or website sympathetic to Clinton. Just as Olberman pointed out tonight that "true or not" many people now perceive the Hillary campaign has resorted to racism, I must point out that "true or not" there are some people who believe it the Obama campaign who is to blame.
There are many people who sincerely believe that affirmative action style policies have given minorities an advantage over them in education and the job market. True or not, the perception exists. What surprises most liberal democrats is that some of these people are moderate or conservative democrats.
Now, I'm not trying to legitimize these beliefs, I'm just pointing out that these beliefs exist in a significant portion of the population. There are many white people (sure, some are less educated, but at least a few are highly educated) who really believe that programs like Affirmative Action have given minorities an advantage over them, especially in the job market. For proof of this, look no further than the debate on immigration.
I heard Obama on XM radio earlier tonight, and he was trying very hard to downplay the current problem with Geraldine. He said that he does not believe that the Clinton campaign is trying to inject race into the campaign purposely. He is clearly trying to make race a nonfactor. As mad as I am at Clinton and Geraldine, as wrong and evil as I think Hillary is (and yes, I believe she is a monster), I also believe it is time to leave well enough alone. None of the issues have been talked about during the last 48 hours -- for the last 48 hours, the election has been about race.
Even worse than being about race, the election has gotten ugly during the last 48 hours. I've seen more vitriol over the last 48 hours than during the entire primary season to date.
We've gone to the dark side. Hillary lured us there, but we must not fall into this trap. It began during the Clinton attacks against Obama just before OH-TX, and it has continued and intensified throughout the Ferrero scandal. Many, many Obama supporters (including myself) became angry at the pernicious tactics employed by the Clintons.
We've got to go back to being the positive campaign. Clinton wants us to stoop to her level. She gains ground every time we do. She's a fighter, and we are hopemongers.
Would it be too cheesy to quote Star Wars?
Beware of the dark side. Anger...fear...aggression. The dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will.
It's easy to be angry. Bring back hope.