you can’t un-call someone a terrorist

In a campaign stop earlier today, Barack Obama commented on recent McCain/Palin campaign events where audience members have called him “a terrorist,” and shouted out that he should be killed. Obama said, “It’s easy to rile up a crowd… Nothing’s easier than riling up a crowd by stoking anger and division. But that’s not what we need right now in the United States.” The McCain campaign, in response, issued a statement seeming to chastise the Senator from Illinois for his condemnation of those who would see him killed.

Nicolle Wallace, a senior McCain advisor, responded with the following: “Barack Obama’s assault on our supporters is insulting and unsurprising. These are the same people Obama called ‘bitter’ and attacked for ‘clinging to guns’ and faith. He fails to understand that people are angry at corrupt practices in Washington and Wall Street and he fails to understand that America’s working families are not ‘clinging’ to anything other than the sincere hope that Washington will be reformed from top to bottom… Attacking our supporters is a new low for the campaign that’s run more millions of dollars of negative ads than any other in history.”


And, rather than quell the fears of those in the country who, thanks to the campaign rhetoric about Obama’s relationship with former 60’s radical Bill Ayers, already think that Obama is an enemy agent seeking to do us harm, the McCain camp issued a new ad claiming that Obama is “too risky for America”.

Here’s the ad:

Political consultant David Gergen today warned McCain and Palin of, “whipping around anger that could really lead to some violence.” It’s one thing when the “New York Times” says McCain and Palin have, “gone far beyond the usual fare of quotes taken out of context and distortions of an opponent’s record — into the dark territory of race-baiting and xenophobia.” It’s another when someone like Gergen, who worked in both the Nixon and Reagan administrations, warns that you’re likely to insight violence.

Given the video clips currently going around the web of men and women gathering at McCain/Palin rallies in swing states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, it certainly seems as though something may be about to boil over.

Speaking of Ayers, and these accusations of terrorism, I found the following comment on Metafilter to be particularly good:

Even after every stunt they’ve pulled, today’s McCain ad left me stunned. “Ayers and Obama ran a radical education foundation”. This is the Chicago Annenberg Challenge we’re talking about. A public school reform project founded by Walter Annenberg, Nixon’s ambassador to the UK. Annenberg’s widow has the same “terrorist ties” as Obama does, but McCain welcomes and promotes her endorsement, because he knows this is a non-story.

Radical. They know this claim isn’t connected to reality. Maybe they are not themselves racist. But they are willing and eager to stir up racism, and they are willing and eager to allow their rabid base to believe that the Democratic nominee for president is a terrorist. In their lust for a tiny chance at power, McCain and Palin are willing to risk the assassination of the man America wants to be president.

Update: McCain finally came out this afternoon and said, that Obama was a, “decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States.” He was, of course, met with a loud chorus of boos from the audience… Hopefully he’s still able to reign it in at this point. I’m afraid, however, the damage may already be done.