"Old-Style Politics," In Pictures

Ben Smith flags this sharp-edged quote from Obama adviser Steve Hildebrand:

"The Clintons have always put people in a box - they look at everything through racial lines, gender lines, geographic lines; they tend to segment people," said Steve Hildebrand, a senior Obama adviser who spearheaded his Iowa effort. "She goes to Nevada and sits with Latinos in their living room to court their vote - that's not the way Barack approaches people. If the Clintons paint him as the black candidate, no one's going to stop them from doing that. They are playing the same old-style games."

Hildebrand is right, Obama doesn't sit with Latinos in their living room to court their vote. He sits in their backyard.

From an "economic opportunity" photo-op in Van Nuys, California 10 days ago:

Just to set the scene:

Photos are by Jonathan Alcorn, found on Flickr.

Comments

[NYC]

It's amazing to me that everyone is saying the Clintons and their surrogates are raising race. I don't see it in the comments that have been attacked, so please feel free to educate me. However, if Obama wanted to put an end to the race debate he could simply say (like he did in the debate with Biden, after Biden was asked about people feeling it was racist to refer to Obama as articulate), the Clintons are not racist and that he respected all the work and their lifetime commitment to helping minorities. But he hasn't. The mass media keep acting like the Clintons have driven the white vote in SC away from Obama, maybe it's Obama's supporters who keep crying that everything is a race attack that people are saying, hey I don't want this. I don't want to have to worry about being called a racist if I state a fact about my President! It could be too late, but any time obama doesn't want this to be about race, he can tap those ruby slippers and it will go away. Maybe he'll do it right after getting SC, but i think that will be too late to not come out of this democratic primary race that is racially divided. I do believe 7 months from now we can come together for our nominee, but Obama may have done real damage to the ability of an African American candidate running for President who will want to be seen as a uniter.

[roncraw]

The Clintons have supported black causes all their life. Now wouldn't you be angry and hurt if the people you supported for decades went to someone solely because of the color of his skin. Obama civilrights history is minimal at best.

[TommyMcCarthy]

Proud old Latino name there Hildebrand­.........H­ave to admit the guy is right, though.
Referencing Mrs. Clinton's in-home visits with Latino voters in Nevada....­.he says "that's not how Sen. Obama does things..." and we have PROOF that he is correct.
Barack does it out by the toolshed!.­..........­..........­..........­..tm

[Hooray]

Everyone be sure to watch 20/20 on ABC tonight, they've found additional information on the Obama/Rezko scandal.

BTW, The Amsterdam News, the most respected African American newspaper in New York just endorsed Hillary Clinton.

[texanna]

Oh no, say it ain't so -- Sen. Obama is just a regular politician doing whatever it takes to get to THE Office? And, here I just knew that he was going to be THE ONE! You know, it's not that he's just a regular ol' politician; it's that he's tried to pass himself off as something else.

[tpagy]

Karmas a bitch ain't it! and if Omas such a saint than why the hell is he running ads here in Florida? edwards/08

[Mrrar]

Hi.

I believe what Hildebrand was pointing out was that Hillary was playing Racial Politics-- the Latino community (mostly the older members) are known to have a significant prejudice against the black community, and also Senator Obama.

In other words, the old style of politics is finding groups to divide people into their traditional camps by using fear, intimidation, and racism.. Where as the new style is to reach out to groups that would normally refuse to support some person or cause.

Old politics is divisiveness, new politics is uniting. As a result, the irony of the picture you posted is not lost on me.

I'm sure you'll issue a correction for the error as soon as possible..­. and you'd certainly never, in a Roveian and Ironic twist, choose to purposefully convey this incorrectly for Clinton's political gain.

Right?

[JCP]

As soon as I vote for Obama in this primary I'm washing my hands of this icky Democratic party, which I only joined so I could help boot Lieberman. Then it's back to being an independent (right after a long hot shower). McCain would crush Hillary. The republican base will be at full froth just to have the blessed opportunity to vote against HRC, and McCain would do just a teensy bit better with independents. Add to that some disillusioned Obama/Edwards libs who feel their party has been hijacked by the DLC and stay home (and rightly, since there's not a whole lot of diff between McCain and HRC), and McCain will win over 40 states.

Check out the head-to-head matchups. And this is an amalgamation of several polls, not one outlier. And it's been like this since the campaigns began, for anyone who cared to look. HRC simply can't win the general. Period.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/national.html

She's not divisive. She just has no charisma. None.

[sarnold49]

Can I sue Obamington Post for the injury I received when I fell out of my chair when I saw this article?

I cannot believe they actually hinted that maybe it was a little bit possible that Obama was not perfect!

[MRb1000]

He is right after using race and bigotry then you want to take a picture with black people. This is stupid.

Bill and Hillary love black people, but they will call them the N word in a minute to get votes. This makes white women happy.

[bobdob]

And? What's your point? That Obama is trying to win the nomination? That he's a hypocrite for sitting at a table with a few Latinos and talking with them? Oh, I get it. It's the cameras, right? That's what's sticking in your craw? When Hillary sits in a restaurant in front of a hundred cameras and gets all teary-eyed, that's a genuine moment, but when the cameras sit in on a discussion that Obama's involved in, that's phony as hell.

Next time the Clinton campaign sends you a bunch of photos and asks you to publish them, spare us, OK? We already know what politics is all about. It's phony as hell. But after the cameras are gone, some of the candidates remain phony.

[liberalrebuttal]

Oh give it up !

[TeresaInPa]

hmmmnnn, Obama's campaign is hypocrisy in action. In other news the sun set this evening.

[klondiker]

My goodness! Stop whining and start fighting! You think Romney's going to play fair??

[johnnyjust]

More whining from Barry?

Presidential material.