Obama Calls Out Republicans for "Campaign They'll Run"

Barack Obama, at a fundraising stop yesterday, alleged that Republicans will mount a fear-based racial campaign against him this fall:

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama said on Friday he expects Republicans to highlight the fact that he is black as part of an effort to make voters afraid of him.

It is going to be very difficult for Republicans to run on their stewardship of the economy or their outstanding foreign policy," Obama told a fundraiser in Jacksonville, Florida. "We know what kind of campaign they're going to run. They're going to try to make you afraid.

"They're going to try to make you afraid of me. He's young and inexperienced and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black?"

He said he was also set for Republicans to say "he's got a feisty wife," in trying to attack his wife Michelle.

Right-wing bloggers are up in arms, calling out Obama for playing the "race card."

Karl at Protein Wisdom suggests that "Barry O" is dealing the race card.

Captain Ed at Hot Air notes the hypocrisy, since Obama provided no evidence, and it was Hillary Clinton supporters during the spring primary who circulated pictures of Obama outfitted in traditional African dress (and Bill Clinton portrayed Obama as the next Jesse Jackson, an "ethnic" candidate, beholden to the racial grievance masters).

Captain Ed also indicate how the McCain campaign's been quick to repudiate racist smears in his campaign operation:

John McCain, meanwhile, was a lot more outspoken in criticizing his own supporters for relying on crypto-ethnic references. He immediately and publicly disowned, without any prompting, Bill Cunningham in Ohio after the radio host enphasized Obama’s middle name (Hussein) in his introductory remarks. McCain also fired one staffer for e-mailing a Jeremiah Wright video after explicitly saying that his campaign would have no comment on Wright or Trinity United.

McCain, for all his alleged apostasies, is solidly on conservative ground on this issue. As we saw with the Ron Paul phenomenon, there are a lot of far right-wing extremists, as well as the their irrationalist defenders, who will be all too happy to deploy the most vile racist hatred as part of their political agenda.

People like this do not speak for genuine conservatives (and they gives the nihilist lefties ammunition), much less the GOP. It will be interesting to see how things turn out, because as I've noted previously, this election's going to fought intensely on racial grounds.