Well, fast forward five years. Eagleburger apparently is back in the party line. In August he wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper (not-so-fondly known as the Daily Regress) in which he compares Barack Obama to Joseph McCarthy.

Apart from the fact that the sitting president more closely resembles McCarthy than anyone else currently in or running for office, this was clearly a disingenuous, misleading attack on Obama.  The basis for the comparison? Remarks Obama made to supporters in a speech in Florida: "They're going to try to make you afraid of me. 'He's young and inexperienced, and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black?' "  

Eagleburger called this an accusation of racism against McCain. But of course, Obama's remarks were not about McCain, but about Republicans.  And there were already racist comments being made about Obama at the time Eagleburger wrote his letter, so he would already have been behind the curve (if he somehow really naively thought Repubs were above racism).  But with the recent incidents of racism and invective directed toward Obama at McCain rallies, I wonder how Eagleburger is feeling about his letter now? Does he regret having so dishonestly portrayed Obama while attempting to whitewash GOP political tactics, and the racist views of its members? 

As far as what these McCain followers are actually doing at his rallies, I say, good. Let right-minded American voters see what these people are really like. There are some decent, well-meaning (if deluded) Republicans (I think!), and they need to see who they are throwing their lot in with. This is not to say there aren't racist Democrats as well--of course, racism and sexism lurk under all kinds of rocks. But the people who are really full of hate gravitate to the Republican party. Why? One can only guess that they believe it's a safe harbor for them. And the fact that they are openly spewing their hate in public would indicate that this is so.  If there are, in fact, any decent, well-meaning Republicans out there (and decent, well-meaning independents and undecideds), I hope that your eyes are open now. With whom do you wish to cast your (bal)lot? 

Back in August, I couldn't let Eagleburger's disinformation stand unchallenged, so I wrote a letter to the editor in response [also a blogpost]. They didn't print it--though they did publish another response that was much shorter than mine, and didn't directly take Eagleburger to task (didn't even mention him).  Here's the text of my letter as I sent it:

To the Editor:

 

I was disappointed to read former Secretary of State Laurence Eagleburger’s disingenuous letter to the editor regarding a statement Barack Obama made to supporters. Mr. Obama predicted that Republicans will try to sway voters by appealing to racial prejudices. But Mr. Obama was not referring to Mr. McCain. He said only that Republicans will use race in an attempt to defeat his candidacy. (Although it is true that after eight years of bungling by the Republican administration, there are not too many Republicans left, surely there are more than just Mr. McCain.)  I don’t expect that Mr. McCain will make any racist remarks, but that doesn’t mean that some of his supporters won’t do so.

 

The GOP will certainly use any tactic they think will work to turn voters away from Mr. Obama. In fact, smear tactics referencing Mr. Obama’s race have already begun (he has not needed to “drag the issue in through the back door”). Fox News has referred to Michelle Obama as Mr. Obama’s “baby mama”; Right-wing activist Grover Norquist, a McCain supporter, referred to Obama as “John Kerry with a tan” (not a racist remark per se, but a reference to race nonetheless).

 

Sec. Eagleburger, a sophisticated man with much experience in the world of politics, also professes to believe that racism is a thing of the “old bad days,” seemingly unaware of recent news reports (in the Washington Post just last week) regarding the increase of white supremacist groups emboldened by Mr. Obama’s candidacy.

 

Sec. Eagleburger inappropriately equates Mr. Obama’s remarks to his supporters with a “vicious attack” made by Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Leaving aside the damage that Mr. McCarthy wreaked on our country and our Constitution (damage perhaps only equaled by Mr. Bush), Mr. Obama has made no vicious attacks. In fact, his entire campaign has been notable for taking the high road. Reminding his supporters of the reality of racism in this country—and it is a reality—is hardly a vicious attack.

 

One day, when race is truly no longer an issue, a presidential contender need neither remind supporters that racist attacks are likely to be forthcoming, nor be subjected to such attacks. Unfortunately, we are not there yet, as Sec. Eagleburger knows full well.