Geraldine Ferraro (1984 Dem Vice Presidential Candidate) last week:
"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," she continued. "And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept..."
Right, clearly being black is THE KEY to political success in this country.
Then
Maggie Williams, Clinton's campaign manager, accuses OBAMA of negative attacks:
"Senator Obama’s campaign staff seems to have forgotten his pledge. We have not. And, we reject these false, personal and politically calculated attacks on the eve of a primary. This campaign should be about the leadership we need for a better future and these attacks serve only to divide the Democratic Party and the American people."
Not a very forceful denunciation of Ferraro's remarks even though that's how the Politico reported it.
Finally, Ferraro
defends herself today:
"Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world, you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up," Ferraro said. "Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?"
Ok...so now you're being attacked because your white? She continues...
"In all honesty, do you think that if he were a white male, there would be a reason for the black community to get excited for a historic first?" Ferraro said. "Am I pointing out something that doesn't exist?"
...
"Sexism is a bigger problem," Ferraro argued. "It's OK to be sexist in some people's minds. It's not OK to be racist."
I often get the feeling that many female Clinton supporters (and some men as well) are really resentful of Obama's popularity. They see her as such the obvious choice for the nomination that they can't understand any reason for resistance to her candidacy besides that she's a woman. And they take it personally that she is, to put it bluntly, hated by such a large segment of the population because, as they see it, she's a strong woman and they can't handle that.
But there are very legitimate reasons for choosing Obama over Clinton that have nothing to do with sexism (I'll spare you the campaign talking points and arguments over electability and such). And to diminish what Obama has done, with such little political experience and with such a weird Muslim/terrorist-sounding name, to inspire an entire political party and many independents is ridiculous. And to diminish the legacy of racism in this country is incredibly offensive.
Yes sexism is a huge problem, and it's more tacitly accepted than racism. But, *News Flash*, Clinton benefits HUGELY from being a woman. Women regularly make up nearly 60% of voters in the Democratic primaries and they, especially white women, have voted overwhelmingly for her. Clinton also benefited from tremendous name recognition, big name endorsements, more rich donors, organization, experience, and favorability within the party. And yet Obama is still winning.
Clearly "the country is caught up in the concept" of finally having a black president, Ferraro argues. "But no one cares about us poor old gals!" she seems to be saying. "We fought these battles for gender equality and now the Democrats are going with the black guy!"
I feel like Clinton surrogates are seeing this whole losing campaign in the context of the death of feminism and it's driving them NUTS. She does suffer from lot of illegitimate blind hatred (although not so much within the party), but she has also made a lot of mistakes as a politician and a candidate, and I don't think it's unfair to say she has run a very divisive campaign in tone and rhetoric.
If she could have cut out the racial code language from her campaign (like Hillary Clinton saying MLK needed the white president Lyndon Johnson to make real changes, Bill Clinton comparing Obama's SC win to Jesse Jackson's, and now Ferraro's) she would probably be much more competitive among African Americans (who actually overwhelmingly favored Clinton when the media was speculating about whether Obama was black enough). And since Bill Clinton was apparently "the first black president," it was hardly a foregone conclusion earlier in the campaign that Obama would win them overwhelmingly in every state.
Clinton supporters like Ferraro need to take a step back and see the big picture. There will be a woman president when the time is right. It doesn't have to be Hillary (and it's looking less and less likely even a Democrat will be elected as Clinton and her campaign continue to play scorched earth politics with the likely Democratic nominee).
UPDATE:
Daily Kos poster DHinMI has another
fascinating take on it:
When John Edwards and the other candidates were still in the race, legitimate questions raised about Hillary Clinton were characterized by her campaign as examples of the male candidates "ganging up" on Clinton, as if she should be measured by different rules because she was a woman. Since these arguments were advanced on behalf of the same person who was claiming that only she was experienced enough and tough enough to be commander in chief, reporters and voters couldn't be convinced to see her as the tender woman under assault from the testosterone-addled brutes. The Clinton campaign eventually abandoned that calumny.
Ferraro is reprising the same tactic, but with a twist. She's fusing the politics of gender bias with a resentment of racial integration that glides imperceptibly past many people but like a dog whistle delivers its message on a frequency that many older white voters hear acutely. It's not legitimate for Barack Obama to question or challenge Hillary Clinton, implies Ferraro, not only because Hillary is a woman and women take too much crap from men, but also—and this is crucial—because Barack Obama is a Black guy, and the elites in their nice homes with their fancy degrees are once again taking something away from "us" that we worked hard to earn and they're giving it away on a silver platter to some young Black guy.
Ferraro is playing a feminist George Wallace. Wallace appealed to insecure whites who felt that their struggles and hard work entitled them to live in all white neighborhoods, and elitist judges shouldn't be able to force them to accept black neighbors and integrated schools.
