DUMBEST. CAMPAIGN OBSERVATION. EVER…. I’ve been reluctant to comment on the incident regarding Ashley Todd, because it seems there are a variety of unanswered questions about what, exactly, transpired. Todd, as you may have heard, is a McCain campaign volunteer who claims to have been robbed and beaten in Pittsburgh by a large black man, in part because of her McCain campaign bumper sticker.
The best round-up I’ve seen on the story and what we know so far comes from my friend Alex Koppelman at Salon, who summarizes why Todd’s story has drawn scrutiny, why political observers on the left and right are suspicious about the veracity of her claims, and highlights the fact that local police officials have noted “inconsistencies” and “changes” in Todd’s version of events.
I’ll withhold judgment on this until more information is available. I won’t, however, withhold judgment on this breathtaking piece from John Moody, Fox News’ executive vice president, who described the alleged Ashley Todd crime as a “moment of truth.”
Part of the appeal of, and the unspoken tension behind, Senator Obama’s campaign is his transformational status as the first African-American to win a major party’s presidential nomination. That does not mean that he has erased the mutual distrust between black and white Americans, and this incident could become a watershed event in the 11 days before the election.
If Ms. Todd’s allegations are proven accurate, some voters may revisit their support for Senator Obama, not because they are racists (with due respect to Rep. John Murtha), but because they suddenly feel they do not know enough about the Democratic nominee.
If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting.
I haven’t the foggiest idea what this man is talking about.
To hear the executive vice president of Fox News tell it, if a young white woman was beaten by a black man, voters will revisit whether they know Obama well. If the young woman’s story is a hoax, voters will reject McCain. This is the most blisteringly stupid political analysis I’ve seen in quite a while. There’s no coherence here whatsoever. What does the incident have to do with getting to know Obama? What does McCain have to do with Todd’s story? Moody doesn’t say.
Keep in mind, John Moody’s job at Fox News includes sending daily memos to the network’s staff and on-air personalities, explaining how to cover the day’s news.
It tells us quite a bit about the network.
