I'm still a little confused by this story, but it seems that Ashley Todd, a McCain volunteer, was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield, Pittsburgh. According to her testimony, "the robber took $60 from the woman, then became angry when he saw a McCain bumper sticker on the victim’s car. The attacker then punched and kicked the victim, before using the knife to scratch the letter 'B' into her face." Hot Air has the picture, and it's certainly a bit gruesome. It's also the sort of thing with the capacity to tap into some deep-seated racial fears. But fundamentally, this was a street crime. The motive was robbery. The assailant was a thug, who should be captured and jailed. This really shouldn't be elevated into a political issue, because fundamentally, it's not one. Indeed, if you check out Richard's campaign Twitter feed (also at Hot Air), you can read her texting, "Pretty sure I'm on the wrong side of Pittsburgh." It's a sadly prescient message. But it's also indicative of what this appears to have been: A crime in an awful neighborhood, by an unbalanced individual. As Ed Morrissey says at Hot Air:
I don't think this says anything terribly significant about the election or either candidate. Criminals aren't known for their kindness, temperament, or intellect, and this particular criminal sounds like he's a couple of bricks short of a load even for that crowd. The initial crime had nothing to do with politics at all, so it's not an example of partisan thuggery as one would expect some to paint it.I'm sure that the two campaigns will be sure to reach out to the woman. Someone will undoubtedly press the Obama campaign for a reaction, and will get the obligatory and emphatic denunciation that everyone would expect. We have many more important issues to debate, and many more cogent reasons to oppose Barack Obama than the offhand cruelty of one criminal in Pittsburgh.
