Your Day In Race

In Michigan, there's a proposal (#2) on the ballot to permit stem cell research in the state. The "no" side has financed a series of ads talking about genetic research gone amok, presuming that we'll somehow turn Michigan into a charmingly Midwestern Gattaca if it goes forward. It also makes the following rather...let's call it insulting comparison between tiny clumps of embryonic cells and the walking, talking, thinking black men at Tuskegee:

Let Freedom Ring, a Republican 527, is also running ads up here assailing Obama's "present" votes in the Illinois legislature. Well, no, actually. They're running ads accusing him of loving chicken.

Chicken buttons, that is:

Now, the button in the commercial says "Present", so they knew what it said. Why would you take the awkward step of prominently associating a black candidate with chicken over and over again, particularly when there's another way to refer to it that's been used in attacks before? And did you know that we had other black dudes at Tuskegee who didn't have chicken buttons? Hmmm?

Incidentally, to let you know how bad the anti-Obama messaging is, LFR has thirteen separate ads posted. There are 12 days left in the election.