Begging an Answer

UPDATE: Winer asks a great question in the comments, and NeoNeocon writes about issue no. 1 on this list of political dustups.

Dave Winer’s recent post, re: a new McCain ad is a textbook example of identity politics in action. (Shocking, I know). The ad, which is reproduced at the above link (yes, I am too lazy to copy-paste some YouTube embed code), is commented on thus:

McCain is running an ad that, without saying anything that can be rebutted, shows images of promiscuous or crazy young white women in a commercial filled with imagery of Barack Obama, a black man.

Apparently challenging the experience of a politician who has spent the better part of his career frolicking about an incredibly corrupt Chicago political scene getting opponents kicked off of ballots on minor technicalities and associating with known criminals (To-ny Rez-ko, n.) can’t be rebutted. Although its refreshing that Winer is finally recognizing that Obama has, and will always, lose the experience argument, I think its a bit dishonest to suggest that McCain isn’t making a challengable assertion.

As for the white woman/black man bit: do we really need to rehash the sleazy identity politics of the Democratic primary? Or perhaps: do we really want to dig around for a black male celebrity with the tremendous vacouity of Britney Spears or Paris Hilton? Using the sort of race-baiting tactics that Winer employs here usually doesn’t work, which makes me wonder why exactly he published this sort of political bile to begin with.

Re: The Dean Scream:

The press has done some nasty sleazy hits of their own in recent elections. The Dean scream was manufactured by the press; only after he withdrew did the mea culpas come. The Swiftboat ads, unsubstantiated smears, were run nationally, for free, by the networks. That should not be tolerated.

Proponents of the theory that the Scream was the real reason Dean was looked at as insane (as opposed to, say, his radically leftist policies, which were nothing more than ploys to soak up the syncophantic praise of the MoveOn crowd) often blame the media for such things. And yet, somehow, they always forget to mention that the scream came after a stunning and crushing defeat for Dean, who had just placed a distant third behind a talking tree from the Wizard of Oz and a man whose entire political career is based on his elegant quaffe. Dean’s candidacy, in other words, was dead long before his lame attempt to Braveheart his way to the Presidency. That it made such great television was secondary to the fact that it represented the lone cry of a captain desperately trying not to go down with his ship. Game, set, match, scream, not the reverse.

As for the Swiftboat bit: it’s pretty telling that the left, who constantly gloat over their obvious lead in forming adoring communities around political personalities don’t actually believe that the other side should get their say. (Also interesting is that Winer fails to note that one of the less hyperactive critics of the Swift Vets was none other than John McCain, who defended Kerry based on the merits of his actions). We certainly didn’t see this kind of outrage from Winer when MoveOn decided to besmirch the reputation of one of our finest generals. (Even Obama’s condemned that one). Either way, the double standard is glaringly obvious.

And there you have it: three fine examples of how the left attempts not to win debate, but to control its rules in order to promote the illusion that they’ve won. Some might call this dishonest, others, childish.

Me? I’d go for both.