Comments by Hillary Clinton backer and former vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro have once again raised the issue of race in the 2008 Democratic primary campaign (see AP, CNN). A fundraiser for Clinton and a member of Clinton's finance committee, Ferraro suggested in an interview published Friday by the Daily Breeze of Torrance, California, that Obama owes his success to the novelty of being a black man running for president:
"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position.... 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."
Official Clinton campaign reaction to Ferraro's statements fell far short of the repudiation for which many have called, Hillary Clinton saying only that she did "not agree" with what Ferraro had said. Following the initial outcry over Ferraro's comments, Ferraro defended herself in comments to the Daily Breeze published today. "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?" Ferraro concluded her strange commentary by insisting that "sexism is a bigger problem" than racism today, a common line of reasoning employed by Clinton backers to suggest that it is somehow more crucial at this time that a woman be president than an African American, and that sexism in the media is working unfairly in Obama's favor.
This is obviously not the first time the Clinton campaign and its supporters have attempted to gain an advantage over Obama by playing both the race card and the gender card. While neither Obama nor anyone associated with his campaign has suggested that Clinton is unelectable or unqualified to serve because she is a woman, prominent Clinton supporters have suggested and even openly stated that Obama is unelectable because he is black. While no one associated with the Obama campaign has suggested that African Americans or men owe Obama their vote, Clinton supporters have loudly screamed that women owe Hillary their vote. Others have attempted to use Obama's middle name, Hussein, against him, playing on Islamophobia among voters by suggesting that Obama is a Muslim when in fact he is a Christian. Former Nebraska governor and US senator Bob Kerrey, Pennsylavania governor Ed Rendell, and Texas activist Adelfa Callejo are among the most prominent Clinton backers who have suggested that Obama can't be elected because he is black, because his middle name is Hussein, or because some people think he is a Muslim.
Both Hillary and Bill Clinton drew fire from African American and Democratic Party leaders for racially-charged comments in the lead-up to the South Carolina primary, and Bill Clinton has on more than one occasion attempted to downplay Obama's primary victories in South Carolina and other states with large African American populations by comparing them to Jesse Jackson's victories in those states in 1988, suggesting therefore that Obama is merely a "black candidate." No doubt Obama's win in Mississippi tonight will be dismissed with similar Clinton arrogance. Unlike Jesse Jackson in 1988, however, Obama is now leading nationally by approximately 130 delegates according to various estimates with all but 10 primary contests finished.
Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com
