Hate Talk Express

I don't know whether Karl Rove's latest observation to Republicans about how to message on Obama is "Hate Talk" or just plain old fashioned delusion...

"Even if you never met him, you know this guy. He's the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by."

For so many reasons, whether as an observation or a messaging strategy, this is just plain crazy. Barack spent part of his youth on food stamps, was abandoned by his father, and epitomizes the self-made man who chooses to give back to the community rather than pursue the lucrative options of the private sector, such as country club membership.

But it underscores an interesting psychological phenomenon I have increasingly noticed in the Republican talking points - they are intimidated and fearful of a black man who is smarter and more strategically savvy than they are. There is an insecurity there, and it manifests itself in projection... we all know intuitively that Rove, Bush and probably the whole Republican political establishment has spent more time at country clubs holding martinis than Barack ever has or will.