Move over Lanny Davis and Joe Wilson, I think Larry Johnson has produced the most unconvincing and convoluted pro-Hillary argument yet! The gist of Johnson's case is that Obama has all sorts of skeletons in his closet that the GOP attack machine will use to crush him in November. But before Johnson lists those skeletons, he gets in a few classy cheap shots. My favorite:
So, while Democrats engage in self-censorship and promote the worst kind of affirmative action pandering in promoting the myth of Obama, the Republicans are keeping mum and, like Brer Rabbit, begging not to be tossed into the briar patch and face the fearsome Obama. (Want to bet how many accusations of racism I will get for referring to Brer Rabbit?)
Hmm, I think the charge of "affirmative action pandering in promoting the myth of Obama" has more of a whiff of racism than the Brer Rabbit reference, but maybe that's just me.
Okay, on to the skeletons. Johnson comes up with three--Tony Rezko, William Ayres, and Rashid Khalidi--of whom he writes:
These names will become shorthand for Corruption, Terrorism, and the Destruction of Israel. Oh yes, I know. I am going to extremes. Well, let me lay out the facts and explain how the Republicans will likely use these relationships to bludgeon Obama's presidential aspirations into dust.
The thing is, the facts Johnson lays out are either so thin or so twisted that I don't think even the most creative right-wing ad maker could do much with them. (For instance, the WaPo does a good job here debunking Obama's William Ayres "problem.") But who needs right-wing hit men when you have Larry Johnson? Seriously, it's really kind of remarkable that the Clintonites' fear and loathing of the vast right-wing conspiracy has morphed into something approaching respect for--and even immitation of--it.
--Jason Zengerle