Why no HageeGate? Russert explains
By Liz Cox Barrett, CJR, May 6, 2008

On Imus in the Morning yesterday, Tim Russert supplied an answer to that question — bubbling online and, yesterday, on the New York Times’ op-ed page — given WrightGate, where is HageeGate? You know, not that it’s an apples-to-apples comparison (Obama’s relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright and McCain’s relationship with Rev. John Hagee) but why have Wright’s way-out words received wall-to-wall coverage while Hagee’s hateful homilies have hardly been mentioned? [complete article]

Editor’s Comment — If there’s a lesson to take away from the Wright issue, I’d say it’s that we should hope that there will not be a HageeGate?

How come? Wouldn’t there be some sort of parity in that?

Firstly, McCain insulated himself quite effectively from the get go by saying, “It’s simply not accurate to say that because someone endorses me that I therefore embrace their views.”

Secondly, Hagee is a slimy hatemonger who will gladly appear on any “telecast” and tailor his message to fit his audience.

Thirdly, bringing attention to Hagee will help him serve as a proxy who will fire up xenophobic support for McCain that McCain himself might not want overtly solicit.

Fourthly, attacks on Hagee will be used to imply that his critics are anti-Semites.

Fifthly, HageeGate could easily become as big a distraction from the slim possibility of there being a substantive campaign as has been the Wright issue.

Sixthly, to compare Wright to Hagee is an insult to Wright.

As for whether Tim Russert has any interest in digging into this: On MSNBC last night, he actually said there’s plenty of time for this issue to be brought up. That sounds like he was saying, when a news organization decides that now is the time to air a Hagee video, that’s exactly what they’ll do. But if instead of it being one of his attacks on Catholicism, it’s one of his attacks on Islam, this election will turn uglier than anything that’s happened so far.

It’s all over now, baby blue
By John B Judis, New Republic, May 7, 2008

The Democratic primary is over. Hillary Clinton might still run in West Virginia and Kentucky, which she’ll win handily, but by failing to win Indiana decisively and by losing North Carolina decisively, she lost the argument for her own candidacy. She can’t surpass Barack Obama’s delegate or popular vote count. The question is no longer who will be the Democratic nominee, but whether Obama can defeat Republican John McCain in November. And the answer to that is still unclear.

During the last two months, Obama has faltered as a candidate. He has seen his political base narrow rather than widen, and some of his strengths turn into weaknesses. Of course, he has had to deal with the scandal surrounding Reverend Jeremiah Wright, but even so, he needs to remedy certain flaws in his political approach if he wants to defeat McCain in the fall. [complete article]

Editor’s Comment — Judis continues a spurious line of argument that the media has pushed throughout this primary: that there is some form of equivalence between a contest between Obama and Clinton and between Obama and McCain — as though there is no inherent difference between a primary and the general election. But of course there is.

Let’s just take one of what Judis lists as Obama’s “flaws” – lack of forcefulness.

As much as Obama has said he has never taken getting the nomination for granted, unlike his opponent he has campaigned with an eye to winning the support of her supporters. He hopes that hardcore Clinton supporters can become willing Obama voters. Hillary’s forcefulness on the other hand — the fighting spirit that the media has become so enamored with in recent weeks — has been applied without the slightest consideration about how she would repair the damage if, against all odds, she was to win the nomination. Her willingness to trample on her opponent might have created the perception that she’s tough, but what she has really displayed is a form of political recklessness that veers towards being self-destructive.

Instead of talking about forcefulness — something that can amount to nothing more than political theater — what really counts is steel and determination: an unwavering focus not only on winning the election but on what comes after that. By this measure Obama has already demonstrated that he’s made of the right stuff and perfectly capable of standing up against a fumbling McCain.