Eugene Robinson, in an op-ed in the Washington Post, marvels at the irony of the Clintons' recent behavior and their loss of credibility in the black community. The betting against Hillary Clinton now in South Carolina is two to one in that voting group. What's gone sour in Bill Clinton's long relationship with African-Americans?
... It's surprising that the Clinton campaign has been so aggressive in keeping the race issue alive. On "Meet the Press," Clinton didn't just seek to explain her remarks about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s role in landmark civil rights legislation (she said it took a president to bring about real action) or Bill's "fairy tale" crack about Obama's record on the Iraq war (which some African Americans took as a dismissal of Obama's candidacy as mere fantasy). Instead, she went on the attack, accusing the Obama campaign of "deliberately distorting" her words in a way that was "unfair and unwarranted."
That seemed a curious tactic to employ just two weeks before the South Carolina Democratic primary, in which African Americans are expected to cast about half the total votes. It seemed especially curious after the most powerful black politician in the state, U.S. House Majority Whip James Clyburn, indicated he was so "bothered" by the Clintons' remarks that he might rethink his decision not to endorse any candidate before the primary.
With most polls showing Clinton well behind in South Carolina, it was unclear how this approach would do anything but put her further behind.
The charitable explanation would be that the Clintons are, in their political position, simply disoriented.
But Robinson isn't feeling all that charitable.
Race is just one of the fights that the Clinton campaign is pressing with Obama; the other is an attempt to discredit Obama's opposition to the war. It could be that the idea is to engage Obama in so much tit-for-tat combat that his image as a new, post-partisan kind of politician is tarnished.
The Clintons are nothing if not tough, aggressive, and brutally ambitious. Robinson asks: "Is it possible that accusing Obama and his campaign of playing the race card might create doubt in the minds of the moderate, independent white voters who now seem so enamored of the young, black senator? Might that be the idea?"
Karl Rove was successful in large part because he's very astute in his reading of people. He may have "promoted" Hillary Clinton because he looked forward to watching her show her colors early on -- and perhaps end by destroying any remain respect for the Clintons. Watch for signs of Rove licking his lips in sheer delight at what they're also doing to the Democratic party and to the candidate the Republicans would find the hardest to beat.
