This incident could become a watershed event in the 11 days before the election.
If Ms. Todd’s allegations are proven accurate, some voters may revisit their support for Senator Obama, not because they are racists (with due respect to Rep. John Murtha), but because they suddenly feel they do not know enough about the Democratic nominee.
If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting.
Now that Ashley Todd has been exposed, I feel certain that Fox News will take its cue from Mr. Moody and report accordingly. Right?
McCain’s smear campaign, with the “help” of third-party groups, has been not just unsuccessful, it has blown up in his face, destroyed the “Maverick” brand he spent 20 years fabricating cultivating, and made most Americans less likely to vote for him.
Will our simple-minded political pundits and consultants see this as a sign that Americans won’t stomach this kind of campaign anymore, or just that McCain and the GOP executed very poorly this year, or that Obama countered it very well, or that the economic conditions just weren’t right for it? And will Democratic consultants take some lessons from Team Obama on how to combat Republican smears?
I would love to see Republican candidates forced to try to win on their own merits, because they have none.
4 commentsOctober 24th, 2008 at 07:15amPosted by Eli