Pssst...Barack Obama is a Black Dude

Geraldine Ferraro said that Barack Obama wouldn't be where he is today if he wasn't black.

So what?

Was that supposed to be some kind of secret? I mean, hasn't Obama himself written extensively about how race shaped his life? Made him the man he is today? Would we really be so excited about him if he'd done a Freaky Friday with John Edwards in the 1970s? I doubt it. Yes, he'd still possess a brilliant mind and a gift for oratory, but his life experiences would've been completely different. His ability to bring together opposing viewpoints might've never emerged. He would've never had the transformative experience of visiting Kenya after his father's death. And he wouldn't have been the "skinny kid with a funny name" who captured America's attention in 2004.

In other words, Barack Obama wouldn't be where he is today if he wasn't black.

And so the Obama camp's response to Ferraro's "divisive" comments has been a tad disingenuous. But worse -- much worse, it's been a squandered political opportunity. Obama still needs to convince nervous Democrats that he can handle a street fight with John McCain. A fight that, at present, might be billed as "The Brainiac vs. The Maniac," thanks to some people's image of Obama as a chai-sipping, mani/pedi-loving Harvard man, and some people's image of McCain as, well...a total psychopath. When you're up against a guy who spent five years getting his limbs broken in a pool of his own filth, running away from a point that you've made yourself in paperback isn't the best way to look tough.

So if I were David Axelrod, I'd fire up the nearest edit bay and flood Pennsylvania's airwaves with an ad that went something like this:

(Start with a nasty frame-grab of Ferraro and Clinton). "Hillary Clinton's best friend, Geraldine Ferraro, says Barack Obama wouldn't be where he is today if he wasn't black." (Cut to Ferraro giving the finger to a group of black Girl Scouts). "We couldn't agree more. Barack Obama's life as a man of mixed race taught him to respect people of all colors, faiths, and points of view." (Cut to Obama clearing brush on his ranch). "It also instilled a great love for America as the land of opportunity. A land where people from different backgrounds could come together and achieve the impossible. Barack Obama is proud of being black." (Cut to a beautiful Obama family portrait). He even fathered two black babies -- twice as many as John McCain. Don't the working families of Pennsylvania deserve a president who's proud of his heritage -- and proud of America? (Cut to a smiling Obama). "Barack Obama...you're damn right he's black."

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not defending Ferraro. I think it was a stupid thing to say, especially for someone who would've never been her party's vice presidential nominee if she hadn't been a woman. She's thrown her beloved Hillary off message, and her refusal to apologize promises to keep the story alive for another day or two. She even had the chutzpah to warn Obama not to "antagonize" people like her, lest he become the nominee and need her fundraising muscle. Don't "antagonize" her? Who is she, Sonny Corleone? And when did she become the "must-have" fundraiser, anyway? Politically speaking, she's about as relevant as the top-loading VCR in my garage.

Still, Team Obama should give the public a little more credit. After all, a good 80-90% of us have figured out by now that their candidate is, in fact, black. Deep down in our heart of hearts, we know that none of this would be happening if he wasn't that skinny kid with a funny name. It's part of what makes him different. It's part of why we like him. And no matter what Geraldine Ferraro says, it's nothing to be ashamed of.

Comments

[nomobull]

the difference is he was saying in spite of not because of which is what she was saying. and there is a difference

[goldstategirl]

Saying that to Barack is like telling Hillary she's only gotten anything in life because she's female.

It belittles their educations, accomplishments and hard work. Later for what you think when someone else is offended -- why do they feel that way?

You've gone and marginalized an offense that was not directed, presumably, at you -- unless you happen to be black and know what this feels like.

Unlike McCain's broken bones, which are by no stretch of the imagination a small matter. I respect and commend his service. At least those do heal in the long run. You can't change your skin though. (Please, no Michael Jackson jokes.)

It's one thing to discuss why someone was offended but you appear to have missed the whole point: She dismissed all his 20 years of service, work and Magna Cum Laude Harvard Law education and chalked up his strides in this election to "just because he's black."

She said the same bigoted BS about Jesse Jackson when he ran in 1988 and it's just as bigoted and hurtful today-- to all black people and others whose best efforts get marginalized and dismissed by people in often influential positions.

There's nothing un-tough about calling BS for what it is. So please re-think your position here. Most of us have had our fill of dismissiveness for a while.

[DoninJoisey]

Agree. Ferraro said "he's lucky to be black". We have made strides in this country toward equality, but that stament alone means Geradine is in need of elctro-shock - provided she believes it to be true. I've also heard Hillary to exhort people to "help her break the ultimate glass ceiling " - appealing to the feminazis.


Once again, the fact Clinton lacks a penis is immaterial to me. That she claims to have achieved so much, yet in reality only got anywhere because she's "wife of" lessens her in my eyes. I don't like Condescending Rice, for example, because of her views, but I respect her far more than I do Hillary, because Condi made it on her own. If I were a feminist, that's the example to be emulated, not "wife of".


Well, when your record on NAFTA, Iraq, integrity, etc., is poor, you have to make crap up (like "35 years of experience") and throw gender and race and fear and smear in an attempt to grab power.


That the Clinton camp hasn't "denounced and rejected" Ferraro is a clear bid for the racist vote. Truly despicable. Appeal to the base as in base instincts - fear, bias, ....


Anyone else hear Keith Olbermann's "special comment"? It was RIGHT ON.

[dollphingurl]

in the interest of full disclosure: i'm a Black woman - it's not so much that Barack Obama gained my vote, as it is that Hillary lost it.

if there were no Obama in this race, i'd be voting Edwards. or McCain or Desi and Lucy.

i think ultimately, things have changed at lightning speed in the US - things that used to matter A WHOLE HECKUVA LOT just twenty years ago when i was in elementary school are less remarkable now.

we used to have farrah fawcett, cheryl tiegs, brooke shields, and now we have rihanna, beyoncé, and nicole scherzinger.

we used to have barbara walters and donahue, now we have oprah and whoopi.

we used to have George Schultz and Henry Kissinger. Now we've had Madeleine Albright, Gen. Colin Powell and Dr. Condoleezza Rice.

the bottom line is that many of the most motivated people lining up behind obama have come of age in a time when it has become increasingly normal and expected for Black people and women to be seen in positions of influence and power. therefore we just choose the candidate that will make us feel the most jazzed up to do our part to participate in the system. inconveniently for Hillary, it contrasts with her top-down, maternalistic approach to governance.

by not being the one "to stay home and bake cookies" hillary definitely did a whole generation of young girls a whole world of good. just as good as the bad she's doing now in her quest for the holy grail.

i think hillary's biggest problem is that she's always been on the defensive her whole life. she had to prove herself to her father, she picked a husband who has never made her feel like anything but the fallback plan while he philandered and meandered and destroyed her trust in people, tore up their lives, made her a laughingstock, and put her in front of the 8-ball for 15 years and counting.

that's gotta do something to a person. something really bad.

i'm not defending HER, but what i am saying is that the only thing she seems to know how to do is sabotage herself into an underdog position and then fight her way out. that's really pathetic and sad.

but i'm still not voting for her ass.

take a person like Barack Obama. barack obama could not have gotten as far as he has by playing the "i'm a victim of the White male establishment" card as Hillary has - and yes, he's worlds more comfortable in his skin than hillary ever has been, because as a Black person, you simply have to be or you will sink into a suicidal depression every time a Geraldine Ferraro makes a remark....and as a Black person, you hear many, many remarks of that nature throughout the course of your life, even from the best-meaning people. obama used to see and hear things from his own beloved White grandmother sometimes. sometimes people are just not aware of the impact of word choice and timing in a situation.

Geraldine Ferraro should have conducted herself better. she could have made the exact same assertion - because it is true and it is an important thing to address - but she could have stated it in a much more palatable, digestible way. a way that could have opened up the debate without antagonizing people and gettin' folks in a lather.

i'm sure it was just fatigue, Obama's reaction to her comments. after all, Geraldine is old enough to be Barack's maternal aunt. i'm sure that ultimately, he just feels sorry for her, as i do. she just really wants to see a female president in her lifetime.

ferraro needed to step down, although she'll likely now be a news analyst on FOX.

as for hillary? when this is over, she should divorce Bill, THEN run again.

[UrsaMajority]

Dollphingurl, thanks for the excellent perspective. What fries me as an Obama supporter is that Ferraro just assumes the only reason that I and others like me can't see beyond Hillary's four more years of Senate experience is that we're rooting for a black man to make it more than we do a white woman. Frankly, it's not true -- if all things were equal, I'd be pushing for a woman over a half-white Harvard Law School graduate. But they're not equal -- Hillary hasn't shown the character that Obama has -- she didn't in voting for the Iraq war and she didn't in starting her Rovian fear-mongering ads in order to stay in the race. And I could point out dozens of more examples.

You hit on a nerve - "she just really wants to see a female president in her lifetime." I do too. My wife really wants to see one too, and it killed her to vote against Hillary in our primary, but she felt (and polls consistently verify) that Obama's the stronger candidate against McCain. Hillary's negatives are just too high and getting worse. But, we'll all get another shot. There are a number of great women politicians out there -- let's get 'em ready to run in 2016!

[dollphingurl]

thank youuuuu, UrsaMajority. and while i'm glad that all these issues are getting out into the open to give allllll of us a chance to check ourselves, our motivations and our responses for the general election, i just shudder to think that perhaps the Clinton campaign has done a great deal of damage to the Dems and the Obama campaign.

and it'd be utterly tragic if THIS last 4 months of dogged campaigning is the closing chapter, the legacy of the Clintons.

i am kinda intrigued at the idea of an Obama-Pelosi ticket, though strategically it might be cooler for her to be Madam Speaker.

i can't wait to see Bloomberg weigh in on Obama's side once the dust clears.

[Mojane]

Why would she say what she said if she weren't an old white lady who was chosen as a running mate in '84 because she was a female? At the time, I thought well of Mondale, but wondered why she was chosen over other more qualified and more electable women. Now she's a confused old white lady loser who never had much going for her and needs to zip it up. So does the fellow who wrote this piece.

P.S. I'm an old white woman who would like to see a woman in office, but I'm not going to be overwrought if the one running now doesn't get it.

[politricking]

I would like to thank Ms. Ferraro for bringing this issue into the light. We're airing out our dirty laundry. Consider all this as a follow up to katrina but now you see it from white liberals instead of ridiculous remarks made by Barbara Bush.

Racism is alive and well. It's interesting that everybody pounces on the fact that the African-American vote overwhelmingly chose Obama.
How do white and black voters fare during the primary you might ask:

How about these interesting polls:

In the poll, 10 percent of white Democrats said they would cross party lines and support McCain if Clinton is the nominee. But twice as many—20 percent—said they would back McCain if Obama is nominated. White Democrats without a college degree were even more likely to defect if Obama is nominated: 24 percent said so.

But here's the kicker:
African-American Democrats said they were not likely to defect regardless of the nominee. Under either scenario, only 1 percent of black Democrats said they would support McCain.

So Clinton supporters, perhaps you're right. Obama can't win because he's black and the country is racist (ahem, that's across party lines). Give it to Hillary, who's helped bring the issue of race into the light.

[uheardme]

AAs like me will defect and its likely to be more than 40%. But according to Hillary's supporters, they don't need the Black vote. So Blacks should vote for someone else.

[TerenceHartnett]

Tiger Woods wouldn't be where he is if he wasn't black. Hmm . . . no he earned it by competing with the best and winning.

Obama wouldn't be where he is if he wasn't black. Hmm . . . nope he earned it by competing with the best and winning.

I would ask anyone who defends GF's remarks this question and this should clear things up.

So, did Clinton actually run a better campaign than Obama?

Seriously, did she run a better campaign?

Because that is the implication, correct? That without his advantage from being black she would be in the lead, correct?

[KDH]

"That without his advantage from being black she would be in the lead, correct?"
If you mean that black leaders wouldn't have been as upset after Bill Clinton's remarks, helping to sway black voters over to Obama..... then maybe that could be seen as an advantage?

[TerenceHartnett]

Obama is winning because he has run a brilliant campaign. Bringing people into the process who have never been involved before. Using the internet. Organization, fund raising. He had more boots on the ground and more offices open than Clinton even back when he had less money. It is just a better campaign.

On the other hand, Clinton began with huge resources: money, name recognition, 2 years+ of good press, she began as the front runner. But her campaign has been mismanaged. They cant compete in caucuses: Carter, Bill Clinton, Gore, Kerry, and many other have competed successfully in caucuses. She positioned herself as the experience candidate in a "change" election--a miscalculation. She could have easily been the change candidate. Wasted money. Poor internet work. No plan for after super Tuesday. I think the quality of her campaign and the quality of Obama's campaign much more significantly explains their positions in the horse race.

However much other crap may have influenced the race, her campaign has be grossly inept. And there is the answer as to why she is in second place.

[vanessa04]

Tiger Woods will emphatically tell you that he ISN'T black: he's bi-racial. He refused to be "named" by only 50% of his racial makeup. Tiger has always said he is proud of ALL of his heritage. In the face of tremendous racial pressure, he has refused to claim exclusive self-identity with only one side of him, and deny the other.

Tiger Woods, unlike Barack Obama, has never let an outdated plantocracy nomenclature define him. And he has never argued an umpire's call, or a critique of his game, by claiming racism.

Barack Obama should have one-quadrillionth part of Tiger Woods' integrity and moral compass,

[Veeve]

Your anger is misplaced. It's ok to be upset that your candidate is losing.

[demfromtheD]

You've missed the mark here Seth. Don't forget the second part of the quote: "and the country is caught up in the concept." Meaning: if Obama didn't have the romantic notion of a black man as Pres. working in his favor, then he would be long gone by now, because those of us that support him have just been drinking the black-guy-­achieves-u­ltimate-tr­iumph Kool-Aid. It implies that he has coasted past Hillary on his race, while denigrating his constituents as a bunch of deluded dumbshits. The same, interestingly, could theoretically be said of Hillary. Maybe Clinton supporters are deluded by the dream of the first woman President? In fact, I'd be willing to wager that that is Ferraro's particular frame of mind. And boy is she hoppin' mad about it.
By the way, love your idea for Obama's response ad! I would watch SNL very closely and have a lawyer at the ready in case they steal your idea! Hilarious!

[lanny6]

"And the country is caught up in the concept."
I think the concept the country is "caught up in" is actually having a smart, articulate and steady candidate with integrity to vote for.
Obama '08

[AntonBursch]

Seth Grahame-Smith,

I can't explain in a paragraph what you need to know to understand how narrow your view of what Geraldine Ferraro did is. But I'll try to summarize.

1. She's not you, dude. You need to find out who she is and some of her very public history before you judge what she has said. Her words were not spoken in a vaccume of history as though she is a guileless 5 year old white girl pointing at to mommy that Obama looks different than daddy. Geraldine Ferraro is a feminist icon. She has spent her public life speaking against intentional and unintentional sexism. Just look into her role this primary with the Media and Hillary Clinton. Who was it that accused the media of sexism for how they covered HIllary's tear up moment?

2. She was chosen to be vice president. Obama is winning in an election. She is trying to equate his lead in the primary to her being chosen for vice president in 1984. She is in no way unaware of the difference between her appointment and Obama's lead in an election. You are very naive if you think that this isn't very deliberate. She is trying to re-frame Obama's lead. To make people believe that wouldn't have voted for Obama except they are just 'caught up in the concept' of electing a black man. This is part of Clinton's strategy to convince the voters that when she is made the nominee by the super delegates that it is ok because the public didn't really mean to vote for Obama. And, watch the news, Hillary has been saying this is her plan for a week now.

Those of us who can see what she is doing are calling foul but she did it in a way that people who are not paying attention will think that it is those crying foul who are at fault.

You are being fooled by the oldest political trick in the book. You believe that there is not a deliberate multi-front long term strategy to affect public opinion by the Clinton campaign. They flanked you, dude.

[BrooklynLager]

The CNN people actually impressed me for once. David Gergen(!) laid the entire thing out, exactly like it is.

And Keith Olbermann had his statement, but he's always great.

[KDH]

AntonBursh Wrote: "You are being fooled by the oldest political trick in the book. You believe that there is not a deliberate multi-front long term strategy to affect public opinion by the Clinton campaign. They flanked you, dude"

I think it's time to let this all go, and move on. It appears that Barak Obama wishes the same.

By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer Wed Mar 12, 6:11 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080312/ap_on_el_pr/obama_race

CHICAGO - Democrat Barack Obama expressed frustration Wednesday that racial issues keep rising to the top of his presidential battle with Hillary Rodham Clinton, but he said the great majority of voters will base their decisions on substantive issues.

"Obama said he did not think Clinton's campaign was deliberately stirring racial divisions....."

"On another racially tinged issue, Obama said recent comments by Clinton fundraiser Geraldine Ferraro about his candidacy were ridiculous, but not racist."

[JZfromCA]

Does nobody remember how Bill fought back against the Republicans? When they scored a point against him something happened in the news which sucked the oxygen out of the room - and nobody noticed as much as they would have.
The same thing happened here. Geraldine said something and suddenly everybody is talking about her and not how Obama just plowed over Hillary in Mississippi (a squeaker - he was only 24 points ahead there).
So - is anybody talking about how Obama has the momentum back? No - we are talking about Geraldine - and the news still talks about how Hillary has the momentum.

[BrooklynLager]

At this point - it really doesn't matter. The race is effectively over, and the best thing Obama can do is minimize the damage Hillary! can do to him before the fall.

[Grim]

Do the math. Barring a complete knockout punch, a 30 point spread in Hillary's favor in Pennsylvania and with seated delegates in Michigan and Florida, Obama will come into the convention with more delegates. It makes you wonder what the intentions are of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Leadership Council.

The DLC is a party within a party and has basically been run by the Clintons since the early 90s. It's members pride themselves as being a more moderate swing vote between the progressive, or Democratic, wing of the Democratic Party and the GOP. However, all they accomplish is keeping the status quo in power in both parties and keep real reform and change in our government at a standstill.

An Obama presidency would drive a stake in the heart of the DLC. It will no longer be pivotal in guiding the Democratic Party to a less progressive, more conciliatory. Politics as usual will be over. The DLC membership will lose their collective power.

This is why DLC members and Clinton's minions making desperate stab after desperate stab at Obama. If Obama is weakened going into the general election and John McCain wins, the DLC retains their power in Congress and in state offices throughout the nation and they live to fight another day.

Hillary Clinton can't win the nomination and she knows that. Her closest advisors and supporters know that. They do know that they can taint an Obama campaign to set up another DLC candidate, likely Hillary, in 2012.

[foreffectivegovernment]

Obama is the favored nominee among 45 percent of Democrats, compared with 44 percent for Clinton, according to the poll, which was based on telephone interviews with 1,215 registered voters March 5-6.

Obama gets overwhelming support from:

Blacks (80 percent to 10 percent),
Those under 40 (60 percent to 35 percent),
Voters who have graduated from college (50 percent to 41 percent)
Male voters by a 10-point margin (50 percent to 40 percent)

Hillary wins:

The majority of whites (53 percent to 35 percent),
Voters over 60 (51 percent to 33 percent)
Voters who have a high-school education or less (48 percent to 38 percent).
Female voters (46 percent to 40 percent).

Can anyone examine these percentages and explain how this whole thing is NOT about race and gender.

Even ex-President Bill Clinton, the ex-First Black President, did not ever get 80% of the Black vote at any time in his career so why is Senator Obama? Could it be because he is Blacker than President Bill Clinton?

[goldstategirl]

Yes he did -- it's documented Bill got 90% of the Black Vote in some regions.

Since Kerry and Gore also had high margins, and now a lot that population likes Obama, are they supposed to not vote for him and be scared some whites/nonblacks might call them racists?

If white men are racist for voting for DECADES of nothing but white men, let's give these folks a freaken break.

[vanessa04]

"Can anyone examine these percentages and explain how this whole thing is NOT about race and gender."

The whole thing is not entirely about race and gender. But, as you point out, one can hardly look at the data and NOT extrapolate that race and gender are playing a huge part in the demographic choices.

It's the elephant in the room. And the elephant just farted.

[iswearington]

what white folks just don't seem to get...is that there is no experience they can go through...that is as devastating as growing up...and then living as a black man in the united states of america.no matter how many degrees we have...no matter how much money we make...no matter how well spoking we may be...any illiterate racist cop with a 6th grade education can blow us to kingdom come with 41 bullets ( go ask amadou diallo and many others) for trying to get out our ID...and not a damned thing will be done about it.5 years in the hanoi hilton...being trussed up like a christmas turkey and tortured every day...no comparisio­n...americ­an is rife with horatio alger and dale carnegie storys..about white immigrants working their way up from the bottom.but the black boys were never hired in the first place. how in hell..can a man dare think he is better than someone...he never had to compete with?.john lewis and millions of little black boys faced death every second....every minute...every hour of every day they lived in the southern confederate states. a brief lapse of memory..forgetting to say mister to a white man...forgetting to jump off the side walk and into the mud puddle quick enough...accidently whistling a tune not knowing a white woman was near by....would get them lynched and burned. (go ask emmet till and many others). the fact of the matter is...it is a greater accomplishment for a black man...to live to be 21 years old...than is...for a white man to be elected president. but...white folks will never know...will they?

[Tane]

I agree (and I am a white, 35 year old woman, who makes less than $30,000/yr). The most outrageous word that GF used was "lucky." That word is the one that most enrages and led to Obama calling her comments ridiculous. The people who defend GF's comments by arguing that she was only talking about one of many attributes that have helped Obama seem to be deaf to her continued argument. She said Wednesday that when she was asked about why Obama was doing so well she couldn't argue that he was more experienced, or that he had a better handle on substantive policies so it must be because he is black. For a woman who has fought discrimination throughout her career I would have hoped that her response would have been that his message of change, unity and grass roots governing simply resonates with Americans who would like to believe that the country that Barack Obama envisions is indeed possible. GF's statements go hand in hand with the Clinton campaign's insistence that Barack is "All hat and no cattle."

As far as how Obama supporters are relating to his race, there are surely varied stories, but I think that it is important for people not to simplify Obama as African American. His multi-faceted background (living in Hawaii, Indonesia, his pilgrimage to Kenya, etc.) and heritage (white, black, and Native American) is not the typical story of anyone in America, black, white, Latino, etc.. and yet he represents the quintessential underlying story of the American Dream. There is certainly a large group of supporters who are celebrating his heritage and his name as a symbolic representation of his message of unity (Japan relishing in the fact that they have a city named Obama, Muslims hoping that he might bring a less racist view to the table, even Jewish and devout Christians who note that Barack is a name that is fairly common in the Bible). The international response of joy in the candidacy of Barack Obama reflects that Barack represents a universality that is indeed healing and vindicates his message. Not only can he unite this country, but he can also help motivate all countries to move towards a more tolerant view of a humanity that is ever evolving into a global community. If we are to tackle the daunting crises of our time, including the environment, genocide, disease, education, economy... we must shed some of our protectionist fears and unite worldwide.

[Shenygirl1]

If Obama becomes our next president, will we all have to tread lightly and avoid any disagreement or criticism of him lest we be accused of racism? Will his staunch supporters and the media apologists and propagandists continue to protect him so vehemently? Are we being denied freedom of speech by being threatened with accusations of racism?

[BrooklynLager]

Only if you say racist things. Such as: "If Barack Obama weren't black, would we even be having this conversation? Would he be a problem for Hillary? Of course not."

If you don't understand how that's racist, then yes. The rest of us will be fine though.

[iswearington]

then it will never work...will it? you all know you will never be able to tread lightly...not while the confederate flag flys all over america...not while amadou diallo and sean bell leave this life with a 41 and a 56 bullet salute respectively...not while the duke broomhandle rapers can scream the n word at two black strippers for an entire evening and be rewarded with millions and canonization to sainthood...not while hillary clinton who is 121 delegates behind can claim to be ahead...not while a mentally disabled shell shocked war veteran with a hair trigger temper has actually been nominated by the other party...when anyone with the smallest modicum of plain common sense knows he belongs in a sunlit room in the nut ward with round the clock medication.there is not one bit of difference between john mccain than any other veteran sleeping under a bridge somewhere in this nation.if barack obama or any black mans only claim to fame was being tied up like a hog and tortured for 5 years tried to run for anything...it wouldn't matter about daddy being a high ranking military officer.he would be taken gently by the hand...and lead back to his ward.no...treading lightly is very difficult for the former slavemasters.

[bas1311]

This is getting truly absurd. Every day someone is forced to apologize for some comment or another and then either candidate must disavoy that person and that's the story for 3 or 4 days. When someone says something untrue about a candidate, then it's time to call for firings. This current spate of whining constantly about the other side is not doing anyone any good. Run your own campaigns and stop being babies. The American people deserve a campaign on the issues not this garbage.

[HRC4Sure]

Seth has it absolutely correct and the media owe's Geraldine Ferraro and the Hillary Clinton Camp a big apology. Read the interview and listen to Geraldine Ferraro speak about what she was asked. Ms. Ferraro did not say anything racist and not that anyone seems to care but she is not a racist and has spent her life's work reflecting that.
If Ms. Ferraro said something racist, then CNN does it every election night when they break down the demographics of the vote ! Give us all a break and can the media start being real reporters and stop spinning the news !!!

[BrooklynLager]

Which one: the original interview, or the interview where she lies about what she was asked? Because the one I heard was with her talking to John Gibson about superdelegates, and then out of nowhere she went on a tangent saying, once again, that he's only where he is because he's black.

This morning she said she was asked to explain his success, and she said that she was only saying how wonderful it was that African Americans were engaged in the process and proud of their candidate. She's absolutely shameless; she may not think what she originally said was racist, but she knows DAMN well it wasn't a compliment.

[goldstategirl]

Listen to the ORIGINAL RADIO INTERVIEW.

She tried to spin away her original nastiness that the Daily Breeze reported and lied about her original interview.

She backpeddled today like she was on a bike.

[shockjock]

I must say, your support of dumb and divisive politics from the '80;s is the reason why HRC will lose the nomination.
What redeeming qualities in support of her candidate were discussed in her interview?
1). Oh, he is successful because he is black. And her proof is?
2). The attraction of 2 million primary voters is because he is black and we feel guilty. And her proof is?
3). He is a reverse racist? Excuse me, but I've never heard him bring it up on the campaign trail.

And for you to say because he wrote about race in his autobiography, it is fair game in the election defies logic. He wrote about his dead parents in the book - fair game for the Clinton surrogates?

Either Gerry is delusional, and living in the past (ok, sure she is ) or / and Slick Willy, Mark Penn (Slick Willy Jr.), Wolfson, and Terry Mac put her up to it. Either way,

WE WANT CHANGE!!!!
Obama Olberman '08

[Manx]

You're way off course! What you're saying, in essence, is that Ferraro said something stupid and you agree with it. What she said is that Obama didn't get to be where he is because he is qualified to be president but because of his race. Not true and stupid.

[EngineerBill]

Your Ad idea wouldn't work. It is too subtle. Obama simply needs to do a half hour prime time special about his life. A documentary style bio-pick would feature people like his grandparents and his childhood friends. In other words he should define himself before Hillary and McCain define him.

[goldstategirl]

Hasn't he done that? I know I saw bio-specials on him, Edwards and Hill running just before the SC...oh well...yeah time for re-runs.