GOP to Run Ads in North Carolina Against Obama

The GOP would rather face Hillary Clinton:

The Republican Party in North Carolina said Wednesday it's launching a television ad calling Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama too extreme for the state, despite the objections of GOP presumptive nominee John McCain.

The advertisement raises the scepter of Obama's former pastor Jeremiah Wright, beginning with a photo of Obama and Wright together and a clip of Wright's contentious remarks about America.

"He's just too extreme for North Carolina," the narrator says in the 30-second spot.

McCain can complain, but it's naïve to think that this ad is being run against the wishes of McCain's strategists.  If they thought Obama was the weaker candidate, they would stand aside and let him more quickly end the primary contest.  Yes, regardless of who ends up the nominee, the GOP benefits from us still fighting out state-by-state primaries and caucuses (even though caucuses don't count and are in states that don't matter).  But what's more important to the GOP, if they have any control over it, is getting the weaker opponent for McCain.  Hence, the ads attacking Obama.

It's not crazy to think the Republicans are meddling in our primaries for their own benefit.  A Democrat has done the same thing to a Republican.  In 2002, California governor Gray Davis was preparing for a tough reelection.  Of the two leading Republican opponents, Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan was far more formidable; polls showed him performing much better in the general election, and more likely to beat Davis than Bill Simon.  

With no primary of his own, Davis took advantage of the Republican contest and ran a blitz of ads attacking Riordan for not having clear positions on abortion and the death penalty.  The ads hurt Riordan with both his moderate base (who were mostly pro-choice) and with the conservative Republicans, who moved solidly to Simon.  Simon beat Riordan in the primary, and Davis beat Simon in the general.  

By running ads against Obama, the Republicans are trying to torpedo the more electable of our candidates.  If Obama were to lose North Carolina, Hillary Clinton would make an even stronger appeal to the superdelegates to flip the delegate lead to her, thus ensuring a summer of Dems sniping at each other and greater opportunity costs.  Dragging the nomination out until Denver would seriously weaken Obama, which is exactly why the Republicans are running ads against him.