The new, new Southern Strategy

The link to this story says it all:

Bush tries to woo blacks, skips NAACP

So while Bush was giving his middle finger to the civil rights group, his boy Mehlman paints a picture of inclusiveness and regret.

“By the ’70s and into the ’80s and ’90s, the Democrat Party solidified its support in the African-American community, and we Republicans did not effectively reach out,” Mehlman said. “Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I come here as Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong.”

McClellan said Bush agreed with Mehlman, even though the president didn’t express any regrets during his speech in Indiana but stuck to touting his record.

I'm sure this rope-a-dope strategy is going to work. Mehlman's statement is dripping with sincerity, and it's clear he speaks for the entire Republican establishment.

But...but... didn't Rush get the memo?

Know what he’s going to do? He’s going to go down there and basically apologize for what has come to be known as the Southern Strategy, popularized in the Nixon administration. He’s going to go down there and apologize for it. In the midst of all of this, in the midst of all that’s going on, once again, Republicans are going to go bend over and grab the ankles. They’re going to the NAALCP. This is like going into Hyannisport and apologizing to [Sen.] Ted Kennedy [D-MA] for whatever and expecting him to become a supporter. It’s like showing up at the [Sen.] Chuck Schumer [D-NY]-Joe Wilson press conference in 20 minutes and saying, "Okay, Ambassador Wilson, we apologize. We hope you’ll support us. We can’t become a majority party until people like you are voting for us." It is just -- it’s absolutely absurd.

Spoken like a true man of the world, Rush. He equates expressing regret for the 45 years in which Republicans have played on the worst, most racist fears of whites (and not just in the south) with, um, well, you get the idea.

Oh, and by the way, "NAALCP" is not a typo. It's the Oxycontin addict's acronym for "National Association for the Advancement of Liberal Colored People."

Either the GOP talk machine screwed this one up, or it's a deliberate strategy: Send Mehlman down to talk sweet to the NAACP -- which is broadcast into the suburban homes of white women to whom it is truly directed -- while their radio spokesman tells the mouth breathers that this is a mistake. Fat white males, uber alles.