Will McCain Get a Pass on Racist Video Made by His Campaign?

Posted by Jane Hamsher, Firedoglake at 5:29 AM on March 21, 2008.

The dog whistle antennae of the mainstream media are finely tuned when they're talking about Democrats. It's the overt stuff from the GOP that seems to throw 'em.

So while I'd love to be proven wrong, I'm guessing we're not going to hear all that much about a McCain aide being "suspended" for pushing a YouTube of Obama, Wright and Malcom X that reinforces every racist attack currently in circulation. Says lobbyist Charles Black of the McCain campaign:

"What Sen. McCain has said repeatedly, is that these candidates cannot be held accountable for all the views of people who endorse them, or people who befriend them," Black said recently. "I don't think Sen. McCain wants to get in the middle of a discussion about Sen. Obama's former pastor, or his faith. He believes that people who endorse you, people who befriend you are entitled to their own views, but you are not held personally accountable."

Which is to say, McCain knows he can outsource this stuff and the beltway bores will never hold him accountable, so simply "suspending" the aide will be enough. David Broder saves his disappointment for those "missed opportunities" when McCain just does not crack the whip with those dang Iraqis. He won't lower himself to deal in the messy stuff.

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Tagged as: race, racism, obama, mccain, swiftboating, malcolm x, wright

Jane Hamsher is the founder of FireDogLake. Her work has also appeared on the Huffington Post, Alternet and The American Prospect.