Full Transcript of Hillary Claiming Sexism Worse than Racism in Campaign

In a published article by The Washington Post's Lois Romano, Hillary Clinton briefly hit "sexism" in media coverage of her campaign as "deeply offensive to millions of women," but she went much further, as a transcript of the entire interview now makes clear.

Clinton criticized the "vitriol" from "misogynists" and said that the race factor was often discussed but not gender, adding "[E]very poll I've seen show more people would be reluctant to vote for a woman to vote for an African American, which rarely gets reported on either." She expressed amazement "that we would have a presidential campaign in which so much of what has occurred that has been very sexist would be just shrugged off."

She is fresh off a landslide win in West Virginia in which surveys revealed that race played a key factor, and that appears to be true, as well, in the results from Kentucky.

While some of the quotes have already surfaced, here is a full transcript of the Sunday interview sent to E&P this afternoon:

Q. One of the stories that has been well documented over and over again is basically how you've been treated by the media. Can you talk about that a little bit, because I get the idea that it's really pissed off a lot of women.

A. "I think it has. I think it's been deeply offensive to millions of women. ... I believe this campaign has been a ground breaker in lots of ways, but it certainly has been challenging given some of the attitudes that have been forthcoming in the press, and I regret that because I think it's been really not worthy of the seriousness of this campaign and the historical nature of the two candidacies that we have here. But I don't really stop to worry about it because there's nothing I can do about it."

Q. Are women going to be upset if you don't get the nomination?

A. I have more voters now than my opponent. I have more popular vote, more people voting for me.

Q. Counting Michigan and Florida?

A. According to ABC, and I think it's a fair way to total it up because my name was on the ballot they voted for me. But in any event, it's one of the closest races we've ever had and I think that a lot of people are deeply invested in their candidates, so there will probably be disappointment no matter which of us gets the nomination. And then it will be up to us to unify the party and make sure we are victorious in November against McCain.

Q. What's the scenario by which you could still win the nomination?

A. If people start asking themselves who's the strongest candidate against John McCain, because I believe I am.

Q. Do you think he can win?

A. Sure. I think he can win--I think I will win.

Q. But short of a scandal on his part do you see people coming to that conclusion?

A. I don't know, that's why we're not going to quit. We're going forward. We're going to give the people in the remaining elections the chance to vote, which I think is absolutely fair. And we're going to resolve Michigan and Florida, which has to be done sooner instead of later. And then we'll see where we stand.

Q. Do you think this has been a particularly racist campaign?

A. I do not. I think this has been a positive, civil campaign. I think that both gender and race have been obviously a part of it because of who we are and every poll I've seen show more people would be reluctant to vote for a woman [than] to vote for an African American, which rarely gets reported on either. The manifestation of some of the sexism that has gone on in this campaign is somehow more respectable or at least more accepted. And I think there should be equal rejection of the sexism and the racism when and if it ever raises its ugly head. But it does seem as though the press at least is not as bothered by the incredible vitriol that has been engendered by comments and reactions of people who are nothing but misogynists.

Q. Isn't that how it's always been though.

A. Oppression of women and discrimination against women is universal. You can go to places in the world where there are no racial distinctions except everyone is joined together in their oppression of women. The treatment of women is the single biggest problem we have politically and socially in the world. If you look at the extremism and the fundamentalism, it is all about controlling women, at it's base. The idea that we would have a presidential campaign in which so much of what has occurred that has been very sexist would be just shrugged off I think is a very unfortunate commentary about the lack of seriousness that should be applied to any kind of discrimination or prejudice. I have spent my entire life trying to stand up for civil rights and women's rights and human rights and I abhor wherever it is discrimination is present.

Greg Mitchell is editor of Editor & Publisher. His new book is So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq.

Comments

[JFB]

While it is true that women around the world are oppressed to a greater or lesser degree from country to country, and culture to culture, it is also true that worldwide racial prejudice is a bleeding sore that must be staunched.

"The treatment of women is the single biggest problem we have politically and socially in the world." Hillary Clinton.

Women are subjugated within their cultures, and this is wrong. Yet racial hatred has caused, and is causing untold death and suffering. One only has to think of the Belgian genocide in the Congo, the Armenian genocide, the holocaust, Japanese imperialism in China and Southeast Asia, Rwanda, and the current blight of the poor people of Darfur at the hands of the racist Sudanese. And this is saying nothing of the racist and murderous history of European colonialism and our own country’s policy of manifest destiny.

I think one could make the argument that women the world over have suffered far greater injustice and violence as a consequence of racism that as a direct result of sexism.

[Anonani]

Both are bad and it is offensive to even have a discussion about which is worse. Imagine the woman who is also black. So, following this paradigm of thought the black woman is the worst off of the worst off. Hmmmmm...n­ow that is something to consider!

[moda31]

she can't honestly believe that discrimination against women is the SINGLE biggest social and political problem facing the world. of course there are plenty of issues facing women around the world, and there is still tons of work to be done, but the exact same goes for race issues, but to say that in this election election sexism has been a bigger factor than racism is a stretch to say the least. women have fared far better in politics globally than ethnic minorities have, there are many women in positions of power, it's amazing to think that if obama wins the election in november he will be the first ethnic minority to be elected president of a western nation. so while sen. clinton is a tremendous woman who has and will continue to achieve great things in the face difficult challenges, she's absolutely wrong on this.

[sky2blue]

"women have fared far better in politics globally than ethnic minorities have"

That's true.

[yoshi141]

And just looking at polls you will see that the sexism and racism have hurt obama more and hillary less, or you could say, benefited hillary more and obama less.
If you analyze polls then those who say that race is important to them, about 95% vote for Hillary, the majority of those who say sex is important to them also vote for Hillary. Yes, those who care about sex vote for Hillary. The majority of those who say they dont care, ie those who would like to think sex and race didnt influence their decision vote for obama.
Women vote about 55% for hillary 45% for obama. Blacks vote 90% for obama and 10% for hillary. I dont know the exact numbers, but I can confidently say that 10% more female votes is way more than having 80% more african american votes.
You can argue all the want that hillary's downfall was sexism, but there are no facts to support it. You might say oh this tshirt, or that thing, but there are also racist tshirts, and

[yoshi141]

Sexism has played much less of a part in this campaign than racism has. Heres an article that says it all. http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/Politics/story?id=4896202&page=1

For starters, the media before super tuesday gave hillary 5 positive reports to obama's 1. After super tuesday that shrunk to 2 positve reports for hillary to obama's 1. I dont know how this changed after reverend wright happened, but hillary definitely got much better coverage than obama during that time (she also won PA and texas in that period).Th­is shows that the media has had less of a sexist bias and more of a racist bias if at all. Also I personally have been reading the headlines every day of Fox news, ABC news, CNN and The New York times every day since the NH primary. Almost always if Hillary and Obama are in the same title, Hillary's name comes first. Look tonight, you will see the same thing.

Secondly lets look at demographics of voters. What are the types of people that are generally racist and/or sexist? Usually lower class, uneducated and older people. (The core of hillary's voting block). Those who are less sexist/racist tend to be younger, wealthier, and more educated. (the core of obama's voting block). Either way. It seems that the voters who tend to be more sexist/racist seem to care less that hillary is a woman and more that obama is black.

[ldjnews]

Hillary was not gendered out. She was supposed to win the nomination, was groomed to, was expected to--as the first woman. Even the media thought she was going to be the one to win. And she would have if Obama had not entered the race, spoke of real change and won Iowa. That's what happened to Hillary Clinton. A candidate with a lot of integrity and with a minimal sell-out and bought-out history stepped in and said that we don't have to take this coup any more.--"we can do better" He's the candidate that said he and we could change things in Washington. No one can change Washington without us, the people rolling up our own sleeves and making demands. Obama's the one arguing for participatory democracy. Yes, we live in a gender caste system. But this time gender worked for not against Hillary. And yes, women are going to step forward with an Obama win because we as a large group have gotten our voice in the process and we will keep talking--about our demands. Michelle Obama is on board. Hillary should join us. What can she do for woman in her role in Congress once Bush is out? Or in a new role in a new administration? She should not try to turn women against the democratic party. This is simply crazy. But it is wonderfully myth making for history.

[Geekboy]

As somebody recently said.... if ya can't take get heat, get out of the kitchen (and soon, please) :) Now we're treated to a return of the "Hillary as victim" personality. I guess it's our misfortune that a handful of "made for Hillary" states have appeared at the end of this primary.

[GoodbyeKitty]

I do think sexism / misogyny could be seen as a greater problem GLOBALLY than racism.

Think about it.

[111]

Is Hillary running for world leader?

Any way, I don't agree with you.

[sky2blue]

If you discount the way whites in the world, and by whites I mean the US and West Europe, have dominated the entire world, I guess you could say that.

[mcgreen]

I've thought about this a bit, as an older white professional woman, I do know sexism is still out there but I see racism and xenophobia as much more virulent in the US.

My experience is the folks holding on to these negative fears are largely from a previous generation. It would seem to me that those on the lower end of the financial scale might be much more vulnerable to sexism or racism, and judging by the votes, sexism isn't their problem is it?

I think one reporter's point that economics has more to do with the divide is to the point. What I hope is that Hillary will pull her wits together and take this forward with her career in the Senate, to be a tireless champion of those in this country scraping by - they get so little representation in the government.

[raker]

Can Hillary really have so little self awareness, or is this just politicking? For some people it's the dirty campaigning, for others it's the betrayal of her contemptible Senate votes, but it's not sexism that did in Hillary.

[JimR]

Clinton Politics 101: It's ALWAYS somebody else's fault...

[Nobuks]

Ok, so if there's to be no "sexism", does that mean we can tell he to take a hike, like we would a man? Could we just shut down her campaign? Or, are we still supposed to treat her like a woman? In a day of so called gender equality, why are so many of the leaders of this movement so fast to hide behind their skirts, so to speak, when it comes time for them to be treated as any other person? Equal rights mean just that! So why now, when she is losing, after running her campaign with the image that she is as tough as a man, that she insist that she be treated, and her supporters, daintily?

[dawlishgal]

Do you want to run it by me again, how --if it is true that polls show more misogyny than racism influencing the way people vote, how does this make her the more "electable?" Especially, when she came into the race with almost half of the American people claiming to not like her?

[111]

Hillary double speak. Don't think about what she said - just repeat it.

How about, every vote should count but the Super Delegates have the right to over ride the votes?

How about she can't beat Obama on any level but she thinks she can beat McCain?

How about the rules and numbers she keeps switching around? Everyone agreed 2025 delegates which Obama is sure to have, tonight she is announcing that no one will reach the 2210 delegate vote needed to declare victory.

Her cult members are just trained to regurgitate what she says.

[reelcobra]

I'm finding it hard to be the perfect liberal here.

I see racism and sexism all around me like a good liberal.

And I appreciate leaders like Jackson, and Sharpton who remind me that America is a racist cesspool.

But with Barak, I feel like when he launched Reverend Wright just to save his political career, he launched the cause itself.

Now I don't trust what he will do when the Michelle "Whitey" video is leaked by the HillBilly wrecking crew.

Will he launch the woman who brought him into the Reverend's Church?

Will he launch the mother of his two children?

I hope not.

BHO '08!!

[yoshi141]

You know that women earn about 10,000 less than men in identical jobs? You know that african americans make about 20,000 less than their white counterparts in identical jobs? Now you tell me, is sexism or racism a bigger problem.

[StephenJK]

I ABSOLUTELY agree with President Clinton in regard to her assessment that female oppression, emotional and physical abuse are much more pressing issues than racialism. Because we don't live in a racialist society. We have affirmative action, which in and of itself is a form of racism (an overcorrection of past indescretions, if you will). Affirmative action addresses prejudice in higher education and employment. It's got nothing on there for gender prejudice.

Like President Clinton said, just look around the world and you'll see how pressing an issue gender oppression is. With the US electing a woman to it's highest office it will not only put people like the Taliban on notice, it will send a message to the world that Misogyny will no longer be tolerated. It's time women get equal pay. It's time for women to bring their valuable perspective to governance, not only here, but around the world.

HRC/BHO 08
BHO/EDWARDS 16
EDWARDS/CASEY 24

[JimR]

I am not interested in "sending a message" to anybody. I want to vote for the person who I think will do the best job. And that ain't Hillary.

[FogCityJohn]

Um, buddy, I'm sorry, but you don't know what you're talking about. Affirmative action programs certainly do exist to counteract gender discrimination, but they have received less attention than race-based affirmative action because, well, people are less opposed to gender-based affirmative action. That may be because the majority of the population is female.

And if you think that giving black folks a few extra places in universities is an "overcorrection" of what you downplay as some past "indiscretions," then you clearly don't know anything about the history of this country. In fact, that you can look at slavery, Jim Crow, lynching, and the continuing attempts to disenfranchise AA voters in this country and call these things "indiscretions" says some very disturbing things about you.

[StephenJK]

Affirmative action is simply wrong-headed policy. It engenders an animosity amongst the populace. How are we supposed to be a post-racial society when we have policies that have racialism written into them (WHO it benefits is irrelavent). I don't claim to have the answers. But, when you have students rejected from universities with the highest test scores and an obvious enthusiasm for educating themselves because they have racial quotas to meet, there is something definitely wrong there. It's not even whites I'm talking about. I'm talking about OTHER minorities like hispanics, asians. Don't ask me to cite anything. You can google it yourself to find the stories.

[111]

President of what? The Bill Clinton fan club?

Our social ills are all pressing. Emotional and physical abuse of women are more important, huh? Hillary didn't think so when she continued to defend her philandering husband who also once forced a woman to have sex with him - that is called rape. Hillary's concern was in silencing these women.

Her actions tell the truth -Hillary is a misogynist.

Now go worship her and don't bother your little head with facts. Hillary will tell you what to think and say.

[timm0]

She's not a misogynist. She's an amoral, manipulative creep with delusions of grandeur who will say and do anything to get her way.

Of course, she could be both, but I KNOW she's the latter.

[dawlishgal]

You MUST be kidding...­.did you see and hear the overtly racist comments that people in W. Va made TO THE PRESS in places like restaurants and gas stations? We have canceled a vacation there because we don't want to have to hang out around stuff like that. The racists are way more OVERT now than they were before and we have Hillary to thank for that with her "hardworking people, white people" remark. It has freed these bozos up to spew in public.

When was the last time a misogynist said on tv that he/she wouldn't vote for a woman?

HC is risking her legacy....­the senate already gave her the cold shoulder the other day. All that remains to support her are racists and people to whom racism is irrelevant in sizing up a person's character.

We have come too far since the 1960's in both feminism and civil rights to let all of the advancement be thrown into the sinkhole of a selfish, vindictive candidate who, with her supporters, can't seem to lose with any grace or any dignity.

Anna Quindlen's column in the new Newsweek gets it just right. Read it.

[paganmist]

Affirmative action covers all minorities, not just blacks.

[mamak]

Sore losers....­she is just so upset that it did not work out their way that they have to blame someone for it....look­s like its gonna be the media....s­capegoat to their crappy campaign..­..the path to peace is to acknowledge one's own mistake...­.the sooner they do this, the better it is for the Dems in Nov....

Did u guys see Ferraro with Meredith..­.also talking about the same sexism and gender nonsense..­.did Obama complaint that majority white women were voting for HRC??..nop­e...he always is consistent:

Obama: "If I lose in this nomination, it's because I did not get my message to voters effectively". Simply the truth. He never blames the media, race, gender whatever..­..