Race Is All the Clintons Have Left
Sitting there on the set, listening to the endless wrap-ups and explanation of the exit polls, I was on the verge of faking my own death on national TV in order to go talk to myself about the obvious, unspoken equation in the little there is left to this fight between Obama and Clinton. The beast that is nearly always there in American life, the danger that rustles the shrubs at the edge of our daily existence -- race -- was routinely ignored in the recitation of numbers pouring out of North Carolina and Indiana.
Now, faced with a mathematical mountain climb that even Stephen Hawking could not ascend, the Clintons -- and it is indeed both of them -- are just about to paste a bumper sticker on the rear of the collapsing vehicle that carries her campaign. It reads: VOTE WHITE.
That's the underlying message propping up a failed candidate. Check it out, you superdelegates: the buttoned down black guy is having trouble with blue collar white guys so cast your vote with the white chick who has transformed herself into an arm-wrestling, shot and a beer, kitchen table advocate for the working class and now it's on to West Virginia and Kentucky where she'll prove it.
So, after all the years they have been with us, after all the triumph and tastelessness, the accomplishments and embarrassments, we're about to watch them act out an updated, mixed gender re-make of Thelma and Louise with Bill behind the wheel, the two of them sharing a knowing look, a wink, in the front seat as they take the Democrat party right off the cliff, the whole thing crashing and burning in a racial divide both he and she sought to heal all those years ago in Little Rock and then Washington.
Look at the numbers, the Clintons say: Your son didn't get into the college that was his first choice but the black kid with lower SATs did? Your brother didn't get the civil service slot on the fire department because he was white and there is an unspoken quota? You didn't get the promotion because corporate diversity policy mutely suggested a person of color get it? Your kid is being bused an hour and half a day to a public school with low reading scores?
Scratch a sore, baby. Vote for Clinton.
Her campaign began -- When? Last year? Last century? It moved across the landscape a summer ago like a cash cow, arriving at each stop surrounded by an air of incumbent expectancy, never sensing, never seeing the black guy who had the audacity to get in her way.
It was a campaign run and dominated by a fat, arrogant pollster, this Penn who once conspired to concoct a question in order to figure out where the Clintons would swim one summer. Martha's Vineyard or Wyoming? In the past few weeks, Geoff Garin has turned Hillary Clinton into a very formidable candidate by doing something that apparently never occurred to the numbers cruncher Penn: Having her behave like a human being. Clearly, if Garin had been in the driver's seat from the start of this spectacle, Obama would have a lot more time to watch White Sox home games.
But presidential politics does not exist in the land of 'what if.' It is an exhausting, seemingly endless process, fueled by money and ego and an ability to withstand mistakes of commission or omission as well as hands coming out of the recent past, like the strangling grip of Jeremiah Wright, a racist himself, who still might inhibit any chance of an Obama success.
It's been an amazing ride, this whole campaign. It has three actors left on the stage, all with compelling personal stories to tell in this land of ours, itself the greatest story ever told. Everyone knows McCain's history, an epic of the age. And more and more are getting to know Obama's; a black guy from Chicago who, two, three years ago, would have had difficulty hailing a cab on a rainy afternoon in midtown Manhattan because of his skin color, suddenly within striking distance of being nominated for president by one of our two major political parties.
And Hillary Clinton, always ambitious, an over-achiever, tough, smart and resilient. And now on the edge of writing a truly ugly chapter for all to see.
Read more reactions from Huffington Post bloggers to the Indiana and North Carolina primary results
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Hillary is not going to be president because she voted for the Iraq War resolution, not because she listened to Mark Penn. She betrayed us at the most basic level a leader can betray their supporters. She has not come clean about it and continues to lie about her real motivations.
People know this and that's why no one trusts her.
There are no other explanations. Jeff Garin's efforts to humanize Hillary just made her look silly and provided a lot of extra footage for your cable channel. Terry McCauliffe and Howard Wolfsohn's increasingly fantastic spin just make that campaign look like it emerged from the twilight zone.
I like Obama and Clinton and think the true path to success for Democrats is thru the silence of their supporters when it comes to insults, opinions, and BS.. I plan on practicing it myself starting now. History defined the Clintons as being very receptive to the issues of black voters and to a diverse administration. Obama wins or loses based upon his own accord. Distorting Clinton's character or intentions does little for Obama but clearly defiles the party and the Clinton legacy which Obama may need to count on during the GE. So which do you want more? to hate Hillary or to elect Obama? or ...Neither and see Mc Cain crowned king?
"Distorting Clinton's (Obama's) character or intentions does little for Obama (Clinton) but clearly defiles the party and the Clinton legacy (Obama's unprecendented grass-roots efforts to return America to its people) which Obama (Clinton) may need to count on during the GE (her re-election bid in NY). So which do you want more? to hate Hillary (Obama) or to elect Obama (McCain)?
Backatcha, fraziersview.
I like Obama and Clinton and think the true path to success for Democrats is thru the silence of their supporters when it comes to insults, opinions, and BS.. I plan on practicing it myself starting now. History defined the Clintons as being very receptive to the issues of black voters and to a diverse or lose based upon his own accord. Distorting Clintons character or intentions does little for Obama but clearly defiles the party and the Clinton legacy which Obama may need to count on during the GE. So which do you want more? to hate Hillary or to elect Obama? or ...Neither and see Mc Cain crowned king?
Excellent post fraziersview! Especially when we need Clinton and her supporters to beat McCain.Going on about how racist the Clintons are is not going to deliver that support. Its time to to
bring this kind of talk to a low rumble , in your house , not out in public!
"History defined the Clintons as being very receptive to the issues of black voters and to a diverse administration."
Actually, history is not over, friend. And you can tell it to the 90something % of African Americans who are voting against Clinton at every turn. The ones that the Clintons have given good reason to view them as they are.
The Clintons are good on African American issues compared to the Republicans, but I can still remember thinking - back in the '90s - that they wouldn't have turned their backs on Jocelyn Elders or Lani Guinier if they'd been white. Back then i used to shelve my fears and doubts about the Clintons, but after watching Hillary turn into Archie Bunker in drag for the last leg of her campaign, I now think the worst of them on everything.
They botched health care reform.
They waited to long to help Bosnia and then did so erratically.
They ignored the genocide in Rwanda.
They promoted I.M.F policies that kept Latin America impoverished during in the '90s boom.
They stabbed gay Americans in the back with DOMA and Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
They failed to expand public transportation or increase auto milage and conservation, setting the stage for our current energy problems.
There's more, but the point is: The Clintons are not now, nor have they ever been compassionate, liberal, or exceptionally competent.
And your opinion appears based on objective and subjective fact, not just adhearence to ideology or dogma,, and it based on issues, .. and that is how it should be. even though i chose to disagree with your points of debate. I have long been an advocate of a dream ticket. I thiink both Obama and Clinton have many wonderful attributes and a few faults. I think they balance each other out nicely and I think they would keep each other honest and focused, but more importantly I think that a dream ticket would effectively shut out a Republican win without question. But my original point was that if we defame one Democratic politician, we defame them all. SO it is better for Obama if his supporters do not continue with the negative Clinton talk, and vice versa.
Ok let me get this straight. I'm suppose to ignore the first what sixty something years of President Clinton and his wifes life and then believe that the Clinton's are devout racist because the National Media (which has been totally controlled by the Republicans since they insisted on getting rid of the Fairness Doctrine in 1986 among other things) the same national media that has been lying about the Clinton's for some twenty years, the same national media that told us all to vote for W because he's just a good old boy, the same national media that put a positive twist on every single thing the Republicans do and a Negative twist on every single thing the Democrats do, the same media that told us to hate France, that the war wasn't about oil, that increasing minimum wage would destroy the economy and that oil at two hundred a barrel is a good thing and that if you lose your job, your house, your insurance, your wife and your kids that's a good thing, bailing out big business is always a good thing and unions are always a bad thing and now I'm suppose to believe that The First Black President is in fact a racist. WOW! It's all very clear to me now who the real RACIST is.
This is electoral politics; you do not have to be a racist to play on conscious or unconscious racial biases. Using racial fears to win elections is not the same as being a racist. As for Obama being a racist, who is he racist against? He is just as white as he is black. Honestly, I cannot for the life of me figure out how someone can conclude that Obama been anything but soft on Hillary. Obama left so, so, so much material on the table that would have been thrown down her throat by any other candidate Democrat or Republican. As Bill Clinton said, this is a joke and a fairytale with no basis in reality.
I agree. The Clintons are not racist. They are pandering to racism. Your right about Obama too. He never put a *vote black* sticker on his bumper. He showed he was a contender and the black people just responded by coming out.
Hate to burst your bubble, but the national media figures accusing the Clintons of racism are not the same national media figures pushing the Republican agenda. It's more like Keith Olberman, a long-time staunch liberal.
You forget to mention the one and only reason why racism did not win: the American people. There is a growing sigh of relief that this country has changed and is changing for the better still, that a generation growing up with mixed colored Sesame Street has instilled a new idea into their children: that maybe, just maybe, our humanity lies in the fact that we can be color blind if we just want to.
Something ugly is playing out here. Yes, I agree, but it is a necessary chapter before we can start the real healing. And this time a majority said that they want to take a step forward and not two steps back, no matter how long this road is going to be. Finally we are moving.
Hello! Did you read the article? Of course racism won. This whole race is coming down to race and you can thank people like Barnicle for that. That's why I'm so pissed off. People like Barnicle and articles like this got us into the war in Iraq and now they're using race to destroy the Clinton's and the country I love. Wake up! The Clinton's aren't racist. That's like saying Mother Teresa was a racist.
I still don't understand why the media made such a big deal out of the Rev. Wright situation. He didn't say anything that was so terrible. And besides, Obama never expressed those views. The whole thing was blown out of proportion. I'm not one of those people like Sean Hannity who will defend our country "right or wrong." To me, that's not patriotism. I want a goverment that truly represents the people, isn't corrupt and doesn't lie. Is that asking too much?
Rev. Wright is a showman. He's very entertaining. I wasn't offended by anything he said. What offends me is this war in Iraq and all the other crimes committed by Bush and Cheney.
The nature of the MSM is they like to build someone up and then they like to take them down and then they like them to rise from the ashes again. When it was becoming increasingly clear that there was no scandal involving Obama personally (especially once he defused the Rezco situation), the MSM was left only with that 'angry' or 'crazy' former Pastor of Obama's. Oooh! What does him knowing someone he disagrees with tell us about him? It's People magazine journalism, and the MSM embraced it fully. ESPECIALLY of course Faux, etc., who had other motives in taking down Obama- wanting HRC to be the candidate because their attack file on her was already fat and populated with both some golden oldies and some new dirt they were smelling on Bill's fundraising and speaking circuit. So the MSM in conjunction with Faux put those Wright "greatest hits" segments into constant replay and kept hitting O with it cause they had nothing else.
Have we turned a corner now? Are they done with "G.D. America" and "Chickens Coming Home to Roost?" Maybe. They might have overplayed that stuff. But- you can bet Faux anyway will do what they can to lure Wright out of hiding for some more juicy quotes. (And they know Wright and his views don't offend everyone, but it's the only thing that still possibly registers on their Smack Obama meter, so they'll go there again- oh yes.
Very well said! I totally agree on that: " I wasn't offended by anything he said. What offends me is this war in Iraq and all the other crimes committed by Bush and Cheney "!
Many Blacks stop supporting the Clintons once Bill played the race card in S.C. It hurt a lot of Blacks who adopted and trusted the Clintons as honorary black.
Hillary has alleviated race separation and went along with whatever it took to win...even representing the "I won't vote for a black" vote. I don't think bigots (race or gender) have a place in the Dem Party. Honestly, didn't know there were so many.
"I still don't understand why the media made such a big deal out of the Rev. Wright situation".
Two words -" Goddam America ",
while wearing a dashiki
It was three words, tbone: "G-d damn America", wrenched completely out of context and shoved in your face in "splendid" isolation.
Go back and get the context, and he was on a rant about all the things that America has historically bollixed up, gotten wrong, and done wrong. What he was saying - using verbal shorthand that made it sound worse than it was - was that (a just) G-d (would) damn America (if she doesn't clean up her act asap). McCain's pet pastors - the ones he *sought out* and *persuaded* to endorse him - have said far more offensive things, bot no one ever talks about that.
For that matter, were you offended by the Hard Right rewrite of "God Bless America" which turned Irving Berlin's naive patriotic paean to the country that gave him a home and made him rich and famous, into a virulent denunciation of everything the Right Wing hates about this country?
If you weren't, why not? Aren't you an equal opportunity offendee? Or is it just fine and dandy when the Right Wing does it?
Barnicle?? Isn't that the stuff on the side on a boat??
Mick you just don't get it! First, The Rev Wright is not a racist and you can not site any of his sermons that advocated racism. It was ABC and their racist agenda that sent them to find any controversy that could be tied to Obama through his pastor! Why no MSM effort to cover Hillary and her association with a group called The Friends? Secondly, the MSM and pundits of your ilk proceeded to act like rabid dogs with a piece of raw meat, never listening to the full sermons that you were so indignant about. You and yours introduced racism, because you found the proverbial angry, uppity, n****r that you could exploit and you did! Shame on you and yours in the media.
Barack Obama will be the nominee, but my "Hope" has already been shattered after this grueling primary. I thought most white Democrats wanted to elect the first black president. I thought that whatever offended the black community offended them too. I thought the news networks were fairly savvy about race. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
The fact is, Obama is running for president in a country that ranges from downright racist to unsophisticated or ill-informed in race matters. Indifference about racism is another form of racism-- indifference by voters to the racially insensitive remarks and strategies of a campaign. Piling on Rev. Wright not only because he says offensive things, but also because he fits a certain stereotype. Applying another standard to Obama when it comes to patriotism, character, toughness.
Obama might be ahead of the times-- and therefore may be behind in votes to McCain. He can be a new kind of candidate. Have new ideas, new approaches to politics. But if the media and voters are the same, nothing changes.
Obama has to find a way to win in a basically racist country-- and pointing out its racism is the last way he can do it. So far, so good-- but CNN and a lot of Demcrats need to *grow up*.
Did you miss the part where Obama called all white Americans names, did you miss him playing the racist card over and over, along with his happy minions...that is the ONE MAIN REASON I WILL NEVER VOTE FOR OBAMA......NEVER. He can call me all kinds of names if he wants...I hate him, and I will never forgive him for calling me and all of mine typical, white, subliminal racists, that cling to guns and God and are bigots against all those not like me....unforgivable. No other candidate has ever called me out-my-name as the kids say, not ever before, I am so offended by his tactics I will change my party if he is the nominee....you all may be so wracked by guilt that you let this person call you these names, but I refuse to ever forgive it. Be a sheep if you choose, I think for myself, and when someone insults me for no other reason than their own ambition, it is not acceptable on any level. Be a follower if you want, he will ruin this country with his racist names and ideas. He won't be my President, he thinks I'm a racist, so I will not be part of this country....I am insulted, and feel pushed away by my country. He hates Hillary and her supporters so there is no place for us in this country any more.
Be sure to give your forwarding address so when you leave this country we know where to send your mail.
Before you leave tho please give links to where exactly and in what context he called you any name.
I can see how you might feel Obama insulted you but I think he was actually trying to express how left out some voters have been. - but the even worse insult is what the Repugs are going to do your future .I don't think Obama hates Hilary nor do I think he is racist .His supporters however are giving him a bad name , they do not seem to represent what he stands for, an America for everyone.
Wow, you're unhinged.
"Did you miss the part where Obama called all white Americans names, did you miss him playing the racist card over and over..."
Yes, I did miss that. Please cite examples with specifics. Please provide a link or a quotation wherein Senator Obama called, "all white Americans names."
"...he thinks I'm a racist, so I will not be part of this country....I am insulted, and feel pushed away by my country. He hates Hillary and her supporters so there is no place for us in this country any more."
Umm, Senator Obama is neither the King of America nor the U.S. Constitution. He isn't even the President, yet. Do you realize that you leapt from falsely accusing Obama of calling you names to equating him with America, as a whole?
"I hate him, and I will never forgive him..."
You pretty much could have just stuck with that as your entire comment - the rest is just rambling window-dressing.
It's a sad thing that you have closed your mind so tightly that you can't even hear how defensive, bigoted and downright loony you sound. Come to think of it, you would probably feel very much at home in the Republican party.
You sound ignorant
Vote white? Vote for the dittohead-supported Obliterator? Never!!!
OOPS!!!
Never say never.
Never give up.
Never surrender.
Never believe in fairy tales.
Never believe in any hope.
Life is hard.
Life is unfair.
Life is what you make it so get off your duff and support your candidate of choice.
Blacks and whites have no choice - we have to live together in this imperfect world so you might as well deal with it like adults.
Hate is dead and will stay dead. Give it up or become a useless member of your community.
Have a good day all and remember to cast your votes.
And whites are getting in a tizzy about 90% of blacks voting for Obama. Like blacks should just grin and accept subtle denigration of their image via minimizing Obama. sshhheeeeeeeeh
The fact is all these "code words and phrases" the Clinton campaign throws out, most blacks have already heard it before in their OWN lives. Black people knew EXACTLY what Hillary meant when she was saying "He can't win" back in January. She's had Geraldine Ferraro and her black lackeys imply it for her. Everyone is just catching up to the obvious. And the MSM is a BIG part of it. There are too many embedded racists on these news panels making snide references about blacks like it's 1972. There was no bigger pleasure than to watch them all eat crow for stoking the Rev. Wright issue. For all his faults Rev. Wright addressed legitimate issues. And for an all-white news panel dismiss and ridicule that.....is precisely why Hillary is looking pitiful right now.
Exactly! Hearing that witch on Fox call Obama a "half-frican"... my daughter is mixed. These kinds of casual words hurt and do damage! She gets teased and mocked for being mixed at black schools AND white schools. I KNOW black people who were going to support Hillary. I am one of them! But the way this campaign has gone, the things that have been said and implied...
...Not to mention everyone in the world constantly diminishing the black vote and focusing on the "white blue collar" vote. Hello? I'm an American! I work and pay taxes! I belong here as well, and my vote DOES count for something!
The media made this about race. They chopped us up into little groups - as did Mark Penn - and decided whose votes should count and whose could be discarded. Obama has consistently played the game of appealing to everyone, even when he was out of his element. He bowled, even though he's crap at bowling. He's gone out to meet EVERYONE, and that's the difference.
I would have had SO much respect for Hillary if she'd gone into a black neighborhood and tried to shoot a few hoops or something or - better yet - had've gone into a nice middle class black neighborhood - if only to let the country know that no, we're not all gang-bangers and "victim mentality" welfare recipients.
That would have meant SO much. It would've said, "I'm here for you too!"
So now women have to shoot hoops to get votes? Finally we get down to what male voters are really looking for.
Lets see ,so now white people shouldn't just avoid the N word , they also shouldn't say "he can't win" , , Jesse jackson, , race , "I'm the best candidate"( see hugs4u).
robXdion----Maybe you could just make a list of these code words , so white people will know what it is okay to use.
I'm sure they'll appreciate the heads up since its a bit inconvenient to find out everytime you think you're trying to communicate, you're really giving a racist message.
Or in your mind, is possible for a white person to communicate anything but a racist message?
When you imply a black person is deficient in some way or "irresponsible" without giving specifics. Letting things float without giving an explanation leads the only logical reason for such comments is RACISM.
When you single out a black person for criticism and ridicule for doing things that whites do freely, the logical explanation is RACISM. (people watch for these double standards).
When you dismiss or act as if a black man being eloquent, educated, or well kept is a marvel like seeing a fish grow legs and walk, it's insulting.
Anytime you tell a black person "but you can't do that" when you can't deny the same opportunity to another white person or dismiss any effort they make, it's an insulting assault on basic human dignity.
Other than that, any other snide cultural references to Africa or fried chicken and watermelon and 'gorilla', 'ape', 'monkey', giving mocking imitations of our style and looks, all of this might cause someone to get a beating. Other than that we're just regular people.
open your mind FOR REAL and stop pretending you are, tbone99. do your homework---it takes initiative and time, but if you are really interested and not just venting and angry, you'll do it and be the wiser for it. this country has a sordid history when it comes to race relations, and languaging is part of it. your knee jerk reaction to the post just makes you sound very uninformed and silly.
the clintons are very smart people....they know the implications of what they say on the trail. bill came from the south, so he's hyper aware of some of the code words/phrases they and their surrogates have used. i used to like them---voted for them twice. but as an african american woman, i have lost all respect for the both of them!
Well, tbone99, you could try actually sitting down with a Black person. Have you tried that? We're fairly easy to find. Or you could go to an NAACP meeting. Or you could read a book. There are a number of excellent writers and commentators out there who could provide the education you SAY you seek (Michael Eric Dyson and Dr. Cornel West immediately come to mind).
You see, tbone99, the times they are a changin'. Our nation, perhaps by the end of this century, may not be populated mainly by Whites. So the overt and covert languages for racism (and sexism, ageism, heterosexism, and all of the other "-isms this nation has inflicted on its own people for centuries) will be questioned. That will create a very uncomfortable existence for some who don't think they should be questioned.
If you're serious about learning about people different from yourself, then come on board. If it's about being educated, then we ALL can learn (as I try to do everyday). If, however, it's about willful ignorance, then the world is far too busy to waste its time.
Black people can not win this fight by themselves, neither can white people. Only the American people, WE all together, can win this fight. This is why Senator Obama speaks about "Us". "We" own the campaign. "We" are winning the primary. "We" are going to take the White House. And yes, "we" are going to profit from ALL Americans getting a shot at security and happiness. And if some of us don't win, "we" all lose.
Yes! WE can!
Black people are not winning this fight by themselves. Obama is not where he is today without solid white support. The Russian poet Yevtushenko said that there are only two nations on the earth, the nation of the good people and the nation of the bad people. The nation of the good people is multi-colored.
Every time I hear Hillary say, that she should be the nominee, because of she is the best candidate that can win. To me what I hear her truely meaning to say is but can't is " she should be the nominee, because she is white".
Ever consider it's YOUR hearing and not her saying?
Could you please source those words coming from "the Clintons". I never heard them utter anything even remotely like that. Rather it has been Obama's intention from the very beginning to turn any offense, intentional or un, into a racial firestorm upon which he could ride black anger and white guilt all the way to the White House. It's very disappointing to see this crass behavior come from nothng more noble than lust for the higher office he seeks every year or so.
Bullshit. Cite one example of Obama doing this. This meme, that whites only vote for him out of guilt, is racist and insulting. I have no guilt. Nothing but love for Obama here.
Research Guy - You live in a world that doesn't exist for most people. Black anger nor White guilt will be enough to get Obama to the White House. I watched the Iowa caucuses where there were not enough Black votes to matter >3% and Whites didn't seem particularly guilty. They sent a message loud and clear to America after listening to all of the candidates for over six months. Obama won - and he seemed to avoid all mention of race. How do you explain that one genius!
Please let us know what Senator Obama said to trigger a "racial firestorm". When did he speak in divisive terms?
Research guy 66-
Its not the man, its the fans.
Great post....it's interesting that Clinton supporters believe that Obama played the "race card" on the Clintons!
The Clintons did play the race card on themselves. By making themselves surrogates for a charismatic Black American politician they managed to occupy a large voter group. This strategy, of course, had to fail when a genuine charismatic Black American politician came along who happens to be able to actually occupy the even more influential traditional Clinton voter group of college educated white people.
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