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Thursday, January 04, 2007

Because Barack Obama Must Be Stopped...
Posted by Jill | 7:17 AM
By Any Means Necessary, including a double standard on substance use between a white kid from a wealthy family who has always refused to admit he had a problem, and a black kid who was open about the path he was in danger of taking while in high school in a book he wrote eleven years ago.

Now I'm not supporting an Obama run in the primaries for one simple reason: his too-cozy relationship with moral scolds like Joe Lieberman and the religious right. But to make youthful drug use about which Obama has been completely candid an issue, or even to use the "some people say it may be an issue..." tactic of the right-wing media, when for six years we have had a president who's a dry drunk, is just a wee tad disingenuous, don'tcha think?

As a potential candidate, Obama has presented himself as a fresh voice offering a politics of hope. Many say he offers something new in American politics: an African American with a less-than-traditional name who has so far demonstrated broad appeal. What remains to be seen is whether the candor he offered in his early memoir will be greeted with a new-style acceptance by voters.

It was not so long ago that such blunt admissions would have led to a candidate's undoing, and there is uneasiness in Democratic circles that "Dreams From My Father" will provide a blueprint for negative attacks.


What Democratic circles? I want names (*cough* Hillary Clinton *cough*), not "some people say..." And if in fact those "Democratic circles" think this is going to be an issue, then they should damn well get up and point out the difference between being candid about youthful substance abuse and vague allusions to being "young and irresponsible."

As far as I'm concerned, if a book written eleven years ago, in which Barack Obama tells his story to show other troubled kids that it is possible to turn your life around, becomes a means to swiftboat this guy, it's time for the Democrats to start digging into every ugly corner of every Republican who dares to make it an issue. I guarantee you, they'll find much uglier stuff than a confused, mixed-race kid trying to self-medicate his pain.

(via the Carpetbagger Report, whose account you should also make a point of reading.)
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