The Strangest Bedfellows

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton finally has something in common with those she once called members of the “vast right wing conspiracy”. Both are willing to do just about anything possible to ensure that Senator Barack Obama is not elected President of the United States.

The North Carolina Republican Party is the first mainstream political organization to use Obama’s link to his former pastor as a political liability in a TV advertisment. This type of ad is exactly what Clinton has been warning about for the fall—and it couldn’t come at a better time for her politically.

Since tapes surfaced from the most extreme sermons of Obama’s self-described “spiritual mentor” Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright , the Clintons have been privately telling super-delegates that Obama is unelectable.

According to ABC News and several other published reports, the behind-the-scenes Clinton contend that Wright’s comments will allow Republicans to smear Obama into being perceived as an angry black man that can’t be trusted instead of the post-racial healer that he is running as.

Publicly, Clinton has been much kinder to Obama. In their recent debate on ABC, she said for the first time that Obama could indeed win in the fall. In fact, she said it three times, “YES! YES! YES!”

But the Clintons can’t get too publicly nasty in pushing the anti-Wright storyline because they risk permanently alienating black voters, who they will need in the fall if Hillary can somehow capture the nomination. Even though Obama is consistently winning 90 percent of black votes, the Clintons will put on a full court press to earn back that valuable constituency—even if means begrudgingly offering the vice presidential nomination to Obama.

But Republicans don’t have to worry about carrying black voters in the fall — they already know they won’t. The last few election cycles, African-Americans have turned out nine to one for the Democrat. They are the Party’s most loyal constituency.

I am not saying that most Republicans are racist, but there is a portion of the party (and a number of Democrats) that wonders about whether Obama shares their “values”. This is why his comments about poor voters clinging to guns, God, and xenophobia out of bitterness were especially damaging. Voters want to know if he is “one of us"—and these recent episodes call into question the fundamental nature of his ability to respect us as equals and bring us together.

The presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee Senator John McCain has asked the N.C. GOP to take the ad off its website, but so far the Carolinians have completely ignored the supposed Party standard bearer. One has to wonder: 1. If McCain REALLY wanted this down, couldn’t he make it happen? 2. If he has that little control, what does that say about his ability to unite the party in the general next fall?

The advertisements could backfire and hurt the Republicans. Like ads targeting Clinton, they could make him seem like a victim that people want to rally behind, or they could be just enough to raise enough doubts to help Clinton win unexpectedly in North Carolina and further propel the storyline, “Why Can’t He Close the Deal? What’s Wrong With Barack Obama?”

Even if she does win next Tuesday, it could be too little too late. With Obama leading on total delegates, popular votes, and states won, there might not be time for buyer’s remorse on Obama.

But Hillary and her new allies will pull out every stop to try and make the switch to the Clinton brand permanent. 

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