So Far Over the Line

[groovedaddy]

(But they ARE a bunch of NAZIs!!!) GD

One of the hallmarks of the global digital age is that anyone with a computer can participate in the political debate. That can be wonderful. Or it can be appalling, like the new video Madonna is showing on her tour.

It shows a montage of genocide (a Nazi death camp, Asian and African killing fields) and faces of evil and oppression (Adolf Hitler, Ayatollah Khomeini, Robert Mugabe). Then it cuts to Mike Huckabee, who ran for the Republican nomination, and Senator John McCain, who is about to become the official Republican nominee.

This year’s presidential campaign has already been marked by far too much negative advertising, with coded racial images and sophomoric insults. It was outrageous when Mr. McCain’s campaign juxtaposed Mr. Obama with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears as part of its effort to denigrate him as a person, rather than debating him on this country’s huge problems.

Madonna’s video is immeasurably worse. If she thought she was helping Mr. Obama by juxtaposing his image with that of Gandhi and Bono, she was wrong.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/opinion/27weds3.html?th&emc=th

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

1. Hamfisted maybe, but not necessarily over the line

Compared to the filth that is being squirted out of the ass of the Republican party. Not to be too vivid or anything ;)

[blondeatlast]

2. Edit: My mistake. nt

[LongDistanceRunner]

3. you won't make any friends here defending McCain

[Uncle Joe]

4. Well it's a good thing, the billionaire owned one way communicating corporate media

wouldn't stoop to such levels! I'm sure the N.Y Times is all over this.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3453778

"Obama to DOJ: Block Terrorist Ad (Calls For Media Boycott To Fight Ayers Smear)"

[Overseas]

5. Madonna is a kooky rock star. McZombie's ads were from his own campaign.

Madonna's video was certainly over the top and thus rather revolting and dumb.
But it wasn't an official campaign ad like John Sidney McCain III's.
Therefore, Madonna's ad is not "immeasurably worse," McZombie's is.

[groovedaddy]

6. It's more effective to use McCain against himself, because most Americans

wouldn't know fascism if it bit them in the ass (which it has been doing for the last 7 + years!!!).

[nam78_two]

7. I am sorry -with all the other stuff going on I cannot conjure up any of this OUTRAGE over a Madonna

stunt..

I haven't seen the video and it is probably over the top, but we must be short on issues that are actually important that the NYT decides to dedicate an editorial to and have a fit over a kooky pop-star's video...

[groovedaddy]

8. Does the NY Times think we're on the slippery slope of FASCISM?

Probably not. They've done a fair amount of the enabling themselves.

[spanone]

9. artists are allowed to go 'over the line' candidates are not...imho

[BridgeTheGap]

10. I'd say the "swift boaters" went WAY over the line. And their leader is

doing it again with this bullshit book on Obama.