Still Hung Up on Geraldine

I know I posted about this same topic yesterday, but I'm still hung up on it.

Geraldine Ferraro basically implied that Barack Obama is getting the black votes just because he's black.

Now, certainly I can understand people wanting to vote for their historically denied-a-voice race or sex. I'm a woman who would love to see a woman hold the highest office because certainly women are just as capable as men. So, yes, a strong candidate would have to lose my vote more than win it. (Which Hillary certainly has.) In this sense the black people in this country are lucky because they have a candidate who is honest. Who is for peace over war. Who doesn't change his positions to try to win votes. Who inspires people to get involved in their country.

But the truth is, despite this truism, Hillary started out with a lot of black support. After all her husband had been called "The First Black President." So it was up to her to keep that support alive. But she squandered all their years of work on behalf of African-Americans by acting like racist assholes themselves.

I mean what black person could possibly vote for Hillary (and her co-president former president Bill Clinton) after she said:

"... President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It took a president to get it done."

And he said:

"Jesse Jackson won South Carolina in '84 and '88. Jackson ran a good campaign her and Obama ran a good campaign here.

Not their longtime friend and supporter civil rights leader Congressman Johnson Lewis. He switched sides. He couldn't take it anymore.

Who could?

And forgive me for reading too much into this, but I sense some more subtle racism from the Clintons when they said Obama would be a great number two, vice president. Could they have possibly been implying "Yes Obama is ahead (in winning more states, in delegates and in the popular vote) but he's black. Come on everyone. He's black."

Comments

[GwenElle]

First of all, I am African American. I began this election process with the decision to vote for Hilllary Clinton and primarily for the reason that she is campaigning on -- experience. However, Hillary has proven herself to be a case study in why experience is not all that matters or that is most important in a leader. Judgement and character are.

The events of the last three weeks or so has confirmed in my mind that she she lacks both in sufficient quantity and *quality* to be a leader for our times. Furthermore, she represents everything that I oppose -- the pursuit of power for power's sake, a sense of entitlement and the willingness to betray others in service of her own ambitions.

Her out-moded mindset of fighting as a means to an end (rather, than collaboration and consensus building) is apparently an entrenched part of who she is. When fighting is your mindset then everyone and everything appears as a potential enemy to be vanquished.

These are the reasons why Clinton lost my vote. The race-tinged brand of politics that she has chosen to engage in only deepened my conviction. It did not *create* the reason.

[efranklin]

The Clintons themselves are not racists. However, the evil brilliance they display from time to time is their ability to excite the inner bigotry of voters in the most subtle of ways. Their statements are never overtly racist, but they contain all the abominable undertones that seep in to the public conscience and wreak their intended havoc. Exit polls in Ohio showed 20% of voters admitted race played a role in their decision, and some 80% of those voters went for Clinton. Happy coincidence for the Clintons?

[hillarysupporter]

Obama has made sexist insinuations - and no one noticed it. He's getting by with a lot of stuff.
If Obama was a true leader, and really walked the talk, he could "neutralize" some of these "situations" , but he Chooses Not to. He's perpetuating it.

[JasonEverettMiller]

Provide a single link to a single interview or speech in which Obama was sexist, either blatant or insinuated. The guy was raised by a strong single mom, married a strong woman and has two young daughters. In what Bizarro world do you live in that you think a man with that background would be sexist?

[AuntSam]

I totally believe that if Barack Obama was a white man or white woman who had the same intellect and the same stance, he would still be supported in the same manner...b­ecause he is all about 'Americans' (not racial, religious or gender divisions); evolving our old school politics into a more positive and productive political landscape, etc.
Again, voting for someone mainly because of their race or gender is not a positive change. Votes should be based solely on factual records of candidates history involving character, personal and professional actions. This wasn't the first remark like this that Geraldine has made - and evidently won't be the last.
I recently decided on my candidate - not because of his skin color, but because I researched his record (as noted above) as I did HRC's. After taking all into consideration along with campaign management and choices, I chose Obama for all the right reasons. (Full disclosure - if all other things were equal, I most likely would have voted for a woman - but they aren't and I'm not.)

[Lon]

I tend to agree with the major point here. Ferraro's comments were ludicrous. Clinton is where she is because of who she chose to marry. Of course she used the position of first lady to build a political career in a way that no other first lady managed. But then Obama has used his background for political success of a sort that no other black man or woman in this country has achieved. So the Ferraro comment was idiocy meant to appeal to racists.

But I think there is also something silly about this idea that it was offensive for Clinton to offer Obama the vice presidency. First of all she didn't offer him the vice presidency. She said that at some time in the future that might come about. But then she is running to win the nomination. You may think the way she is going about it is a slimy (I know I do) but there is nothing illegitimate about running to win or talking as if one is going to achieve what she is trying to do. It would be bizarre if she was talking about losing the contest.

There are a lot of reasonable criticisms of Clinton. I think this particular one (or at least this way of making it) is off base.

[feelfree]

If he's black why isn't it okay to say he's black? I don't know what kind of black person who would have a problem with the truth. Further there is nothing racist about the Clinton's comments on Johnson, B. Clinton's comments on Jackson, or Ferrara comments on Obama. This blogger doesn't know diddly about racism, subtle or overt.

[generationyes]

Are you just being deliberately obtuse? Or is it something genetic? Listen carefully, this is not difficult: she did not just say he was black, she said his success was due to the fact that he was black. In other words, he is a token candidate. I think you're a toad. And you wouldn't be posting this drivel if you weren't a toad. You're lucky you are who you are.

[Zanti]

And you're not.

[besut2008]

I wonder, could Clinton possibly win in Nov without black support? Because I can't imagine she'd get much. Frankly, what her campaign is doing really is monstrous.­.. her coalition looks more and more like the Democratic Party prior to the civil rights movement.

[Doofus]

I guess it's a form of the triangulation that they enjoy so much.

If only blacks support Obama, then only whites must support Clinton,

which translates to ALL whites must support Clinton. That ought to do the trick..

[Lalo]

Your article is actually a great example of fanning racism. Like the whole laundry list. I think you are one of the Democrats who are REALLY afraid of dividing the party and working hard to prevent it.

Geraldine Ferraro spoke the truth. Obama is untouchable because he's black. But everyone can be blatantly or subtly sexist and get away with it.

[batgirl71]

Geraldine Ferraro is right about one thing: Senator Obama would not be where he is if he was white. If he was white, Hillary would have been out of this race and Obama would already be the Democratic presidential candidate. He was won more delegates, more popular votes, and more states.

[Clinton]

Ferraro is a typical white upper class female liberal of her generation. A racist.

[trevor01]

You can call Obama honest until you're blue in the face but that doesn't make him honest. And if you call Hillary a liar you'd better have some proof of that. She has the courage of her convictions. You may not agree with some of those but Obama seems to agree with just about all of them and, as you say, Obama is honest.

[generationyes]

Wha?

[robXdion]

At this part....

((And forgive me for reading too much into this, but I sense some more subtle racism from the Clintons when they said Obama would be a great number two, vice president. Could they have possibly been implying "Yes Obama is ahead (in winning more states, in delegates and in the popular vote) but he's black. Come on everyone. He's black."))

Anyone that is black and has dealt with discrimination and prejudice knew EXACTLY what that meant when it was suggested by both Clintons. No white man that has won and dominated like Obama has would be offered the VP position. That's why Ferraro's comments are so ludicrous. But it flies over the heads of many non-blacks. They honestly don't see the offense in Ferraro's comments or the Clinton's comments/actions in this campaign.

[SamanthaJaneSalem]

John Lewis saw how his district voted-- and saw he had a serious challenger in the primary for his seat-- and naturally switched sides.

Senator Clinton saw that many Democrats wanted the Nightmare Ticket-- I mean, Dream Ticket-- and pandered for all it was worth, hoping people who liked both of them would vote for her knowing he'd be on the ticket.

Ferraro did make racist comments, and Clinton should have asked her to step down. The problem is, you never know if it's racism or not. That's what makes it so cynical. But the ultimate cynicism is when 50% of Democrats go and vote for her anyway.

Senator Clinton is uniting the country by showing Democrats really aren't that different from Republicans. Thanks a lot, white Ohio.

[Countess]

Some of these black elected officials still clinging to the Clintons should have an examination of conscience and seriously consider denouncing the Clintons before their reputations are totally ruined.

[robXdion]

Clinton's black female elected supporters define themselves as feminists 1st before a sense of pride in their heritage. And the black males simply have a 'plantation mentality' and really believe a black man as young as Obama shouldn't be president unless he kisses their feet first. They don't care if their people and image are insulted, as long as they reap something from a Hillary win. But they'll be voted out. Many of these politicians have only survived because people are apathetic and rarely get involved or turn out to vote. Not anymore. Obama has proved them irrelevant.