Please Don't Go There

I should have added that robocalls, in addition to mailers, are where the dirtiest attacks are typically dumped in a campaign. And I really hope that the Clinton campaign isn't resorting to tactics favored by clueless racists, but Harold Meyerson (not given to irrational exuberance) reports this:

I was visiting a friend in Los Angeles this morning when what I would describe as a dirty trick intruded upon us. My friend, I should say, is a notable political figure in L.A. who lives in a very upscale neighborhood -- one in which few African Americans reside -- and is a Clinton supporter (he greeted me holding a Hillary lawn sign).

We were sitting in his kitchen when the phone rang. He answered it and looked startled. On the line, he said the moment he hung up, was a high-decibel gentleman with a very exaggerated, old style -- Amos 'n Andy, in fact -- black pattern of speech, singing the praises of Barack Obama. When I lived in L.A., I occasionally got calls that purported to be from one campaign but were actually from another, presumably pitched to the leading ethnic group in my neighborhood (Jewish), but calculated to inflame Jews against the candidate the caller claimed to support. Looks like the same thing is happening now in selected neighborhoods.

The Clinton campaign has denied this trick, which is fine. They shouldn't even think about dragging this campaign back to the depths after last night's heights. I would say that robocalls are notoriously hard to source and so finding the truth is nearly impossible here. But I do know that negative campaigning exists and that's just a fact.

UPDATE: Meyerson revises and extends.