Howard Fineman and Olbermann just said HRC wouldn't be where she is if she wasn't a woman

[ruggerson]

Basically, they both just said she's the beneficiary of affirmative action.

I'm not a fan of what Geraldine Ferraro said, because I don't think encouraging or provoking division, which is what BOTH sides in this campaign have done from time to time, leads in the long term to the well being of the Democratic party.

But how is it any different for two white male journalists to blatantly play the sexism card?

Didn't they basically just prove the part of Ferraro's comments when she said that sexism is alive and well and propogated without shame?

[skooooo]

1. if she wasn't Bill Clinton's wife she wouldn't..

That's for sure.

[DesertFlower]

19. i agree. nt

[MagsDem]

28. YOU are a sexist - case closed

[MagsDem]

27. YOU are a sexist - case closed

[DesertFlower]

47. wow. you had to say it 2x.

c'mon, if she wasn't clinton's wife, would we even know who she is? okay, she would have been the former first lady of arkansas.

big deal. so is janet huckabee.

[leftofcool]

2. Yes and both will be singing a different tune in November

They will be fawning over McCain. They work for GE, after all.

[Demobrat]

3. That's wrong.

Hillary wouldn't be where she is if she wasn't married to Bill. SHE is not running. THEY are running.

[ruggerson]

5. You could argue the reverse as well

but the point is they were blatantly, over the top sexist about both Clinton and Ferraro. Pretty stunning.

[Medusa]

25. Telling the truth about someone who is female does not make

the person telling the truth sexist.

[MagsDem]

29. YOU are a sexist - case closed

[Demobrat]

32. True.

I'm not crazy about men.

[LisaM]

4. Well, and it's true. I remind you again of Elizabeth Edwards' comments

"We can't make John black, we can't make him a woman. Those things get you a lot of press, worth a certain amount of fundraising dollars."


I was originally an Edwards supporter. I didn't find those comments sexist OR racist. She was stating a fact about this race, now, in 2008.

[Straight Shooter]

6. If this country weren't so sexist, Hillary would have been president instead of Bill. n/t

[writes3000]

7. Actually, they said it was because she was the wife of Clinton.

And they were saying IF Ferraro is going to analyze Obama this way, couldn't we analyze Clinton this way?

I agree with you that it didn't need to be said.

Hillary deserves all the credit in the world for where she is.

[ruggerson]

16. Fineman said unequivocally that Ferraro would never have been picked for Veep

were she not a woman. That she never would have been in the House leadership if it weren't for the fact that they needed women.

So how is that any different from what Ferraro said?

[annie1]

23. because ferraro is no barack obama. and i'm not even a big bam fan...

but he's exceptional, she is not.

[MagsDem]

30. No, there was no "if" about it

They stated it as a fact.

[Fredda Weinberg]

8. Thing is ... I'm always sensitive when I see a panel of white men.

I'm tired of science programs where everyone is male ... entire sports networks that suck up billions from the economy to put into juiced-up jocks and their swimsuit blow up dolls ... a "progressive" journalist DUers admire who goes around telling females their best asset is between their legs.

I don't need more proof. My profession is daily evidence that the men in the office just don't get. Won't get. That's not going to change in my lifetime.

[MagsDem]

31. It would if we en masse, refused to vote for them

[StevieM]

9. NBC is dispicable (eom)

[hisownpetard]

10. So, you mean - what's good for the gander ain't good for the goose?

[annie1]

11. i think that's false and i think she would be. But good point. that's a lame statement for them...

to say, did they say it seriously, or were they mocking ferraro?

[Fresh_Start]

12. I believe thats true, just like I believe Obama wouldn't be

leading if he was just another white male.

So why the HELL is the democratic party determined to lose this election because they want to get all historic?

[hisownpetard]

13. So - what's good for the gander ain't good for the goose?

Endless hypocrisy...

[kwenu]

14. No. They just used Ferraro's own flawed reasoning to reach a different conclusion!!!!!!

[knowledgeispwr]

15. If that's what they said, yes that's sexist.

Ferraro was wrong in imply that Obama's blackness is only an asset and that Clinton's femaleness is only a liability.

If they said that Clinton wouldn't be where she was if she weren't married to Bill, that is something completely different; that statement, while debatable, wouldn't be inherently sexist.

[SoFlaJet]

17. BULLSHIT People-don't fall for this

I heard it myself they were saying "what if the Obama campaign said that about Hillary Clinton-how would THAT be viewed?" Don't fall for this baiting game-weak very weak

[MagsDem]

34. There was no "if" about it

They claimed it as fact. Even going so far as to say Ferraro's relationship with Tip O'Neill was responsible for her success.

[yardwork]

18. They're wrong, too. Both Obama and Hillary got where they are from hard work.

It's fair to say that Geraldine Ferraro was chosen as Mondale's running mate because she was a woman. It is not fair or correct to say that Hillary got where she is because she's a woman. Nor is it even fair to say that she got here because she is Bill's wife. I think that she could have been a successful politician on her own.

It's also unfair to say that Obama is leading because he's black.

The fact is that it's still a huge advantage to be a white male in U.S. politics. Look how few elected officials are either black or female.

[ContinentalOp]

20. Well, it's true isn't it?

If Hillary were a man, Bill never would have been president. I don't think the country was ready for the first gay president in the early 90s. :P

[SoFlaJet]

22. whether it's true or not

it's not what they said-they have made an enemy of Olberman so they are baiting the board-I heard it and it's not what they said-don't fall for the bullshit folks

BTW Keith will have a Special Comment on Hillary Clinton tomorrow night-expect a LOT of Olberman bashing in the next 24 hours

[ruggerson]

24. Oh bullshit

In the context of discussing HRC being a woman running for President, Fineman went on a rant, with Keith prodding him along, that Ferraro would never have been in the House leadership if she hadn't been a woman, was only selected to tbe the Veep candidate because she was a woman, that she wasn't particularly well qualified and that gender affirmative action is what moved her along.

[SoFlaJet]

33. SPECIAL COMMENT TOMORROW NIGHT!!!!

by Olbermann on the Clinton Campaign dirty tactics

[ruggerson]

36. right, I know facts and truth don't seem to matter to you

[SoFlaJet]

38. see ya-ignored

I refuse to play

[ruggerson]

44. I'm crushed

[ContinentalOp]

43. It was a joke. Please read the rest of my post. I don't think that it is true.

Hillary would obviously be a very accomplished person regardless of her sex or who she married. If nothing else she has an incredible drive that would have brought her (or him) success in anything she might have pursued.

[annie1]

21. did they really say that? if so, were they being serious? or mocking ferraro.

[MagsDem]

35. They were dead serious

[HughMoran]

26. Oh My GOD!! Oh My GOD!! Oh My GOD!! Oh My GOD!! Oh My GOD!! Oh My GOD!!

I can't believe it - those motherfuckning mysogynist bastards!!!






















:sarcasm: - for you Obama children who aren't intelligent enough to understand hypocrisy and sarcasm yet.

[MagsDem]

39. You probably wouldn't think it was funny if.....

day after day after fucking day you were treated to the media explaining things like how men couldn't be trusted in govt because they think with the head of their dick instead of their brain.

[HughMoran]

46. All of this misogynist & racist talk is disgusting

It's so unnecessary and I wish people would stop stirring the pot. :(

[SoFlaJet]

37. There will be a LOT of anti-Olbermann posts here

over the next 24 hours because he announced at the end of his show tonight he would be making a special comment segment ON Clinton campaign tactics

[MagsDem]

41. Fuck him -- he's a sexist jerk

Obama supporters can suck him up if they want. I hope every woman in this country turns him off permenantly.

[anonymous171]

40. I disagree with that.

She wouldn't be where she was today if she hadn't been married to Bill Clinton.

[MagsDem]

42. YOU are a sexist - case closed

[anonymous171]

45. No I am not.

Think about it- After being first lady she ran for Senator of NEW YORK without any prior experience (such as a seat in the state legislature or some other local office.) She might be in a similar position today, since she is quite intelligent and ambitious, but she would most likely not be running for president. Both of our candidate's current positions have been affected by luck, not just one.