The Daily Background
| What on earth is wrong with Geraldine Ferraro and why won’t Hillary Clinton denounce her asinine statements?
by Arlen Parsa
Geraldine Ferraro, 1988:
“If Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn’t be in the race.”
Geraldine Ferraro, 2008:
“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position… He happens to be very lucky to be who he is.”
Yep, Obama was sooooo lucky to have been born in 1961 as a second class citizen without the guaranteed right to vote.
Ferraro is a top surrogate and fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, as well as an official member of her finance committee (meaning she is officially part of the campaign, not some rogue surrogate or somebody who has merely endorsed her). Clinton was asked about Ferraro’s remarks, but did not repudiate them (shrugging only that she didn’t agree).
Now, because Obama’s campaign is saying that Clinton’s campaign needs to do more to further themselves from Ferraro’s comments, Ferraro has the chutzpah to say that Obama’s campaign (which she must regard as some giant Black juggernaut) is attacking her because she’s White. “I really think they’re attacking me because I’m white,” she said today.
Ah yes, that’s it. It’s a bunch of Black men attacking a White woman (Black men like, uh, David Plouffe- photo- and David Axelrod- photo). That makes perfect sense.
Oh, and to her original point… Yeah, cause it’s like, so easy running for president against a candidate with 100% name recognition and who is the wife of the last Democratic popular president, and when your middle name is Hussein and when you happen to be Black in a country with one of the most racist histories in the world.
Piece of cake. Remind me why Jesse Jackson didn’t win again?
Oh, and finally. Clinton complained in her attempt to change the subject from Ferraro when asked about it: “It’s regrettable that any of our supporters — on both sides, because we both have this experience — say things that kind of veer off into the personal… We ought to keep this on the issues.”
Keep it on issues– not what your supporters say? Hmm, somebody please go back in time and remind Hillary of this rule of thumb when she made a fool of herself for chiding Obama’s denunciation and not rejection– or was it the other way around? — What Louis Farrakhan said ten years ago…
P.S.- Olbermann and Russert discuss Ferarro’s comments and how African American supporters of both Clinton and Obama are reacting to them in the first five minutes of this clip:
I wish I could say this is as sad as it can get, but Hillary Clinton, in her blind ambition to win, and without regard or respect for any sense of fairness, consistency, or honor, and in spite of any real and lasting damage she is inflicting on the Democratic party has condoned some major damage to our Country itself. And now the senseless, hurtful, damaging and polarizing turn in her campaign toward our fellow Americans whose skin color is dark, playing on the deep seated fears of those who do or don’t know any better, this will be a turning point that America will have to make a choice: do we condone this conduct by Clinton and her campaign and continue to vote for her, or do we stop rewarding this behavior by not voting for her? If she is rewarded for this, we will surely see more of it, and I, for one, can’t stomach much more of this type of hateful devicive politics, she is starting to make George Bush look good, this is a very sad day for our country, I hope the message comes thru that most of this great country of America does not think this way, God help us all.
[…] These Two Men Are Attacking Geraldine Ferraro Because She’s White (h/t The Daily Background) […]
Ms. Ferraro,
I am terribly disappointed. Your recent suggestion that Mr. Obamas’ success happened only because he is black is especially painful. To think that being black in America is a lucky thing strikes me as being inconsiderate.
I am a black person born the same year as Mr. Obamas’ wife 1964, and I can tell you at no time in my life was being black a lucky thing, or are you unaware of the sad and continuing legacy of American race relations. You disregard Mr. Obamas’ legitimate and laudable accomplishments by attributing them to one thing, and it’s the one thing Mr. Obama tries least to be – a man of race. Mr. Obama is a child of God, a husband, a father, a university graduate and a lawyer. Mr. Obama has been a stellar state representative of Illinois and he is currently a United States Senator, and great American. Somewhere probably in the high teens of the list of things Mr. Obama is would be black man.
The statements you have made and defend amount to making his race his primary attribute. You are playing the race card in a manner that is insulting, and quite frankly would be more expected from the kind of reactionary people America has hopefully outgrown.
In 1984 I was a student at the University of Southern California an institution with a traditionally conservative bent. I remember campaigning for and ardently defending a certain congressperson from New York as being more than just a woman, but a person regardless of gender worthy to potentially lead this country. I’m sorry to know now that I was wrong, and all the time any Gerard really would have sufficed.
[…] Geradline Ferraro makes outrageous statements about Obama […]
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