Obama says Ferraro dividing Democrats

[THUNDER HANDS]

Source: Albany Times Union

By JOAN LOWY, Associated Press
Last updated: 4:42 p.m., Wednesday, March 12, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Democratic Sen. Barack Obama assailed as "slice and dice" politics Geraldine Ferraro's assertion that he wouldn't be where he is in the presidential race if he weren't black. The back-and-forth between the two Democratic trailblazers -- Obama, seeking to be the nation's first black president, and Ferraro, who was the first woman on a major party presidential ticket in 1984 -- continued for a second day as they made appearances on network and cable morning news programs.

"Part of what I think Geraldine Ferraro is doing, and I respect the fact that she was a trailblazer, is to participate in the kind of slice and dice politics that's about race and about gender and about this and that, and that's what Americans are tired of because they recognize that when we divide ourselves in that way we can't solve problems," Obama said on NBC's "Today" show. Later, at a news conference in Chicago, Obama said he did not think Ferraro's comments were racist. "I think that her comments were ridiculous. I think they were wrong-headed," he said. "The notion that it is a great advantage to me to be an African American named Barack Obama and pursue the presidency, I think, is not a view that has been commonly shared by the general public."

Ferraro, who was Walter Mondale's vice presidential running mate, said Wednesday that her remarks were not racist and had been taken out of context. She accused Obama's campaign of twisting her remarks to undercut his rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"I was talking about historic candidacies and what I started off by saying (was that) if you go back to 1984 and look at my historic candidacy, which I had just talked about all these things, in 1984 if my name was Gerard Ferraro instead of Geraldine Ferraro, I would have never been chosen as a vice presidential candidate," Ferraro said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "It had nothing to do with my qualification."

Ferraro said she has a 40-year history of opposing discrimination of all kinds, including race, and that she was outraged at criticism of her remarks by David Axelrod, Obama's chief media strategist, because he knows her and her record.




Read more: http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=671364&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=3/12/2008

[LSparkle]

1. It was a RACIST comment, perhaps not made BY a racist

It's like my parents used to say about us as children: We always love you
even if we don't love what you do. She made a RACIST remark -- without
question. She's personalizing this into Axelrod calling HER a racist,
which is deflecting attention away from the fact that she did something
wrong.

[BOSSHOG]

2. Dividing between who and who??

One could say Obama has failed to unite the party. One (like me) might say this is all nonsense and will not deter from a big (D) win come November regardless of the candidate. I'm happy to be a member of a party which includes Ferraro, Clinton, Obama, Mondale, Dean, (the other Clinton), Kerry, Edwards, GENERAL CLARK, Richardson, Kucinich, Sebelius and on and on and on and on .....

[EFerrari]

4. Blatant bigotry tends to put us colorful people off the party.

And as far as uniting the party, were those 16,000 crossover votes in Ohio no real measure?

[BOSSHOG]

6. I need more data on the

16,000 you refer to. I do know many republicans crossed over to vote in Mississippi's open primary purely for nefarious purposes. I'm a colorful person and I did not read Ferraro's remarks as bigotry.

[EFerrari]

8. Here's a link that might help:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=498484&mesg_id=498484

[tavalon]

24. BTW, at least Ferraro is consistent

She said the same thing about Jesse Jackson many years ago. Once a racist, always a racist. If the Clinton campaign used her as their mouthpiece, they picked well, because it isn't out of her character. OTOH, if the Clinton campaign didn't use her intentionally as a mouthpiece, then their vetting sucks. Either way, not so good for the Clinton campaign, IMO.

I have believed from day one of this nastiness that Clinton would be installed and I'm not going to back down from that until the day Obama gets the nomination (this whole thing seems too much like bread and circuses to me) but she has certainly upped the necessity for clothespins for me. I've been saying way too much "She did NOT say that!" and "They did not DO that!" around her campaign. At this point, I really do hope she isn't as preordained as she seemed.

[DeSwiss]

7. Here, here....

...you said it! I just wish I could the vote I gave her before, back.

[EFerrari]

10. She really may have no idea what she did.

But, that's a reason to reflect, not to defend the indefensible.

[Purveyor]

3. CNN just now reporting that she is stepping down from Clinton Finance Comm. Developing...

[ledvader7]

5. Ferraro Stepping Down but not sorry

about either of her statements, breaking on cnn. she is still going to fund raise, but will not officially be on the committee

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Voltaire99]

21. "Ferraro is still going to fund raise"

Of course she is. This entire game is about money. Ironically, through her racism, she's just *increased* her value to the Clinton campaign.

Call her a shit magnet.

[DeSwiss]

9. Kicked and R'd.... n/t

[aquart]

11. But Race Card Obama is not?

Okay, I'm just gonna giggle.

[TwilightGardener]

17. Yeah, I hear he provoked Geraldine into shooting her mouth off

via mind control. He's diabolical.

[1monster]

12. Ferraro has ALWAYS been a loose cannon. I believe that she was a big part

of the reason Reagan won so big in 1984... She had one count against her for being the first woman in a major party to run for Veep.

But her MOUTH! She was always saying inappropriate things and refusing to admit when she misspoke or was plain wrong.

I was really surprised when I heard that anyone gave her enough credence that anything she said was worth making it an issue.

[golddigger]

14. When is Obama going to step down for playing the race card?

[kananikui]

15. Who will split the party next?

I keep hearing that any opinion voiced is splitting the party - doesnt change come about because we voice our opinions - no matter how clumsily said? It is interesting that each campaign doesn't admit that their race/gender do not play some part in why they are getting the votes they are getting.

[TwilightGardener]

18. He decries divisive politics after someone insults him and all black people--

so he's the one playing the race card? You must be one of Hillary's "30-percenters", the ones who will watch her strangle and eat kittens and justify it somehow.

[susankh4]

31. Never, cuz he doesn't even know that the shit Axelrod writes for him

is racist. He thinks "bamboozle" and "hoodwink" are "just words."

[redsoxrudy]

16. Obama playing race card?

So this is the game plan. A Hillary surrogate says something
racially insensitive. Obama says this is silly lets get past
this. Then Hillary camp goes nuts yelling "he's playing
the race card!". 

[sunnystarr]

19. That's just what happened with Bill's racist comment before SC (nt)

[Voltaire99]

20. It's already divided. She's just playing to the scum.

Ferraro's outburst was a call to those who resent, fear or otherwise dislike Obama on racial grounds.

It sheds a lot of light on the centers of power in the party, those soulless fortresses of Hillaryism.

Mark this: by the end of this race, the Democrats will know themselves better. And quite a few are going to see the party in a very new and revealing light.

[DeSwiss]

29. Agree with that assessment:

"Mark this: by the end of this race, the Democrats will know themselves better. And quite a few are going to see the party in a very new and revealing light."

And in that sense, its not necessarily a bad thing. Because it forces all but total syncophants to question what they really believe. And what it means to be a Democrat. At least it has for me. I'm the same vintage as Hillary and Bill. A Boomer. And I'm black. I recall the 68' convention, which tore the party apart then as now, over issues of inequality and a different war.

But if one follows the so-called logic of Hillary's campaign tactics, and they were to somehow work, I wonder how she expects to get all those young people who've become political for the first time in their lives (because of Obama), to support her in November?

- And remember, after the 68' convention, we got Nixon....

[tavalon]

22. While I see why he might think so and why it might be prudent to say so,

but any fence sitters are now firmly in Obama's camp and I suspect a few who were leaning to the Clinton side are not there anymore.

[gerrilea]

23. Sounds to me like Obama is in fact playing here!

Simple politics here, he accuses everyone else of that which he has been doing for months...and Ferraro clarified her statements and she was correct...this race is historical and she was right to point out "it's not because he's a Senator from Illinois".

[humbled_opinion]

25. If anything his race hurts him the general election not the primaries

Unless you think that the Retards on the other side aren't cloroxing their hoods as we speak.

[gerrilea]

26. I've been saying this for over a month, no one here wants to listen

You are sooo right!

[humbled_opinion]

27. I am apalled at the Hillary camp.

If she somehow manages to steal this election from the will of the people. I will support Obama as a third party candidate.

[QUALAR]

28. JESSE

As long as Jesse Jackson Jr is Obama's chief adviser, he'll continue to play the race card on a frequent basis. Obama is smart to keep Jesse's exposure to a minimum. His accusation that Clinton's comment about Johnson and King working together to accomplish civil rights legislation was racist is absolutely asinine. I wonder what job he'll get if Obama succeeds.

[DeSwiss]

30. So?

- Jesse Jackson Jr is a ventriloquist???

[QUALAR]

32. SO

Does that make Obama Knucklehead Smith? It's obvious that someone is feeding him lines.

[DeSwiss]

34. No...

...it looks like Hillary's the "knucklehead" here for letting Gerry even open up her trap.

[grytpype]

33. She is right about one thing -- she was a VP candidate because of her gender

Everyone knew Reagan was going to slaughter Mondale, so it was no big risk that he "made history" by picking Gerri as his running mate. Everyone was like, whooptie doo, they aren't going to win anyway!

[stark6935]

35. Its funny

They try to act like she had nothing to do with the Clinton campaign at all... I try to put myself in the shoes of the semi/poorly informed voter, who hears these things, and thinks its not true. Like how Obama is a Muslim (not there is anything wrong with that), or that he wont put his hand on the bible, doesn't know the pledge, or doesn't wash his hands after using the restroom. I have heard people say this stuff to me before, and these are people who will actually go out and vote on hearsay, or rumors.