New York Times Says McCain's Playing the Race Card

The good folks at MSNBC's "Hardball" might be pointing fingers at presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Barack Obama for playing the race card with his response to a new ad by the McCain campaign, but the editorial board of the New York Times ain't buyin' it!

Forgive the obvious pun, but color me -- amongst other things! -- unsurprised.

In a posting at the Times' blog "The Board" published moments ago, representatives of the Gray Lady predictably came to the junior senator's defense (emphasis added, h/t Hot Air):

The presumptive Republican nominee has embarked on a bare-knuckled barrage of negative advertising aimed at belittling Mr. Obama. The most recent ad compares the presumptive Democratic nominee for president to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton — suggesting to voters that he’s nothing more than a bubble-headed, publicity-seeking celebrity.

The ad gave us an uneasy feeling that the McCain campaign was starting up the same sort of racially tinged attack on Mr. Obama that Republican operatives, some of whom work for Mr. McCain now, ran against Harold Ford, a black candidate for Senate in Tennessee in 2006. That assault, too, began with videos juxtaposing Mr. Ford with young, white women. [...]

It’s ugly stuff. How about we leave Britney, Paris, and O.J. out of this — and have a presidential campaign?

I guess the Times has thrown down the gauntlet: better not come after our guy, or we'll accuse you of racism.

Forgive the obvious pun, but you should once again color me -- amongst other things! -- unsurprised.