Gridlock News

Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi wrote an op ed titled Obama's Race Dilemma this week.  The Op ed exposes a potential attack ploy that the Republicans may be testing with Senator Biden's recent comments about Barack Obama's ability to run a campaign that is appealing to White voters.

In Senator Biden's comments he supposedly let some comments slip that Barack Obama originally called 'unfortunate'.  The comments indicated that Obama might be the first African American candidate 'clean' enough to win.  It quickly appeared to many people in the African community that Barack Obama's attempt to take the high road on the issue without taking Biden down a peg or two proved to be unfortunate for Senator Obama.  Many other African American leaders came out to be even more critical of Biden's comments, Al Sharpton expressed the fact that he showers every day.

The problem Senator Obama faces according to the Globe article is that if he fights off comments like Biden's then Republicans will have succeeded in cornering him into a campaign as the 'black Presidential candidate and his appeal to White voters might diminish.  However, if he does not respond to comments that are either very unfortunate, politically incorrect, or down right racist, he may be seen by African American voters as a weak civil rights supporter.  This might even be compounded by the perception that he is not 'Black' as his father heralds from Kenya and his mother is white, schooled in foreign countries, he has some similarities with the black community in the US but many differences.

Could the Republicans neutralize Obama by running something akin to attack boat as firing light salvos in Obama's direction that touch the race card lightly, forcing him to deflect the shots or be seen as weak but at the same time polarizing him away his popular appeal as a candidate that might transcend race?

Similarly, could the same attack plan work on Hillary Clinton, who needs to transcend gender in the eyes of the American people.  If her campaign is forced to become a defense against women's rights it could detract her away from the other serious issues that all of the candidates must cover.

Race for Obama, Gender for Clinton, even Religion for Romney have all been identified as the potential weak links in their respective campaigns.  That leaves the questions

1.  Are those kryptonite links?

2.  Will the Republicans use this Kryptonite against these candidates?

Looking at the attack boat ads, the attacks do not even need to come from high level Republicans, but simply a PAC or public interest group fronting the attacks and message for Republicans.  Republicans had no problem attacking Vietnam vets with Vietnam vets.  Maybe they will now employ African Americans born from African American parents to attack Obama and women to attack Hillary.  It will turn the stomach of myself and many others, but will it work a second time around?

Personally, I hope they do not try, but I have little faith in politicians these days.