If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.
I certainly hope both former Vice Presidential nominee Ferraro and Senator Clinton have the good sense to apologize outright for this statement.
UPDATE:
Clinton has made it worse. She (through her campaign manager) has accused Obama of making attacks by objecting to these statements. Then, Ferraro went on to say this:
Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world, you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up. Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?
Holy shit. How bad is that?
8 comments:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0308/Disagreeing_with_Ferraro.html
whats the big deal..let's face it. It's true anyway.
i believe the same thing. and if you weren't racist, they sure as hell are making people feel they need to be.
lets don't say anything about poor barrack obama,he'll turn on you and call you racist.
Hi Melinda. Would you like to provide a link to Barack Obama calling anyone a racist throughout the course of this campaign?
Melinda -
Let me see if I understand. The Obama campaign is making certain people feel as if they NEED to be racist?
In order to do what? Win an election?
Seems that a black candidate is being successful , which brings OUT peoples racism and fear.
Furthermore -
Clinton said she disagreed with Ferraro, but has refused to live by her own standards. Her campaign manager attacked Obama, and Ferraro has been making these statements (apparently) repeatedly up until now. In fact, she said similar things about Jesse Jackson.
Now... the Clinton campaign has called for the heads of Obama's advisors for silly comments made in frustration. Ferraro's comments are race-baiting. It's time for Clinton to put her outrage where her mouth is.
This is a historic election. Letting this sort of hogwash into the national debate is an embarrassment.
Stupid statement and very disappointing in Ferraro. There have been several African-American candidates for the office-- Jesse Jackson, anyone? None of the prior African American candidates had an unfair advantage based on race. Does Ferraro honestly think that Jesse Jackson, or any other insert-male-black-candidate-here contender would have done as well in Obama's place? I mean, has she heard Obama's rhetoric?? That seems absurd to me. If Obama were not African American, he would still be a viable candidate based on his rhetoric and presence (although not his experience). I have always thought he would be a beter vice president, personally, because of the experience issue. But it does not seem to be going my way.
I am sickened by this. I voted for Ferraro in my very first national election. I knew she was on the ticket primarily because of her gender, but that didn't bother me (hell, Dan Quayle was no better four years later -- so it's not lke all the white guys who run are such geniuses). I figured it was a historic moment -- and a counter to the antediluvian gender views of Reagan.
But this is dog-whistle racist politics, pure and simple, designed only to win the votes of whites who believe that any time a black person rises in the world, it's because they "stole" something that was rightfully the inheritance of a qualified white person.
I can only imagine the hue and cry from the Hillary supporters if someone in Obama's camp said "Face it, Hillary Clinton would have no political career whatsoever without her husband." Which is in fact closer to the truth than what Ferraro is asserting about Obama -- was HRC head of Harvard Law? If it's so easy for black people to get into elected office, how come we've only had three black senators since Reconstruction? Why haven't we seen "President Jesse Jackson?"
Hillary Clinton isn't losing to Obama because he's black. She's losing because she ran a lousy campaign based solely on an untenable claim of "35 years of experience," her husband's machine, and the expectation that her gender would trump all competitors --even those with more experience, such as Richardson, Dodd, and Biden. She can now only go dirty out of desperation. Her behavior of the last few weeks reminds me of every nightmare dry-drunk boss I've ever had -- an overweening sense of entitlement married to constant claims of victimhood, a penchant for self-created drama and "pulling it off" at the last minute (rather than running, for instance, the organized and steady campaign Obama has used to build his lead), and then expecting to be congratulated for being such a "fighter."
I am also way over anyone who says "Well, if Obama can't stand up to the Clintons, how can he take on the GOP?" As far as I can see, what HRC's camp is using is about as filthy as what we can expect from McCain. Only McCain won't be able to snivel "They're being mean to me because I'm a girl!" when people call him on his shit.
Also, if we look at the numbers, he IS standing up to the Clintons pretty damn well. Do we really want someone who can't beat a "lightweight" like Obama taking on McCain in the fall?
Kerry
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