The MSM has picked the charge up:
The flier put out by Jim Webb’s campaign for U.S. Senate described his opponent as a corporate lobbyist who made money by sending American jobs overseas.
But what caught Dan Smolen’s attention was the cartoon that accompanied the text: That of a man with a hook nose and money spilling from his pockets.
It was a caricature of Harris Miller, Webb’s opponent in Tuesday’s Democratic primary who happens to be Jewish.
The image made Smolen, who is Jewish and Stafford County’s Democratic chairman, uncomfortable.
“I don’t think whoever did the cartoon caricature meant this as an ethnic slur,” he said, “but the effect of it was very troubling.”
…
“That doesn’t look so good. There’s no question to me that’s replete with anti-Semitic stereotypes,” said Mark Feldstein, an associate professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University. “I’m not someone who readily cries anti-Semitism, but I think it’s hard to look at this and not see a number of anti-Semitic stereotypes plugged into this ad, from the hook nose to the ‘antichrist’ to the money-grubbing character.”
You can check out the flier here.
They even go so far as to cite two bloggers:
Folks posting messages on not LarrySabato.typepad.com, a politically minded blog where the image can be seen, have argued for days over whether the flier is a bold political move or a bad decision.
Shaun Kenney, chairman of the Spotsylvania Republican Party, accused Webb of “jewbaiting” on his blog, shaunkenney.com.
And the folks saying that it was just a joke? Nope. Seems it was meant for “just one event”:
“I’m completely satisfied with the Webb campaign’s recognition that this in fact, had it gone out, could’ve been a damaging situation and that in the future they’re going to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Smolen said. “I don’t think it was a deliberate smear.”
Ouch.
What was that Paul Goldman was saying about Webbloggers hurting the campaign?
