September 26, 2012--"Barack, Call Me"

I have been trying to figure out what the Romney people plan to do a week or so before Election Day to destroy Barack Obama's candidacy. How will they swift-boat him the way the Bush folks successfully undermined John Kerry's bid for the presidency by calling his heroic service in Vietnam into question? Wasn't it ironic, I thought at the time, that someone who served honorably in combat was savaged politically by someone who avoided combat by hanging out stateside in the Texas National Guard.

What then is in store for Obama? Will the hundreds of millions of dollars of unspent Super PAC money be devoted to reminding us of the Reverend Wright? Will the birther thing once more rear its ugly head? Will we again see pictures of Obama in native dress while visiting Kenya as a young man?

Probably yes, but voters have been over this ground and it didn't work the first time--Obama handily defeated John McCain.

But here's the new dirt I think Karl Rove and the Koch brothers have up their sleeves--

Do you remember the Tennessee Senate race in 2006? The one in which Congressman Harold Ford attempted to become the first African-American senator from the Volunteer State? He was running neck-in-neck with Bob Corker, who up to the time was best known as a successful builder and real estate operative.

Ten days before Election Day--swift-boat time--Corker's campaign released a series of faux street interviews in which "everyday" Tennesseans told half-truths about Ford's record and platform. Familiar enough. Pretty much every campaign airs deceptive ads of this kind.

What was distinctive about these, however, was the appearance of a half-clad blonde who leeringly whispered into the camera--"I met Harold at a Playboy party."  And then at ad's end she reappeared, winked, and coyly said, "Harold, call me."

This played to rumors that the unmarried Congressman Ford had an eye for white women.

Immediately the polls turned around and Corker won narrowly with 50.7 percent of the vote.

From this experience, the one thing Republicans have steered clear from when attacking Obama is to float stories that he is interested in white women. The National Enquirer, among other supermarket tabloids, through the years has published stories indicating Barack's marriage to Michelle is on the rocks, that they are sleeping in separate bedrooms, that she plans to dump him after the election and return to Chicago. Also, standard fictional fare.

Now, I am predicting, there will be reports about Obama cheating on Michelle. Of course with white women.

There will probably be no "Barack, call me" moment; but Rove is a clever if evil boy and I assume that what he comes up with will resonate with the haters and might even convince an independent voter or two to vote for the seeming straight shooter--Mitt Romney.

However, this time it won't work. It will backfire.

The one thing even the anti-Obama crowd agree about is that he is a good family man. Such an assault on his character would also allow him to express moral outrage that Romney would allow such a slander.

But if ten days before the election Obama is still in the lead, stand back.