I would suggest that modern candidate for Senate is like a consumer product being supported by a multi-million dollar marketing campaign. There is, of course, nothing original in that suggestion.
But don’t you think these highly paid professionals are capable of crafting commercials that play to different levels? Including levels that are unsavory yet effective?

Harold Ford is no Willie Horton. But he is still a black man in America. And I would suggest that is a fact loaded with meaning–levels and levels of meaning.

You don’t have to like it. You don’t even have to see it.

If you personally didn’t see any racism, it must not have been there!

That statement is really the root of this (imho).

I don’t see the racism in the Ford ad, either (my post from October here). However, I’m also functionally color-blind, and while that can be a good thing, it also sometimes limits my ability to see nuances that others do.

Certainly the ad was subtle, whether there was a “Southern Strategy” in play or not, and as Marlowecan’s comment points out, there are levels and levels to cultural perceptions.

Undeniably. That’s why George Lucas gave a homage to her “Triumph of the Will” in the closing scene of the original Star Wars movie.

Not that Lucas is a Nazi…he (at least at that point in his career) simply admired brilliant filmmaking.

I get your snark…but talent is talent. McCain wants to win, and he wants the best.

I don’t know if the brilliance of that ad can be replicated…but if so it does not bode well for Hillary or Obama if so.

(If you look at the original post at TMV, Shay had an interesting analysis on Obama’s own calculations in playing to the Black female voters in Illinois).

The 08 race just got more interesting, I imagine.

Heh-heh-heh…

And what about Arkansas?…as in Dick Morris great description of President Clinton’s two sides:

“Saturday night Bill, and Sunday morning Clinton.”

Thus, I am not surprised at all that McCain hired its creator. He is pooling serious talent.

Leni Riefenstahl was serious talent too.

When one race dominates another, misuse and abuse is dished out by the dominate race to the women.

AS for mcCain, well, he’s smelling himself and thinking he could win. No telling how far a man will go once that blood lust takes hold of them.

If you look back at our discussion about this ad on TMV at the time, I predicted the ad’s creators would have people knocking on their door immediately after the election.

It was brilliant not for the reasons folks here are referencing, but for how it targetted the African-American FEMALE vote by linking Ford with White women.

As I noted at the time – a point echoed by Shay, a blogger from Illinois who is Black and female – the issue of Black male interest in white women has long been social concern of African American women.
This extends to paler skinned Black women…one of whom, my best friend actually, was regularly harrassed in high school by darker skinned girls as her skin and features attracted Black male interest.

The beauty of these ads was that – given the deep taboos about these issues in America – no one in the MSM could even mention that one of its key target demographics was Black women.

When you can politically hammer your opponents senseless…and yet the opponents can’t even bring themselves to explain how they were beaten…THAT is political genius!!!

I would also note the structure of the ad seemed targetted for YouTube. Note how the freezeframe of the ad – even when reviewed negatively on Slate etc. – was on an image of the blonde hottie. Thus, increasing the likelihood of its online clickability among males.

Brilliance…perhaps the best political ad I have seen in years.

Thus, I am not surprised at all that McCain hired its creator. He is pooling serious talent.

What I meant was that even if the people themselves are hypocritical, they do judge political leaders by these standards (and of course, some of the people do uphold standards and I won’t judge them by saying whether or not they are in the majority)

in Tennessee, that (being a Christian) doesn’t mean partying on Saturday night and then showing up in the pews on Sunday

I grew up in the South and spent plenty of time in TN. You must have missed all the parties and the hungover congregations.

He campaigned as a devout Christian and in Tennessee, that doesn’t mean partying on Saturday night and then showing up in the pews on Sunday.

Right, and Baptists don’t dance or drink. At least not here in the alternative universe.

Especially white people telling minorities that certain things aren’t racist or offensive, usually followed up with a “See, there’s not really a lot of racism anymore.”

Honestly it isn’t that big of a deal and I’m not trying to be argumentative, though the more I try to clarify my point I’m afraid it may seem that I’m trying to make a big deal of it- but that isn’t my intention.

Isn’t this campaign manager the only one that succeeded in getting a freshman GOP canidate elected?

Say what you will about the racism thing – McCain’s primary motivation is winning, and this manager, sour scumbag or savvy strategist, is the only guy who won in 2006.

The last anti-race mixing law in the South wasn’t repealed until 2000.

But the fact that these laws have been repealed shows that there are now enough fair-minded people in the South that there would be offense taken toward the use of racist ads. In order to believe that the GOP would plan a campaign strategy to appeal to bigots, we have to believe that they would ignore the possibility of backlash from voters who are not racist and are offended by racism.