The Blog Formerly Known As Vote '08

WASHINGTON (AP) - The McCain and Obama campaigns are not only accusing the other of injecting race into the presidential contest. They used the morning talk shows to blame each other for a more and more negative tone.
Obama senior strategist David Axelrod says Barack Obama has never called John McCain a racist. He says Obama was just describing himself as “not exactly from Central Casting for presidential candidates.”
Axelrod also says the McCain people have been running a negative campaign for weeks. He says Obama’s campaign is not going negative in return — but is just refuting the charges.
As far as who was responsible for the campaign’s negative tone, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis says they “didn’t draw first blood.” He says the campaign has been rough and tumble since the day Obama got the nomination — and contends McCain has “withered under the attacks of the Obama campaign on a daily basis.”

More from Axelrod:

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How it started:

On 3 occasions in Missouri this week, Obama said something to this effect:

“Since they don’t have any new ideas the only strategy they’ve got in this election is to try to scare you about me. They’re going to try to say that I’m a risky guy, they’re going to try to say, ‘Well, you know, he’s got a funny name and he doesn’t look like all the presidents on the dollar bills and the five dollar bills and, and they’re going to send out nasty emails.

“And, you know, the latest one they’ve got me in an ad with Paris Hilton,” Obama said, referring to a McCain campaign ad launched today. “You know, never met the woman. But, but, you know, what they’re gonna try to argue is that somehow I’m too risky.”

McCain campaign aide Rick Davis pounced:

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2 Differing Viewpoints on the story:

Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post says:

“Of course the McCain campaign isn’t really offended that the first black major-party candidate for president in American history might mention this distinction from time to time. The idea is to slow Obama down before he runs away with this thing, and the weapon of choice is handfuls of mud.”

Jake Tapper says on the Political Punch blog:

While I have no doubt there will be a bunch more racist, xenophobic, and other ignorant drek coming our way courtesy of the Internet and perhaps the occasional cable news network, it’s important to determine where it’s coming from. Is it from a specific campaign or party? A third-party group? A third-party group with direct ties to establishment figures? This all matters.

I’ve seen racism in campaigns before — I’ve seen it against Obama in this campaign (more from Democrats than Republicans, at this point, I might add) and I’ve seen it against McCain in South Carolina in 2000, when his adopted Bangladeshi daughter Bridget was alleged, by the charming friends and allies of then-Gov. George W. Bush, to have been a McCain love-child with an African-American woman.

What I have not seen is it come from McCain or his campaign in such a way to merit the language Obama used today. Pretty inflammatory.

Our Take: Having a major party presidential nominee be an African-American for the first time means we all are in uncharted territory. It would behoove voters if we tried to keep accusations of “playing the race card” & “racism” to a minimum.

1. That said, Obama does have a point that many people will choose not to vote for him because of the color of his skin. But John McCain has made a point earlier in the campaign to tamp this sentiment down among his faithful.

2. That said, Obama himself is also treading on shaky ground. You don’t want to give off the appearance in the slightest that you think those who oppose you are doing so simply because of their racism.

3. That said, John McCain’s campaign is clearly overreacting here. It’s almost as if they were waiting for this kind of an opening.

What do you think?

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