Damned if we're post racial, damned if we're not . . .

This article is intriguing in light of Harold Ford, Jr.'s yankee-patronizing comments about how Tennesseans would frown on his inter-racial marriage. The Woman Behind Harold Ford - The Daily Beast:

There were a number of reasons for wanting to keep [Ford, Jr.'s relationship with his then caucasian and now wife] quiet. For one, it was relatively new. For another, a month before his defeat, the RNC put out a now-infamous commercial featuring an actress who claimed to have met Ford at a party at the Playboy Mansion. “Call me,” she mouths at the end. The ad smacked of racism—implying that he was somehow unfit for office because he was a womanizer who liked white girls. (In point of fact, the ad was also deceptive; Ford is said to have been fairly indifferent to race where the women in his life are concerned. He was formerly engaged to a black woman.) Even though the ad was vilified, it did its damage.

The point was that he was a playboy (playa?), not that he dated white women.*

BTW, here's the humorous (and effective) ad:








*Incidentally, there's some interesting dirt in the article about Ford, Jr.'s level of playboy-ness:

About five years ago, [Ford's wife] met Ford at a wedding in New Orleans. At the time, he was known in political circles as something of a player. Says one woman who dated him briefly: “He pursued women vigorously and passionately, there’d be a week or 10 days of him being totally obsessive and then it was over. With me he just didn’t show up for a date.

Wow.


Hat tip, The Agenda.