A TV spot paid for by the Republican National Committee used a bare-shouldered White actress who chirped, “I met Harold at the Playboy party!” It apparently was a reference to Ford’s attending a 2005 Playboy Super Bowl party in Jacksonville, Fla.
Ford responded by telling reporters: “I was there. I like football, and I like girls.”
Gillespie said a candidate who’s the target of a racial jab either subtle or flagrant should publicly call the attack what it is. She said that changes the way viewers evaluate the ad because they are forced to deal more openly with their own biases about race.
“The Ford campaign’s response was the textbook wrong thing to do,” Gillespie said. “They demurred (rather than) ... call it racist.”
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