THE "ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM"---RACISM---WHY OBAMA IS IN TROUBLE

The mainstream anchors and pundits have been scratching their heads and trying to find out why Barack Obama is not miles ahead of John McCain in the polls.

Like "the elephant in the room," the reason is right in front of their eyes but the media continues to travel down roads like the "bridge to nowhere" in Alaska that end up a dead end in trying to explain why Obama hasn't taken off in the polls

Racism is the "elephant in the room" and all polls indicate people will not be honest with pollsters when asked if race will affect their vote.

Of course it will, and the McCain campaign, which is now run by Karl Rove surrogates and former Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth leftovers from the '04 campaign, are going to work 24/7 in reminding the "closet racists"that Barack Obama is a Black man.

FOX NEWS and the right wing radio talk shows keep pounding away at how Obama is an "elitist and arrogant" even though Obama was raised by his grandmother and lived for many years on food stamps.

John McCain, on the other hand, came from a military family including a father who was an Admiral in the U.S. Navy, and McCain never had to rely on food stamps to eat. McCain may have ended third from last in his class at Annapolis, but he still was among the privileged few who receive an appointment to attend the U.S. Naval Academy.

But it is isn't just latent racism why Obama is in trouble.

The media have turned on Obama and they are coming off as McCain campaign assistants as the story below so aptly points out.

Comments by BILL CORCORAN editor of CORKSPHERE

Why Obama Could be in Trouble

By Robert Parry, Consortium NewsPosted on August 7, 2008, Printed on August 7, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/94030/

It might seem unlikely that the United States would elect John McCain to succeed George W. Bush when that would ensure continuation of many unpopular Bush policies: an ill-defined war with the Muslim world, right-wing consolidation of the U.S. Supreme Court, a drill-oriented energy strategy, tax cuts creating massive federal deficits, etc., etc.

But there are reasons -- beyond understandable concerns about Barack Obama's limited experience -- that make a McCain victory possible, indeed maybe probable.

Here is one of the big ones: The U.S. news media is as bad as ever, arguably worse.

On Monday, Obama gave a detail-rich speech on how he would address the energy crisis, which is a major point of concern among Americans. From ideas for energy innovation to retrofitting the U.S. auto industry to conservation steps to limited new offshore drilling, Obama did what he is often accused of not doing, fleshing out his soaring rhetoric.

McCain responded with a harsh critique of Obama's calls for more conservation, claiming that Obama wants to solve the energy crisis by having people inflate their tires. McCain's campaign even passed out a tire gauge marked as Obama's energy plan.

For his part, McCain made clear he wanted to drill for more oil wherever it could be found and to build many more nuclear power plants.

These competing plans offered a chance for the evening news to address an issue of substance that is high on the voters' agenda. Instead, NBC News anchor Brian Williams devoted 30 seconds to the dueling energy speeches, without any details and with the witty opening line that Obama was "refining" his energy plan.

So, instead of dealing with a serious issue in a serious way, NBC News ignored the substance and went for a clever slight against Obama, hitting his political maneuvering in his softened opposition to more offshore drilling.

Williams's quip fit with one of the press corps' favorite campaign narratives, Obama's flip-flopping. But the coverage ignored far more important elements of the story, such as the feasibility of Obama's vow that "we must end the age of oil in our time" or the wisdom of McCain's emphasis on drilling -- and nuking -- the nation out of its energy mess.

And, as for flip-flops, McCain's dramatic repositioning of himself as an anti-environmentalist -- after years of being one of the green movement's favorite Republicans -- represents a far more significant change than Obama's modest waffling on offshore oil.

Click on link above to read the full story by Robert Parry, award-winning journalist.