Annals of unilateral disarmament

The Hill:

Yet not every speech has been completely overhauled. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who was asked by Obama to speak about the economy, was scheduled to deliver his speech Tuesday afternoon. The Obama campaign struck just one line from his speech, which slammed the Republicans and the Bush administration, according to a Democratic source.

That line, addressing Republicans, read: “They’re asking for another four years — in a just world, they’d get 10 to 20.”

Oh noes! That's not nice. Just because it happens to be true that scores of his henchmen and Bush himself are exposed to all sorts of criminal liability (e.g. FISA), and there was that convicted felon whose sentence he commuted, it doesn't mean anyone has to point that out. Certainly not at the Democratic convention. There's no need to be uncivil, after all.

I get the concern about not appearing like an Angry Black Man. What I don't understand is why at this point it hasn't been supplanted by concerns about appearing like a totally spineless, naive black man who thinks that if you treat people with enough respect, it will all pay off in the end. At least the Angry Black Man stands a chance of being taken seriously on national security.

I may have been a little tough on Mark Warner if he was just giving the Obama campaign what they apparently want from their speakers: inoffensive, non-partisan happy horseshit (see: Sebelius, K.). I thought they were through that early phase of the campaign and were now actually going to ensure that Americans hear some negative stuff about Republicans and John McCain in particular before they vote. Silly me.