Posted by
Always To The Right on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 3:45:01 PM
Earlier, I wrote about the racebaiting that the Obama campaign has
conducted and how it has poisoned policy debate in this election cycle.
Obama adviser Austan Goolsbee gives a real-life demonstration of this
tactic in a debate on economic policy yesterday with Douglas
Holtz-Eakin. After Holtz-Eakin wondered aloud when Team Obama juggled
around a tax policy, Goolsbee all but accused Holtz-Eakin of being a
racist:
“Is that socialist? Are you a Muslim?”
Holtz-Eakin had a perfectly understandable objection to Goolsbee’s
statement — it differed from what Team Obama had proposed earlier.
Holtz-Eakin challenged Goolsbee on the accuracy of his statement, and
Goolsbee responded by basically admitting that Team Obama is making up
their tax policy as they go along. He then took a fair point about the
McCain health-care plan using the same mechanism and turned it into an
accusation of racism against Holtz-Eakin.
No one on Team McCain has ever accused Obama of being a Muslim — ever.
But it serves Goolsbee and Obama to make the accusation. Now,
discussion of mortgage-deduction policy can be declared racist and
off-limits to Team McCain for the final two weeks of the election … and
to the rest of the country for the next four years.
It’s unethical, dishonest, cheap, and finally stupid. But that’s the Team Obama approach to this election.