Playing "the race card"

In a "post-racist" society

This country’s long history of slavery and racial discrimination has left a deep imprint on our society and on our culture. A great example is the phrase, “playing the race card.”

In this political campaign, and in our alleged "post-racist society," the implication is that the first person to play the card—that is, to talk about race—loses the game.

In post-racist America, race is a game. Racism doesn't exist any more. The trick is to win the game without getting caught playing the race card. Get it?

Of course the McCain campaign (and the Clinton campaign before them) talked about race all throughout the campaign. When Barack Obama was forced to distance himself from his minister and "throw him under the bus," that's talking about race. When, for example, John McCain came out in opposition to an Arizona bill which would allow for limited forms of affirmative action, he was talking race.

But when Barack Obama gave a speech in which he humorously anticipated the obvious upcoming McCain/Rove low-road election tactics:

"You know, 'He's not patriotic enough, he's got a funny name,' you know, 'he doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills."

…he may not have said anything about race, but he’s, you know, “playing the card.”

McCain/Rove are happy to play out the game metaphor. Rove's boys are no strangers to the game and know, in the short run, it's worth about 10 points in the polls and can easily counter the bounce Obama got on his European trip.

McCain acts shocked at Obama's play. He’s stunned, that anyone would bring up the very idea of his campaign debasing Obama and the black community in such a way—especially that stuff about the dollar bills. McCain even praises Obama: "he's nice," "popular (like Paris Hilton)," "a well-spoken superstar." But Obama is definitely “playing the race card, right off the bottom of the deck” by being the first one to allude to racism in the campaign.

The network and cable morning news jocks all nod in affirmation. “Yup, it’s the race card all right.”

Not one of them one asks, where did Obama come up with that dollar-bill stuff? How could he even think that McCain/Rove would pull such a racist and underhanded stunt?

HERE’S HOW…

Obama won't call the McCain/Rove gambit, racism. He's too polite, too forgiving. But I will.