On the June 12 edition of MSNBC's Verdict, MSNBC political analyst Pat Buchanan said to host Dan Abrams, “Dan, I've told you all along, the only way the Republicans can win this when the whole country wants to throw the Republicans out, is raise questions, raise doubts about the alternative -- just like the Democrats did with Reagan in 1980.” Buchanan then said of the Republican strategy against presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama: “And they're going to do it. And they're going to use his associations. And they're going to use his statements, his elitism. They're going to use the fact he's exotic.” Democratic strategist Tanya Acker responded to Buchanan's statement by saying, “Exotic? What does 'exotic' mean? What's exotic? Is 'exotic' code for 'black'? I don't understand what exotic means.” Buchanan then replied, “All right. Here's what it means. Listen. 'Exotic' is code for somebody who talks to people in Pennsylvania as though they're some stupid tribe holding on to their Bibles, guns, and bigotries, and telling that to a bunch of people in San Francisco behind closed doors.”

Later in the segment, Acker said, referring to Obama, "[T]he notion that he is somehow exotic, that he's so different from the rest of America, I mean, I just have to take issue with that. He's really -- he's browner than a lot of America, but he's really not that different." Abrams then asked, “Pat, is the strategy to use code words? I mean, is the strategy going to be to use words like 'exotic' where people say, 'Well, I guess he wasn't saying that he's bad, but, boy, that sounds kind of funny' -- to use these words in the hope that they're going to stick?” Buchanan replied: "[W]hat do you mean, 'code words'? Barack Obama made these statements. It tells you where he is coming from. He is coming out of the left. He doesn't understand Middle America. He's like the guys in the Harvard faculty lounge. They don't know anything about their country. They sit up there and talk to one another." Responding to Buchanan, Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky said: “Wait a second, Pat. Pat, listen, Barack Obama is as American as you and I are, and these code words for exotic is exactly that; you're trying to paint him as some sort of a strange outsider.”

From the June 12 edition of MSNBC's Verdict with Dan Abrams:

ABRAMS: Pat, should John McCain have come out and been more aggressive in saying, look, I -- he was the one who was saying before, “We're not going to go negative,” et cetera. And now he's saying, “Well, you know, what do you want me to do? I can't control everything.” I mean, he is backing off a little bit, isn't he?

BUCHANAN: Sure. Well, Dan, I've told you all along, the only way the Republicans can win this when the whole country wants to throw the Republicans out, is raise questions, raise doubts about the alternative -- just like the Democrats did with Reagan in 1980. And they're going to do it. And they're going to use his associations. And they're going to use his statements, his elitism. They're going to use the fact he's exotic. I mean, that's what's going to happen. And McCain --

ABRAMS: Wait.

ACKER: Exotic?

BUCHANAN: -- McCain would be foolish --

ACKER: What does “exotic” mean?

BUCHANAN: -- foolish to --

ACKER: What's exotic? Is “exotic” code for “black”?

BUCHANAN: No, exotic is code --

ACKER: I don't understand what exotic means.

BUCHANAN: All right. Here's what it means. Listen. “Exotic” is code for somebody who talks to people in Pennsylvania as though they're some stupid tribe holding on to their Bibles, guns, and bigotries --

ROGINSKY: Oh, Pat.

BUCHANAN: -- and telling that to a bunch of people in --

ROGINSKY: Come on.

ACKER: Come on.

BUCHANAN: -- San Francisco behind closed doors.

ROGINSKY: Come on. Pat, let's be realistic.

[crosstalk]

ACKER: Come on, Pat, you can do better than that. You can do better than that. There's no question --

ABRAMS: Hang on, hang on. One at a time. Tanya, go ahead. Hang on, I'll let you -- hang on, Brad [Blakeman, Republican strategist]. I want to let Tanya go and then I'll let you get in.

ACKER: We can revisit ad nauseam the wisdom of whether or not Barack Obama should've made the unfortunate comment about people being bitter. I think he admits that was a misstatement; we all know that. But the notion that he is somehow exotic, that he's so different from the rest of America, I mean, I just have to take issue with that. He's really -- he's browner than a lot of America --

BUCHANAN: Well, he's --

ACKER: -- but he's really not that different.

BUCHANAN: Look, he's Hyde Park --

ABRAMS: All right. But is that the strategy, Pat?

BUCHANAN: -- faculty lounge.

ABRAMS: Pat? Wait, let me ask you, Pat. Pat, is the strategy to use code words? I mean, is the strategy going to be to use words like “exotic” where people say, “Well, I guess he wasn't saying that he's bad, but, boy, that sounds kind of funny” -- to use these words in the hope that they're going to stick?

BUCHANAN: Well, I mean, I don't know what we're -- what do you mean, “code words”? Barack Obama made these statements. It tells you where he is coming from. He is coming out of the left. He doesn't understand Middle America. He's like the guys in the Harvard faculty lounge. They don't know anything about their country. They sit up there and talk to one another.

ROGINSKY: Wait a second, Pat. Pat, listen, Barack Obama is as American as you and I are, and these code words for exotic is exactly that; you're trying to paint him as some sort of a strange outsider. This is such a typical Republican thing --

[crosstalk]

BLAKEMAN: What about your code words?

ABRAMS: Hang on.

BLAKEMAN: What about your code words?

ROGINSKY: What code words are those?

BLAKEMAN: What about your code words?

ABRAMS: All right, hang on. All right. Brad -- hang on one sec, everyone. Go ahead, Brad.

BLAKEMAN: Your code words about McCain's age. He's --

ROGINSKY: I think McCain has every right --

BLAKEMAN: -- “confused.”

ROGINSKY: -- to run.

BLAKEMAN: Oh, come on.

ROGINSKY: He is con -- wait a second. Wait, wait --

ABRAMS: Wait, Brad.

BLAKEMAN: Let me take the mystery out of it.

ABRAMS: Wait, wait, wait hang on. Julie, I gotta -- I want to let Brad finish. Hold on.

ROGINSKY: All right.

ABRAMS: Brad, we're going to get back to --

BLAKEMAN: OK.

ABRAMS: -- this issue of the “confused,” et cetera. We're going to get back to that later in the program. But do you think, look, this conversation -- I got to tell you, Brad -- says to me that this is going to get ugly.

BLAKEMAN: Sure it's going to get ugly.

ABRAMS: -- and it's going to get ugly early. Fair?

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