The predictable happened again in the Democratic presidential debate at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama again got down and dirty with arch rival Hillary Clinton. And just as predictably the usual suspect Hillary Bashers blamed her. Obama's sideswipe was the by now obligatory pound of Hillary for allegedly being a corporate flack. He cracked to her about sitting on the board of Wal-Mart when I (Obama) was organizing poor people on Chicago's Southside.
Obama's low-blow personal dig, as it was intended, punched the hot buttons--the hated Wal-Mart symbol of flaming corporate greed, environmental rape, sweatshop labor practices, roughshod riding over small communities and businesses. It also allowed Obama to image himself as the noble defender of the poor, exploited, downtrodden, worker. This, of course, is pure fiction. And Clinton rightly hit back that his savior of the poor man image doesn't square with his record of grabbing any and every corporate donation he can get his hands on, and that includes even some from real estate interests that deal in slum property.
The problem with the Obama-initiated low-blow attacks is that this is not merely the typical, and expected, feisty exchange between two front-running candidates that are in a dog fight of a race and each trying to rip each other's jugular. That's sadly what's come to pass for campaign politics American style. But the Clinton slams have become part of an all too troubling Obama template. He tosses out barbs, personal innuendos, slurs, against Clinton, and lately hubby Bill, and then steps back and presents himself as the wronged victim who's forced to hit back to defend his name, rep and record against the bullying and dirt-dealing Clintons.
Talk about having it both ways. But he gets it yet another way. When Hillary defends herself and snaps backs at him he knows that the gaggle of talking head Hillary hating spin masters will hack up, mangle and twist every utterance from both Clintons, and shove Obama's attacks back in their faces to paint them as the bad guys. The wasteful, lethal, and no-win Iraq war--what war? The shamble of Bush's failed and flawed domestic polices--what flaws and failures? The mess of the economy---what mess?
No, the only thing that matters to Obama is hammering Clinton. The pity is that Obama didn't start out as a campaign mud slinger. When he stood on the steps of the Old capitol building in Springfield, Illinois last February and announced his candidacy, millions were thrilled that a youthful, top flight intellectual and politically savvy, community grounded, bona fide African-American presidential candidate had stepped boldly onto the American political scene.
His drum beat slam of Bush's polices, talk of substantial directional change in America for millions of dispossessed, and of challenging disaffected young voters to engage in the political process and to tackle the nation's tormenting problems. But as the old line from legendary blues singer B.B King goes that thrill is long gone. No, worse, it's in danger of being permanently drowned in the wallow of political garbage dumping. It's not enough for the wise men and women of the Democratic Party to scream at Obama and Clinton to knock it off and get back to the business of spelling out what both are going to do about affordable health care, failing public schools, a burgeoning housing bust, crippling poverty for thousands, job creation, immigration reform, and winding down the Iraq debacle.
They need to remind Obama first that his attacks may play well to the clinically obsessed anti-Hillary crowd, but the price for his snatch at one-upmanship over her will be to fracture relations, and increase polarization within the Democratic Party, and drive thousands more fence sitting independent voters to the GOP. That's a terrible price to pay for getting down and dirty and then smugly sitting back and letting Hillary take the rap for it. Obama, are you listening?
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His forthcoming book is The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House (Middle Passage Press, February 2008.
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Posted January 22, 2008 | 11:29 AM (EST)