A New Theme for the Fall?

Will this be the be one of the dog whistle phrases used in the general election season if Obama is the Dem nominee?

Before attending the Senate Armed Services Committee hearings today, McCain attended a rally held by Vets for Freedom and was introduced by former Army Staff Sargeant David Bellavia. While not mentioning either Dem candidate by name, but by way of saying who he'd rather have as a role model for his kids, Bellavia refers to McCain as the "real audacity of hope".

While the Woods' analogy is by no means trashing Obama - Tiger has come to represent strength, tenacity and drive - it's an intellectually lazy comparison of one multi-racial newsmaker and another expecting to find that these people are all the same. Barack Obama is not the Tiger Woods of politics. But hey, they're both light brown, right?

It's not the first time this comparison has been made and certainly won't be the last I'm afraid. Dog whistle politics, including code words like 'states rights', have been used effectively by the right for some time now. Some famous examples - Ronald Reagan in Philadelphia, MS, Bush II at Bob Jones University and the legendary Jesse Helms' "Hands" ad.

While McCain will claim to keep race out of his campaigns, his surrogates will feel free to make these and other much darker analogies couched in symbolism understood by the right if Obama is the nominee. If Clinton is the nominee, we'll see much less symbolism and much more rehash of the Clinton scandals of the 90's.

Here's your preview to Election '08 part deux.