Would Ted Kennedy Have Played The Race Card?

In the old western movies, sometimes the star or leading character was casted in the role of villain.  In most cases before the end of the movie, the villain ultimately made the transition from bad to good guy.  However despite their proverbial "seeing the light", the bad guys were never allowed to escape punishment for their transgressions, because of the message that it would send.

Fast forward to today. After losing to Barack Obama in Iowa, and casting herself as a change agent, Hillary's campaign led by Bill Clinton, it can be argued that the Clintons deliberately injected race into the contest for the Democratic nomination.  Of course, the Clintons categorically denied that this was the case.  However, any denial was weakened by Bill Clinton's subsequent comparison of Obama to Jesse Jackson after Obama's victory in South Carolina.

This was mission accomplished.  The voting demographics tended to support this line of thinking. It appears, the Clintons succeeded in casting Hillary as the traditional White candidate running against the anomaly Black candidate foolish enough to think that they can contend seriously for the White House. Hillary got the majority of the White vote and Obama increased his share of Black voters who may have been disenfranchised by Bill Clinton's recent comments.

This retro strategy that Bill Clinton spearheaded was especially troubling.  Even though we know it was just politics, Black voters were used as pawns in a bigger endgame.  To me, this raises a question of integrity and disloyalty.  When Bill Clinton was beat down unmercifully by his enemies, Black people flocked to his rescue and never wavered in their support of him. This support was extended also to his wife, Hillary.  So no matter the motive, Bill Clinton's rhetoric behavior was disappointing.

Now it begs the question. Since the Kennedy family are also held in high esteem by Black people in this country, would Ted Kennedy have played the race card?  Kennedy, the elder statesman of the Democratic Party, reportedly had been very upset that Bill Clinton had injected race into the campaign. In a clear sign of his angst, Ted Kennedy on Monday, endorsed Barack Obama.  So I'm left to conclude that Ted Kennedy, if placed in a situation similar to the one that Hillary found herself after Iowa, would not have played the race card.

Sidebar:  Like the star villains of old, it remains to be seen if Hillary and Bill will be held accountable and punished for their transgressions.