Day: August 6, 2008

Eugene Robinson:

On Sunday, the exceedingly thin-skinned [Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey] Graham was still shocked, saddened and outraged over Obama’s throwaway line, spoken days earlier, about not looking like previous presidents. Graham said on “Fox News Sunday” that “there’s no doubt in my mind that what Senator Obama is trying to suggest — that he’s a victim of something.” Graham later added: “We’re not going to run a campaign like he did in the primary. Every time somebody brings up a challenge to who you are and what you believe, ‘You’re a racist.’ That’s not going to happen in this campaign.”

The key words are “victim” and “racist” — which Obama did not say

The key words are “victim” and “racist” — which Obama did not say. Graham puts them in Obama’s mouth because of their power to alienate.

With the first loaded word, Graham is trying to tie Obama to a stereotype: the Great African-American Victim. He’s playing to the annoyance some whites feel at being reminded of racial sins committed long before they were born or even long before their families came to this country.

As Graham well knows, Obama has taken great pains to sanitize his campaign of even the faintest whiff of victimhood. He understands that in order to be elected president, he has to come off as the least-aggrieved black man in America.

For those few who contend the McCain campaign did nothing wrong when it ejected the only black reporter from a group of journalists at a campaign stop in Panama City, Fla., I have bad news. Even the candidate’s handlers disagree.

Following his appearance on Countdown with Keith Olbermann they have offered a big ol’ “whoops” to Tallahassee Democrat senior reporter Stephen Price.

McCain spokesman Brian Rogers called Price Tuesday evening and apologized on behalf of the campaign.

Rogers said “We feel terrible about it,” according to Price.

“I accept the apology,” Price said. “I definitely wish I was never singled out. I came up there to do a story, that’s all I wanted to do is write a story.”

Rogers told Price McCain would call him personally in the next few days.

We’ll see if he does. I would think he could have squeezed in a phone call by now — five days and counting later — but I guess it takes a story being spotlighted on the national cable news shows before it begins to sink in on Gramps.

And anyway, McCain’s been so busy. We’ve seen him cavorting with the bikers at their rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, and egging his wife on to compete in the topless biker babe contest. Who has three minutes for a phone call?

There is still no explanation from the campaign about why Price was thrown out to begin with. The story they’re developing seems to shift the blame to the Secret Service.

Price said Rogers told him the security detail is not controlled by the campaign.

Price was among three other Florida reporters near McCain’s campaign at the time. A Secret Service agent asked Price to show his media credentials, which he did.

When another state reporter asked why Price was being removed, she too was led out of the area. Two other state reporters remained.