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

[Merin]

Her initial comment was racist, if you consider the fact that it basically implies that Senator Obama was only winning because he was black which is patently ridiculous.

Her angry refusal to apologize and her antagonistic tones since the initial statement, however, are what are TRULY reprehensible.

[BrooklynLager]

The visual I have of this whole thing is Geraldine Ferraro spending a week throwing empty bottles at Obama. She gets increasingly frustrated that he doesn't seem to notice. Finally she charges into him, falls backwards and yells "He attacked me! He's trying to hurt Hillary!" while he looks around, confused and wondering what the hell just happened.

[Purcy]

I never thought that Geraldine Ferraro was saying anything racist, and, I do think that Seth gets it. Reality is, Barack would not be where he is, were he not black. I don't dislike Barack, in fact, I've been more undecided as to who I would vote for. The hysteria that has resulted from her comment is nothing short of totally ridiculous. Though Huff Post likes it because they can run further and faster with all of the 'I hate Hillary garbage'. Let's be careful with all of this Hillary bashing. You really want to divide the party. There are many people I know who are very angry and who feel that their candidate is not getting a fair shake. After all, it's not okay to be racist. AND IT SHOULDN'T BE. But it is okay to be sexist. AND IT SHOULDN'T BE. So it's okay for Obama to comment about 'the claws coming out', for people to say that the only reason Hillary is a candidate is because of her husband's bad behavior, to criticize her hair, her body, her clothing, whatever. Take your best shot folks. It is okay to be sexist. Sorry ladies...a­nd some of your worst enemies are the other ladies...I doubt Huff post will print this one either.

I've gotten used to not being heard during the Bush Administration.

[lostonechampion]

Since when does being black put you into a position to be the POTUS? When was this trend set? What facts do you have to support your bogus and ludicrous statement?

Obama is where he is in spite of being black. And GF is a ...well here statement was not meant to be positive in any way. Her comment was intended to slam Obama and the blunt inference is that he was not qualified to be POTUS but is an affirmative action recipient. That is code-word for people in PA and Ohio to not vote for him. Becuase affirmative action is evil.

You are either stupid or disingenuous. Either way, it makes you irrelevant. You can't stand in the way of progress.

[BrooklynLager]

GF tried to seem evenhanded by saying "I'll be the first to tell you - if my name was Gerald instead of Geraldine, I never would have been a vice-presidential candidate". No kidding; that's a matter of history. You were handpicked by Tip O'Neal and Walter Mondale because you were a woman (a white woman, I'd add, but like most white people her age, it's a given to her that she has access to power in a way that black women don't).

There's a difference between being selected by Fritz Mondale, and being elected by millions of people. If she could read the minds of the voters THAT well, she wouldn't have lost so many elections.

[vanessa04]

"After all, it's not okay to be racist. AND IT SHOULDN'T BE. But it is okay to be sexist. AND IT SHOULDN'T BE."

And there you have it in a nutshell. Now prepare yourself for the usual barrage of Hillary-hate and accusations that you are racist.

[SCharb]

Dirty, Derogatory, and Disturbing. What's worse: Ferraro's racist feminazism, or Clinton's quiet repudiation, a move to not diminish the charge in hopes that it might stick? The comment is "true" alright, but inherently flawed.

If Barack Obama weren't black, he wouldn't be Barack Obama. Does this ridiculous hypothetical presume that Obama was born to a different father, or that he had been born to a white BHO I? If Ann Dunham hadn't married BHO, Sr., who would she have wound up with? What would this white Obama be like? I don't care to speculate.­.. it makes my head spin. Obama outlined his search for racial identity in Dreams of My Father. It's very much part of his character.

Getting a black president elected will be far from the greatest accomplishment of the Obama administration. Do we remember Kennedy for being the first Catholic president, or do we remember him for his deft handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Moon pledge, "Ask Not," and Civil Rights? When the history books are written, Obama's race will be a sidenote. He'll be remembered for handling Iraq, accomplishing Universal Healthcare, uniting the country, and the other changes we're in for.

When asked what changes she would bring about, at the New Hampshire debate, Clinton stammered and thought of only one: "I'm a woman. I think that's change enough." Great, I thought, that's a change that we'll all be proud of for a few minutes, a great tidbit for the Guiness Book... but what about the other 1459 days of her presidency? Hillary's prepared for day one, alright- she's been writing her inaugural speech on how great it feels to be the first female president for a decade now. On day two, she'll forget about all the things she said on the campaign trail. She'll toss the proletariat aside like a used towel and start planning for 2012 instead of sticking to any of their promises. Thus is the way of the Clintons.

[Blazhay]

Not only that, it's benefitted Hillary to emphasize that she's a woman (not that we can't see it for ourselves), the boys are ganging up against her, being a woman is change enough. Obama on the contrary has perceived it as a liability to emphasize his blackness, to the extent that on the stump speech, he jokes about being distant cousins with Cheney. Talking about his blackness has been deemed to be hazardous to him on the campaign trail, because it risks alienating him from the white voters. Let's keep in mind that black voters still constitute less than 16% of democratic voters nationwide. Women represent 53% of the democratic voters. The Clintons try to paint him as the black candidate so that they can milk the benefit of identity politics

[BrooklynLager]

Exactly. Can you imagine Obama saying "I'm black. That's change enough" at a debate? It would never happen.

When Hillary! says stuff like that she gets cheered.

[Jazzylady26]

pssssssssssssst! If he were really as black as you say he is and he claims to be you wouldn't like him at all, lol. He would not be your hip black friend. Why did he avoid Tavis Smiley? Lol. Did you ever notice how Obama doesn't want anything to do with really black people? He has no black agenda which would really be legit, and he doesn't tell blacks that he will help them when he gets to the White House. Lol. If he were as black as I am in coloring you'd all be screaming, "Head for the hills there's a black man in the hood!" But you know, Obama running for president isn't such a bad thing, because now at least white people can say they know one good black man. Cause I know he's the only black man you know. Lol.

[BrooklynLager]

"Did you ever notice how Obama doesn't want anything to do with really black people?"

You mean other than his wife and children? And most of his close friends? No.

This is how twisted this primary has become; why the **** does he have to visit Tavis Smiley? Who appointed Tavis Smiley king of everything? Can't the man just run for President? Don't you see a problem in this whole line of argument?

Hillary! supporters were so SURE she was going to win that there must be some secret reason she isn't. And she isn't, and they resent the hell out of it - enough to insult the majority of people who think he's just a better candidate than she is. And he is.

[jstock]

He is a candidate who happens to be black, not the "black candidate.­" His campaign transcends race. The only one who keeps bringing Obama's race up all of time is the Clinton campaign. Gee, I wonder why that is...

[vanessa04]

That his campiagn transcends race is a nice, gauzy myth. He was the first one to cry "Racism!" and he's never stopped. Guess what? The GOP don't care.

[lanny6]

So now he's not "black enough" again?

[LisaP]

Oh...then I guess he must've birthed himself, seeing as how everyone wants to ignore the fact that his mother is a white woman. But that sort of puts a buzz-kill on the notion that he's "black".

[besut2008]

Ahh the old one drop rule... One drop of white in your blood and you're a white man! Get serious...

[hoodrat]

Not what I said besut, if you were replying to me. I said one Black drop, would exclude one from the White race - and it has NEVER been a vise versa issue. Carol Channing just confided to the world, of her hidden Black heritage. What did she feel she had to hide from? My own bloodlines are Black/Hawaiian. My fathers Black, and was lighter than Mom, in fact the whole family on his side could pass if they had wanted - intestinal fortitude forbade that. Interesting to note that, my lifer Army father, had three passports for us when we stationed overseas with him. Caucasian/­Spanish/Ne­groe. When I confronted him about being shamed of his race - he countered by saying as soon as you get pigeonholed in a slot, you as an individual are diminished by society, especially by the majority.

[BrooklynLager]

Geraldine Ferraro said that he wouldn't be taken seriously as a candidate if he were white. That's pretty different than the way Mr. Grahame-Smith is putting it.

Let's see: do you think a WHITE graduate of Columbia and Harvard Law School and Editor of the Harvard Law Review, with massive intelligence, political instincts and charisma would have had to spend decades in the political equivalent of the chitlin circuit in Illinois before he was taken seriously as a candidate for higher office? The man is 46, not 36.

Bill Clinton, who had a comparable educational resume, intellect, and gift for politics became a Governor at a point in his life where Barack Obama was still trying to find someone to back him to run for a state Senate seat.

So yes, he wouldn't be here if he wasn't black, but that cuts both ways.

[hoodrat]

Oh, the insidious nature of our past Lisa dear : ) I'm assuming you are around(or less) than 30yrs. You see, you can be 80% White, the rest Black - and voile' your Black. Or you can have one drop, and someone has knowledge - guess what? You're Black! Now, I would tell you those are old concepts, left over from slavery and Jim Crow - but the fact that we're still having this type of discussions in this new millenia, demonstrates the power of the manifesto of racial superiority. That being said Obama,(like myself) are the beginings of a new fabric in America, half of two different cultures melding to create a "whole" American. Interesting, but people never mention Baracks mother do they? If my assumption that you're young, is correct - then I'm glad that you think neutral, that reflects todays world, and is crucial to moving forward, as a people. Pigeonholing a person by color, and not content is old school

[Adagio]

Ferraro's initial comment was clumsy and stupid although having some validity. A simple apology might have sufficed. But when she then turned it into the defenseless old white lady being attacked by the black man that was way beyond the pale - if you'll pardon the expression.

[BrooklynLager]

What bothers me, in particular about it, is that she's totally blind to the advantages that she has being white. No one would have ever heard of either her or Hillary Clinton if they weren't white. That goes without saying; but the merest possibility that Barack Obama's background might be advantaging him (and I don't think it is, but she does), is enough to make her go ballistic. She's been on this thing for weeks now.

And then she spins what she said, then outright lies about it, and then pretends that the Obama campaign brought it up. "These relentless attacks have to stop!" she said in some interview.

[Micah616]

I think Hillary was trying to do the "defenseless old white lady" thing in the last debate by attacking Obama early and directly, and hoping that he would respond in kind. Imagine how that would have looked. He didn't fall for it, so the Clinton campaign decided to throw one of their loyalists with little to lose on the sword to try again.

[WASanford]

Thank you for saying that Seth. It seemed obvious to me also that Obama is black. Oh Oh! can I say that?

[RichLiberal]

You've got a legitimate point. If the Obama campaign wasn't sneaking around like it had just pulled the wool over our eyes and was trying to run out the clock before anyone could correct it, maybe they would have responded like this.

But, too late, toothpaste out of the tube. The Obama response now as it has been over and over again is that Hillary and Bill are racists and so are their supporters. The only way to stop being racist is to turn on Hillary and support Obama.

That's what they've been doing, plain and simple. More and more people are calling them on it. Ferraro is the loudest and most in your face about it so far. But she's not the last. A lot of people are getting sick and tired of the Obama campaign calling them racists.

Yuh, maybe Obama's an ok guy, maybe he's not. I don't know. I never got the chance. His campaign has been divisive from the start. He's a GenXer taking the Republican line that it's time for the BabyBoomers to get out of the way. Frankly, I never got past that. But all that he's added since then is that we're all a bunch of racists.

In the face of that you've got all these people saying how wonderful he is: hope and change. None of this makes sense. You want to know why it doesn't make sense? It's the same reason a lot of things don't make sense until you draw back the curtain. It's a fraud.

[BrooklynLager]

"But, too late, toothpaste out of the tube. The Obama response now as it has been over and over again is that Hillary and Bill are racists and so are their supporters­."

Since neither he, nor his campaign have ever called Hillary or Bill Clinton racists I didn't bother to read the rest of your post. Just saying.

By the way, why do YOU think the Clinton campaign keeps bringing up his race time and time again? For a while at the start of every debate, Hillary Clinton would remind people, once again, that this was a historic race because she was a woman and Barack Obama was an African American. She's the one who made the analogy between herself and LBJ, and Obama and MLK. And then turned it around and complained that he was comparing himself to King. And on and on.

And now this latest thing - Ferraro says he's only in the race because he's black. Obama says "anyone with a decent understanding of history knows that that's patently absurd", and Ferraro screams "race card race card race card!!!!!!"

That's why it's called "race-baiting"; all you have to do is get your target to respond and you can accuse them of all sorts of things.

[gcswift2]

I'm really getting tired of this type of arguement. It's totally backward and stupid.

1. Barack Obama and his campaign have repeatedly tried to avoid getting into race based poiltics. When asked about Ms. Ferraro's statement Sen. Obama called it ridiculous and not RACIST. His campaign has been the subject of repeated ethnic and religous slurs and inuendo and yet it refuses to respond in kind. When asked about the plight of black people in this country his response is to make the coorelation that poor black people and poor white peole have alot of the same issues.

2. Ms. Ferraro and Sen. Clinton have made the same mistake in thinking that Barack Obama's millions of supporters are the same as his campaign. THEY ARE NOT one in the same. Most of his supporters recognize that he CANNOT engage in "identity politics" if he wants to win, therefore they tend to jump to his defense. Sen. Clinton's campaign on the other hand seems perfectly willing to engage in tactics that if reversed would get Sen. Obama chased out of town.

3. Barack Hussein Obama Junior is a self made man, like John Edwards, and Bill Clinton. If you actually look at their life stories Barack and Bill have alot of common themes. Poor, Single Mother household, found their talent in College, Ivy League educated, excellence in state level government propelled them to National prominence, Speech at Democratic National Convention introduced the Country to them, Presidential campaign at next election.

4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3jPlfc67SE
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln

[DietrichMoody]

It's ironic that Obama, has lasted this long, into the game, against the Clinton Machine and their protectors, and he's still standing. Whereas, the Clinton's are on the defense about every strategy they make. Do the Democrats need to convince themselves to repeat the same failing of the past. John McCain's fighting is subtle. By the way, who invented the modern day concept of boisterous, flashy style of campaign "street fighting" that Dramatist love. The Clintons did. The Clinton's don't know how to fight, they lack the nuances to see fighting to the end. More importantly, they don't know how to FINISH fights. They know what creates them, but they never follow through. What has been more cowardly than either Bill Clinton, not taking principle stand during his terms or Hillary Clinton, taking unprincipled stands out of political strategy. Why you are using the Clinton's as a blueprint. They're political narrative is about not finishing anything they started.

Therefore, your comment "Obama still needs to convince nervous Democrats that he can handle a street fight with John McCain." falls flat. McCain's fighting is subtle but he has the patience to finish it. Why are you wanting the Democrats to continue to convince themselves to repeat the same failings of the past.

Subtlety goes a long way, you can fight someone without making a lot of noise, that is called substance over flashy noise making style. Obama is asking Democrats to think, Democrats don't need to be convinced they need to be led, by party leaders with backbones, not loud mouths, careless talk and boastful attitudes. Obama, is fighting the way leaders fight, in these time. Convince who? Democrats need to convince themselves to change their thinking or they will lose in November.

[BrooklynLager]

This whole campaign is a powerful argument against a Clinton presidency; and I don't just mean that his campaign has been running circles around hers. It's the constant DRAMA, ever since she fell far enough behind that she began to panic. I'm so sick of the kitchen sink - do people really want to go through another 5 months of this, let alone 4 years of it? Every day there's a new mock scandal, and Howard Wolfson is screaming into the phone, and some Clinton sock puppet is blogging here about how up is down and right is left.

Apparently, Obama staffers have a nickname for Hillary Clinton: "Jaws". Everytime things seem peaceful and quiet, the theme music starts up.

[ayc]

Yeah, I am voting for No-drama Obama. The Clintons wear me out.

[Herrington]

You seen to miss the point Smith. This is not about the people whose alarm bells went off when they heard Ferraro's gaffe. This is about the people whose alarms did not go off. Reasonably, she is entitled to her opinion. But, in the middle of a campaign, to call Obama an "affirmative action" candidate is poisonous. It casts doubt on his qualifications and taps a David Duke vein of white working class resentment of black people in school and in business.

And why does it matter, why does political correctness get people excited? Its because it works. It has not been by osmosis that white America has been able to accept a black candidate for president. It is because of hard labor, attention to detail and the participation of educators and community leaders in banishing the racial epithets of the past form public discourse. And affirmative action has done more than any single thing to crack the systemic prejudice that was pervasive in this country not 30 years ago. Without these formidable challenges to the mindset of the public, Obama indeed would not be a serious candidate for President.

To young people, racial prejudice is not a reality, it is a story from the past. The fact that youth is among the most important support to Obama did not happen by accident, it was earned both by and for Obama.

[MrUnlimited]

Seth, you make some valid points in your opening paragraph. However this situation is a question of second guessing the true connotation of Ferraro's comments.

Was she saying that Barack Obama's skin color allowed him to experience life events that were instrumental in making him the great politician today? OR Was Ferraro saying that Obama's skin color gave him some kind of affirmative action advantage in the eyes of the electorate (irrespective of his actuals qualifications and capabilities)?

Ferraro is an ardent Hillary supporter and a key fund raiser; combine this information with the other rhetoric that has been put forth during this Democratic primary and it becomes clear that you are unfairly trying to rationalize Ferraro's remarks. Stop it.

[Kreskytim]

Can we just all agree that Geraldine Ferraro has said time and time again that if she wasn't a female she won't have been nominated. She knows that, she has said that for freakinever so please stop throwing stones at her supposed glass F=king house about her hypocrisy, That was her point, that it's his time like it was her time. Nothing wrong with us all acknowledging what make his part of his candidacy so great.
"they said this day would never come"....H­e will transcend race..chan­ge the world.etc. come on his race is part of the equation. Freakin A

[justrikke]

Obama doesn't have everyone fooled. He's playing "good cop/bad cop " with David Axelrod (the Karl Rove of Chicago) as the bad cop. Axelrod siezes every opportunity to play the race card, while Obama can sit smugly back and give a sanctimonious condescending speech about how that's not what his campaign is about. He plays the calm cool straight dealer while Axelrod does the dirty work.
One day hopefully all of you silly journalists will wake up and realize that Mr Barack (the media hasn't even asked me about my association with racists or terrorists or researched my shady dealings in Chicago) Obama is not the "sinless Messiah" you all think he is. Maybe one day you will all do your jobs.

[hoodrat]

No Juststrike, some do a good job of fooling themselves

[BrooklynLager]

I'm sure one day we'll all wake up. That will be right after the skies open up, the light comes down, celestial choirs will all sing and Hillary! will wave a magic wand.

Geraldine Ferraro said the reason he's a serious competitor to Hillary Clinton is because he's black. THAT was the opening salvo. The Obama campaign responds, and she has the nerve to say HE played the race card, when the sum and substance of her entire statement was race. Everybody concludes she must be off her rocker. Half think she did it on behalf of the Clinton campaign, and expect more bizarre tactics to come later this week.

Just the latest episode from The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight.

[erykah]

This article is disingenuous. Why didn't Ferraro point out the Hilary is where she is because she is a white or female or the wife of a former president. Feraro said the same thing about Jackson 20 years ago when he was running for president. She knows what she was doing and the Obama camp knows it to. It's called rce baiting. This is not an isolated incident and Oabam is not being a cry baby about it. He has not labled any of the attacks lanched by the Clinton folks as racist. But Ferraro made that statement not only to undermine Obama's accomplishments, tbut to suggest that the run for the presidency is reserved for whtes only. She made a similar statement regarding Jackson's campaign in 1988. The problem is not with Obama it is with Ferraro and peole like her who want to hijack the election by using fear mongering and race baiting to distract people from real issues. And if you think that folks are not easiy distracted, then chek out the first response to your post. The Ferraro incident did not happen in a vacuum. There have been a series of comments made by the Clinton camp tp lay up Obama's race to undermine his legitmacy as a candidate.

[Desiderata]

I don't think Grahame gets it....

[DietrichMoody]

He does not get it. You're right. Thanks.