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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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If Obama Were White, He'd Be Hit Twice as Hard

Democrat is protected by his race, not vulnerable because of it

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(Newser) – John McCain isn’t stoking racism against Barack Obama. If anything, writes Jonah Goldberg in the LA Times, McCain is going easy on the Democrat for fear of appearing racist. When the GOP paints Obama as “different” or Sarah Palin says he doesn’t see America “the way you and I see America,” they’re using the same strategies they have for years—against white candidates.

Obama has been asking for all the hits he’s taken. He “touts his global appeal,” but calling him cosmopolitan is off-limits? By this unfair standard, the GOP campaigns against white guys Michael Dukakis and Al Gore were Klan rallies. "If anything," Goldberg writes, "by not attacking Obama's ties to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and other politically unsavory nonwhite associates, McCain is self-censoring for fear of seeming racist."

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., waves as he arrives at the Seagate Convention Centre in Toledo, Ohio, Monday, Oct. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., waves as he arrives at the Seagate Convention Centre in Toledo, Ohio, Monday, Oct. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., waves to the crowd at a rally in Wilmington, N.C., Monday, Oct. 13, 2008, with his wife Cindy McCain. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., waves to the crowd at a rally in Wilmington, N.C., Monday, Oct. 13, 2008, with his wife Cindy McCain. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
In this March 10, 2005 file photo from Trinity United Church of Christ, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, poses with the church's pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright in Chicago. Obama said Saturday May 31, 2008 he has resigned his 20-year membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ...
In this March 10, 2005 file photo from Trinity United Church of Christ, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, poses with the church's pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright in Chicago....   (AP Photo/Trinity United Church of Christ, File)
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Please. Every single presidential campaign boils down to an argument about how the candidates "see America." Suddenly that question is out of bounds because Obama is black? - Jonah Goldberg

Lack of originality notwithstanding, why is it suddenly racist to treat Obama just like the four white guys who preceded him? Talk about racial double standards. - Jonah Goldberg

If Obama were a white Democratic nominee named Barry O'Malley, the GOP would be going after him twice as hard. But many liberals would still caterwaul about fomenting hatred and racism, because that's what they always do. -

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