Haven't heard the "jungle drums" ad (but I've read about it all over the place.) If it's as been described it's pretty vile. As for the "Bimbo" ad, which I have seen, it's very clearly an appeal to a fear of miscegenation (sp?)

I don't think the intent of these ads is to convince anyone to switch from Ford to Corker, but to make whatever segment of the population that these ads would appeal to (who may or may not be 'likely voters' absent this appeal) show up on Nov. 7 when they otherwise might not. It's classic "rally the basest-of-the-base" stuff.

I have no idea how effective it will be - it's equally plausible that it is offensive enough that any gains for Corker will be more than offset by the number of center-right whites who want to show that the south isn't like that anymore, and so vote for Ford. Who knows? Thankfully, it's almost over...

it's very clearly an appeal to a fear of miscegenation

Except that it's not clear. I don't see it. I just showed the video to my wife to see if I'm just wearing blinders, but her take on the ad was that it's point was that Ford was for bad stuff. When I told her about the argument the ad is racist, she looked at me like I'm crazy.

I'm not saying it's not racist. I'm just saying that I don't think it's nearly as clear as Marshall is claiming.

It's a fine thing that neither you nor Mrs. O. live in fear of black men having sex with white women, and all that that might entail. You are aware, though, that there are a great many people who have visceral reactions to this kind of thing, right?

Andrew, I recall reading a comment in an OW thread that said you didn't know how to speak liberal. That's because you're burdened by (drumroll) common sense. Apparently Harold Ford agrees with you. At least that's what he said last night on Maher's "Real Time". In 1970, I watched a candidate for governor in Alabama use the "N" word without pause. We can agree that that was racist (George Wallace was the progressive in that race). At some point (and we've reached it here), this discussion devolves into silliness. Ford recognizes that, just as you do. Here's a hunch: folks influenced by this ad probably weren't Ford voters in the first place.

Charley,

I'm well-aware of that. I'm assuming from your comment that you see the ad as 'clearly racist' as well. I guess maybe my racism-meter is simply out of whack; while I can see why people might be concerned about the problem, I just have a hard time seeing it in that ad.

ck,

I'd prefer you not use generalities like suggesting that liberals lack common sense. I find it quite infuriating when people make blanket claims about conservatives and libertarians, so I'd rather not see people make similar claims about liberals. It doesn't add anything to the argument. I'm willing to entertain the argument that people are seeing racism where it doesn't exist (especially in the radio spot), but blanket comments like they lack common sense don't further the discussion. Thanks.

You're way overreading what I wrote. I'm not a conservative nor would I suggest that liberals lack common sense. I'm a bit surprised by what your comment. It seems that your assumptions extend far beyond my words. Maybe that's how you feel at OW.

ck,

Fair enough.

Good grief. I think Ford's a great candidate and would vote for him if I could.

ck,

I'm not sure what else you want me to say. I'm sorry; I did not intentionally misinterpret your comments, that's just how I read them. I will be more cautious in the future.

Not a problem... just a momentary surge of testosterone. You do a fine job here- you organize your thoughts and write exceptionally well. For someone who was the resident con at OW, I've found you to be quite moderate and fair in your views.

enough said.

Again, the ad isn't directed at you Andrew. There is still some segment of the population for whom interracial dating is taboo. I can't even speculate as to the size of that segment but Corker/Mehlman clearly think it's enough to make the inevtiable backlash worth it (or they thought they were being subtle enough so there wouldn't be backlash...)

I saw the race-baiting aspect without prompting. Maybe that's because I'm expecting it and seeing it were it doesn't actually exist, but I don't think so.

CK, re: Ford - I think he's being incredibly canny in not crying racism himself, letting others do it for him. It A) let's him seem like the bigger man, and B) doesn't let people say "he just called us a bunch of ignorant hicks"

You're right, Pooh. Just heard that his polling is on the upswing again, after a downward movement following his confrontation at Corker's press conference.

Andrew, I don't find formulations like 'clearly racist' useful. I do think that the ad was designed to appeal to racists. And all the better if someone like you (by which I mean an honest and decent man) doesn't see it that way.

One need not be a racist to hope that one gets the votes of racists, of course, and I draw no inference about Corker's views on race other than that he wants to win badly enough that he's willing to be seen as pandering.

This is an argument I get into with Leftish people all the time -- whether Democrats should play just as dirty, or whether it's better to follow rules of decency and lose elections.

Charley,

I concur, as I rarely find it useful to hear anything described as 'clearly X,' since if it were really clearly X, there wouldn't be any dispute.

Sometimes, there are crystal clear lines of demarcation- like using the "N" word in a governor's race. Are they rare? Increasingly, yes. Are there murkier instances of racism- something less than definite? Of course. "Macaca"? Yep, I thought so. Trent Lott on the good old days of Jim Crow? Yes. Howard Cosell ("look at that little monkey run?")- I didn't think so, based upon Cosell's solid pro civil rights past. I didn't think the Ford ad rose to the level of racism (neither did he), though reasonable people can disagree in that assessment. Gesh.

Forgot to mention Ahmadinejad in the lineup of clear examples.

CharleyC's 9:22 post is right on the money - in fact, I'd say the ad is trying not to be clearly racist...

CK, re Cossell, there's also tape of him saying the exact same thing about 5 years previous about a white player.

Don't ask "is the ad racist?", to which the answer is, as best I can see, "not explicitly". Ask: do you think that the people who made the ad cast a white woman in that role deliberately? I do. Then ask: why?, and something like CharleyCarp's line of thought will seem like a pretty plausible answer.

At any rate, that is what bothers me about it -- and also, I think, the point behind Josh Marshall's comment about how out of place the bimbo bit is in the rest of the ad.

(I actually thought the snippet about North Ko-rea was pretty funny. Not accurate, but funny.)

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