Good grief. Is the Clinton team and its surrogates using my predicted “playbook”? It’s not as if Obama’s record of public service doesn’t supply enough ammunition to stir debate and doubt as Camp Hillary seeks to retain the black vote it has in SC (or, say, bring up the McClurkin debacle — oh wait, that might raise the Big Gay Topic again), but her folks simply cannot help themselves and take this path instead.

* Have a black surrogate toss out a race-tinged attack and later deny that the race dog whistle has been blown. Check out this mind-blower from the founder of Black Entertainment Television and Clinton supporter Robert L. Johnson.

At a rally here for Mrs. Clinton at Columbia College, Mr. Johnson was defending recent comments that Mrs. Clinton made regarding Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She did not mean to take any credit away from him, Mr. Johnson said, when she said that it took President Johnson to sign the civil rights legislation he fought for.

“And to me, as an African-American, I am frankly insulted that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues since Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood -­ and I won’t say what he was doing, but he said it in the book -­ when they have been involved.”

Unfortunately his mop-up job sucked big time.

My comments today were referring to Barack Obama’s time spent as a community organizer, and nothing else. Any other suggestion is simply irresponsible and incorrect.

Rule #1 of non-denial denials, Bob — it’s apparently more in vogue these days to claim phrase confusion, than oh, you know, dropping an A-bomb like that. Jack and Jill Politics:

Come! On! Now! You really don’t expect me to believe that when you said he “was doing something in the neighborhood – and I won’t say what he was doing, but he said it in the book…” that you were referring to community organizing??! I mean I’m sure it’s hard for you to recognize community organizing, especially if it targets your claim to fame, but you are clearly a little rusty on how to run a media empire.

In fact, you know what this excuse sounds like. SHUCKIN AND JIVIN!! See, Mr. Cuomo? This is an appropriate use of the term, and I’m allowed to say it, because that’s what Johnson is doing.

Johnson served on Bush’s Social Security privatization scheme commission in 2002, for his sage wisdom that since blacks die younger, they get less from SS, therefore Bush knows best.

More tips from the playbook used by Camp Hillary are after the jump.Let’s look at some of the other tips from the playbook that have already been deployed:

* Claim you simply couldn’t find the right phrase you were looking for. As mentioned above, Andrew Cuomo tried hard with this boner of an excuse after saying this:

“You can’t shuck and jive at a press conference. All those moves you can make with the press don’t work when you’re in someone’s living room.”

The clean up:

“It was never about Obama in the first place,” Cuomo told me of the use of the phrase, which he said he was using “as a synonym for ‘bob and weave’.'”

* Bemoan the fact that it’s difficult to attack your main opponent based on sleaze and vague race baiting (as opposed to Obama’s record). Melanie Levesque, a state representative in Brookline, New Hampshire and a member of African-Americans for Hillary wants to go there:

“I’m very concerned that you can’t state [Barack Obama’s] middle name, you can’t state his record and you can’t state his past life,” she said. Asked if she was referring to Hussein, his Muslim middle name, and his admitted use of drugs, including cocaine, in his youth, she said, “Yes.”

* Make sure rube dispensible supporters spread misinformation based on anti-Muslim bias.

Two Iowa supporters, Jones County coordinator Judy Rose and Linda Olson, a volunteer coordinator in Iowa County, were caught e-blasting the rumor that Obama, a member of the United Church of Christ, is a Muslim “Manchurian Candidate” intent on taking down the U.S. It included this language: “Let us all remain alert concerning Obama’s expected presidential Candidacy. Please forward to everyone you know. The Muslims have said they Plan on destroying the US from the inside out, what better way to start than at The highest level.

* Rope-a-Dope Race Dog Whistles don’t work if tied directly to the campaign. That’s what got former Clinton national co-chair Bill Shaheen in trouble. He should have farmed this one about “vetting” Obama out.

”It’ll be, ‘When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?”’ said Shaheen, whose wife Jeanne is the state’s former governor and is running for the U.S. Senate next year. ”There are so many openings for Republican dirty tricks. It’s hard to overcome,” Shaheen said.

Of course when he got the boot, he had to use the time-tested apology and disclamer that his statements weren’t authorized by the campaign when his id took over.

* The play ignorant, “I was misunderstood” checklist, after floating comments to prey on  anti-Muslim sentiment out there. Bob Kerrey put this tactic into use after blowing the Muslim dog whistle.

“It’s something by the way I have told Barack Obama when I’ve met with him. It something that I’ve spoken about before. So this is not something that just sort of came out of the head birth out there in Iowa. I’ve thought about it a great deal. I’ve watched the blogs try to say that you can’t trust him because he spent a little bit of time in a secular madrassa.

And more…

“It’s probably not something that appeals to him, but I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim. There’s a billion people on the planet that are Muslims, and I think that experience is a big deal.”

All this nonsense is piling up — and it’s given birth to the  Clinton Attacks Obama Incident Tracker. Way to go.

UPDATE: unlike Faux News, I don’t mind being fair and balanced. This is why watching campaigns go for the base level of politicking is no help for a culture steeped in gender and racial bias. This election cycle is clearly one for the books. Between this foulitude and The Tweety Effect, we’re going to be in the gutter the whole way.

Also not afraid to “go there” — some folks out there feel this is all in the name of fun. Right. Filing the edges off of sexism.

Love her or hate her… you’ll have nonstop fun cracking nuts with Hillary.  Regardless of your affiliation (Republican or Democrat) you’ve just found your new favorite kitchen tool!

Work those thighs back into the white house.  This might be the reason why Bill never strayed too far.   Quite possibly THE toy of the 2008 election –  A must for anyone on any side of politics!     Her stainless steel thigh teeth will pulverize any nut that stands in her way to the Whitehouse.

Sara Whitman has more.

Related:

* Filing the edges off of racism

* Obama: speaking the unspeakable about race

* The difficult discussions people don’t want to have

* Andrew Cuomo: ‘You Can’t Shuck And Jive’ at a press conf

* Huff Post: Clinton allies investigate forming ‘Anybody-But-Obama’ 527 group

* Talking New Hampshire, race, and gender issues

* Race, gender, the MSM and NH: audio from my segment on Mike Signorile Show

* Obama and race: our country is so confused

* Posts on the Obama/McClurkin debacle

Check out Liza’s place:

* From the vaults : Racial Tension Headache

* Note to Andrew Cuomo : “shuffle and jive” is not the same as “bob and weave”

And The Unapologetic Mexican: Clinton Camp Woos Imus for ’08 Ticket