Tone Deaf

Captain Ed finds this fascinating bit of tone-deafness on the part of the almost-completey-white Kerry campaign, reported (inadvertently, I'm sure) in teh NYTimes:

Billye Burns, a retired teacher from West Monroe, had driven more than two hours to see Mr. Kerry in Baton Rouge. Ms. Burns, who is black, sat at a prime table marked "white ticket holders only [emph mine]." White tickets, she explained, were for those who were active in the party.

Ed asks the question:

Can you imagine the furor that would arise had the Bush campaign put signs on tables that read "white ticket holders only", regardless of the reason? In Louisiana? I'm no water-carrier for Affirmative Action, but this displays a stunning lack of historical sensitivity and has to result from an ignorance that suggests no locals were involved in the planning and staging of Kerry's rally.

Amazing insensitivity.

The important question? What did Kerry know, and when did he know it?

(You had to know that was coming, right?)

Posted by Mitch at May 11, 2004 06:57 AM