The Black Candidate Wants to Avoid Race in the Campaign
KeithKoffler, recently argued in his blog that “race is being inserted into the 2012 campaign, particularly as a means to slander those who attack the president.”  This is followed by evidence, in the form of ‘left leaning’ reporter Sam Donaldson criticizing a reporter who interrupted the president.  Here is what Donaldson said:

“What this man did yesterday is something new, to me wrong and unusual. I think it is probably the result of the growing incivility of the times, the competition among reporters and news organizations to be noticed not only for the work product but for the theatrics of the gathering…and there is one more factor, let’s face it: Many on the political right believe this president ought not to be there – they oppose him not for his polices and political view but for who he is, an African American! These people and perhaps even certain news organizations (certainly the right wing talkers like Limbaugh) encourage disrespect for this president. That is both regrettable and adds, in this case, to the general dislike of the press on the part of the general public.”

This is hardly a left leaning injection of race.  It is an observation. 

Koffler continues, noting that the “introduction of racial issues threatens to create a new and pernicious element of divisiveness that could create racial tensions during the campaign and induce a dangerous racial backlash after it, no matter who wins.”  The assumption that Donaldson's observation is when race and divisiveness get injected seems weak and the rest reads like a veiled threat, masking the more pernicious (and not so new) element of divisiveness and racial tension here.

Koffler points out that Bill Maher (someone who actually is left leaning) criticized Matt Drudge for racism.  This may or may not be true…but Koffler’s point is that the problem with race today is only manifest when people complain about racism.  Clearly false and disingenuous, regardless of what we think of Bill Maher or Matt Drudge.

Koffler later repeats this same point, saying that on "Tuesday... MSNBC host Christopher Matthews asked former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown whether House Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa’s treatment of Holder was 'ethnic.'"  Simply asking the question is injecting race…not the behavior that spurs the question being asked in the first place?  And should we not be concerned about the answer to the question, if we are really concerned about how race matters here?

The second problem with Koffler's analysis is captured by the incoherent juxtaposition of these two consecutive sentences in his blog. “As the campaign heats up and attacks in general on Obama become more fierce, such talk of race is only likely to increase. And it could become a useful weapon in the hands of unscrupulous Obama defenders hoping to intimidate the president’s opponents with the threat of being branded as racist.”

The first sentence suggests, correctly, that the race card is rooted in attacks on Obama.  Why, after all, would a black candidate in a country that is 12% black want to highlight his blackness?  That would not be a winning strategy and electoral campaigns are usually about winning.  Then, Koffler inexplicably shifts to claim that the tool designed to attack Obama would be a useful weapon for Obama...and that is the cause for concern according to Koffler.