LOL!

You’re right — the “he’s inexperienced” charge is not racial dog-whistling. And as you have seen, I have a keen ear for dog-whistling. Sorry ’bout that.

However, as we move towards a probable Obama victory (I’ll eat crow on Wed if need be), I think everyone better get ready for much discussion of dog-whistles. As a 50+, white, southern, history and political science buff, I offer my opinion that America has yet to get past its original sin: racism. We have come a long way, no lie. But we aren’t there yet. Fasten your seat belt, cause the next four years could be a bumpy (albeit interesting) ride.

I see your point on welfare, but Dickerson wasn’t making a socialism point, he was saying that it’s racial code to criticize Obama as “inexperienced.”

And as you point out, partly nationalizing the banks is a quintessentially socialist step. But there’s widespread agreement across the political spectrum that it was necessary, and I certainly believe it was. If the credit markets had remained frozen, it was only a matter of time before (for example) paychecks would start to bounce even at blue-chip companies. The ensuing panic would have crippled the American economy and, for that matter, the world economy.

Dickerson has a point buried in his comment as well, though. I haven’t listened to the podcast, but it sounds like it was very badly articulated. Here’s the point as I have observed it in republican talking points: The knock on Obama is not that giving tax dollars to large banks, partially nationalizing those institutions, is socialist (oh, yeah, that’s what the current Republican administration is doing). Its not an attack on the progressive income tax (oh, yeah, that won’t play really well when it seems to insulate many of the folks who got us into this economic mess). The socialist rap on Obama is “he will bring back welfare.”

“Welfare,” in this country, is seen as a program that takes money from hard-working white people and gives it to (invariably black) welfare queens who have more babies so they can make payments on brightly colored cadillacs. Although the majority of welfare recipients have ALWAYS been white, that’s not what most conservative white people believe. That’s the racist dog whistle Dickerson (apparently inarticulately) was referring to. Point John.

If Obama is president, his opponents must, absolutely, be able to criticize him without being accused of racism. However, where racist stereotypes underly such criticism, the opposition must expect the argument to include those underying sterotypes. I do NOT accuse you of racism. I DO accuse the RNC, playing on welfare as the basis for charges of socialism, to also be playing on racial stereotypes among many conservative voters.