Looking for racism

Josh Marshall:

I note with interest today, John McCain’s new tactic of associating Barack Obama with oversexed and/or promiscuous young white women. (See today’s new ad and this from yesterday.) Presumably, a la Harold Ford 2006, this will be one of those strategies that will be a matter of deep dispute during the campaign and later treated as transparent and obvious once the campaign is concluded.

This is the ad Josh is talking about:

I don’t see how even the most unreconstructed of dbag racists could see that ad and think “Oh. My. God. That negro wants to sleep with our women! Go get the pitchforks!” The left–and this country–has a serious, serious problem if people think that the only reason Obama might lose this campaign is due to racism. For another take with a similar meme, check out this editorial news story from the New York Times. As a Corner reader points out,

“And before he posed what may be the ultimate test of racial equality — whether Americans will elect a black president — he led students through African-Americans’ long fight for equal status.”

For the Times, this whole election is just that: “the ultimate test of racial equality.” If Obama loses, it can only be for one reason: America failed this test, and is irremediably racist. Debates about Iraq, the economy, energy, taxes, and all the rest, are just sideshows. If you’re racially enlightened, you’ll vote for Obama. If you’re not you won’t.

It must be so gratifying, and self-satisfying, to think like this. No need to think. Just divide the world into right-thinking people and evil racists who vote for Republicans.

Come off it. If Obama loses it’s not because the country isn’t ready for a black candidate. It’s because he’s a high-handed, eggheaded, divisive politician who promised to be an agent of change but turned out to be no different from the rest who came before him.