Just because Joe Ricketts has renounced the Jeremiah Wright strategy doesn't mean that everyone on the right has. And Mitt Romney's disavowal of using Wright doesn't necessarily mean that we won't be seeing the reverend's face either.
What this may mean, instead, is that some murky Wright-related last-minute hits may appear in states where right-wing operatives figure it will hep and they can get away with some quick hits. In North Carolina, southern Virginia, northern Florida, like that. Wouldn't surprise me at all.
I noted the consensus yesterday among the elite that a Wright campaign would backfire. I raised that possibility myself. But I don't fully agree. Just showing an angry black face on television can have an effect. There are many tests for implicit racial bias that are conducted, and they all demonstrate that a majority of people, sometimes even African American people, have a reflexive preference for a white face. Here's one such test if you want to take it.
Could be worth one point, maybe, in some Southern states? One point is enough--one point would have flipped North Carolina to McCain last time. It's nice that the chattering class agrees across the board that race shouldn't be used; a sign of some sort of progress. But just because the chattering class believes it doesn't mean it won't be.
