TALKATIVE, ISN'T SHE? – AT 9:05 A.M. ET:  Speaking of cultural elites (see post just below), no one is more in that category than Mary Frances Berry, former head of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and now professor of something called American social thought and history at the very Ivy League University of Pennsylvania. 

Berry has a record of certified wackiness, but this quote will undoubtedly endear her to her fellows in the faculty lounge.  From The Politico:

Tainting the tea party movement with the charge of racism is proving to be an effective strategy for Democrats. There is no evidence that tea party adherents are any more racist than other Republicans, and indeed many other Americans. But getting them to spend their time purging their ranks and having candidates distance themselves should help Democrats win in November. Having one’s opponent rebut charges of racism is far better than discussing joblessness.

COMMENT:  Oh my, oh my.  Will any liberal newspaper condemn such a statement? 

Please notice the way in which the race card has been pulled from the deck recently, and used.  The most prominent example was the NAACP's description of tea partiers as racists.  The objective, apparently, is to energize and scare the base.

And, of course, we have the administration's assault on Arizona, designed to attract the Hispanic vote.  (I wonder how many Hispanic-Americans will buy the argument.) 

Some of the main elements of the Obama coalition in 2008 were blacks, Hispanics, and the young.  Well, the strategy for appealing to blacks and Hispanics has become clear, but what about the young?  I suspect the Dems will tell young voters that, under Republicans, they'll have to grow up.  That might produce a Democratic landslide.

July 21, 2010