Bob Johnson: Obama would not be leading candidate if he were white

[bunnies]

Here we go again!

Bobcats owner, who supports Clinton, says Ferraro said it right
JIM MORRILL

Wading back into the Democratic presidential race, billionaire businessman Bob Johnson said Monday that Sen. Barack Obama would not be his party's leading candidate if he were white.

Johnson's comments to the Observer echoed those of former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro. She stepped down as an adviser to Sen. Hillary Clinton last month after saying Obama wouldn't be where he is if he were white.

"What I believe Geraldine Ferraro meant is that if you take a freshman senator from Illinois called `Jerry Smith' and he says I'm going to run for president, would he start off with 90 percent of the black vote?" Johnson said. "And the answer is, probably not... ."

"Geraldine Ferraro said it right. The problem is, Geraldine Ferraro is white. This campaign has such a hair-trigger on anything racial ... it is almost impossible for anybody to say anything."

(snip)

More (including Obama camps response) at link: http://www.charlotte.com/559/story/581394.html

[GarbagemanLB]

1. And Hillary wouldn't be a contender if not for her last name. Silly arguments all around.

[SoCalDem]

66. She wouldn't even be a senator

In "real" life, she might have divorced Bill & gone back to college to brush up on her law skills & then gotten a job at a law firm....

Of course had he not been a governor, but a guy who ran a tire store, she might have divorced him DECADES earlier, and actually BEEN a women's role model...but the trade off is this.. She would not have been "famous" and rich..

[cbayer]

91. You might be interested in this article.

http://www.slate.com/id/2188751/

It's long but entirely fascinating.

[JoFerret]

85. I don't think that is true.

But of course it can never be proven. In politics - and in US politics in particular - it helps to have money and connections.

But I hope you can admit she is quite capable of holding her own politically and that she is brilliant in her mastery of policy.

[Bensthename]

2. "would he start off with 90 percent of the black vote". Obama started out below Hillary with blacks

HE is completely wrong.

[rodeodance]

39. yes, O. initially did not have the black vote-then the O. camp played the race-card

[Bensthename]

42. example please. thank you.

[rodeodance]

86. ex: the 4 page memo that his camp used to race-bait and Russert called

him on it.

[cui bono]

100. OMG! You STILL believe that???????????????

[EffieBlack]

56. Yes - black people are stupid. We were using our brains until Obama played the race card

then we got all boogidy boogidy, lost our minds and just followed behind the black guy because we don't know any better.

To bad we didn't have you around to save us from ourselves! But thank God YOU weren't fooled!
:sarcasm:

[Lerkfish]

63. LOL!

I don't know what "ignored" said, but I love your response!

[CreekDog]

65. so you are saying black voters vote according to race when asked to?

please explain.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

3. Ironically, Bob Johnson thinks the estate tax is racist:

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/06/08/estate-tax-bob-johnson/

Dubya also considers him a friend:

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/07/20/bush-naacp/

[bunnies]

9. What a jackass.

That definitely puts it into perspective.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

13. The only color he cares about is green.

[knixphan]

4. consider the source.

Johnson is....

not even worth the outrage.

[book_worm]

5. On the other hand would Hillary have been elected to the US Senate from NY if she were not Bill's

wife?

[bunnies]

51. Sure. She could have just run on all her "experience"

She didnt even NEED the name recognition! :rofl:

[Bensthename]

6. I wish I lived in SF so I could be an elitist..

[BattyDem]

7. So ... America has always wanted a black president?

When did NOT being white become an advantage in American politics? :shrug:

[bunnies]

30. Yep. It became a real trend after Presidents Jackson and Keyes.

Oh wait. Nevermind.

[EffieBlack]

59. Yes - it's black people's fault that we've never had one. If only a black person had run before!

Oh, wait a minute . . .

Hmmmmmm.

[Skink]

8. If he were white he'd be BFK and Hillary wouldn't even still be in the race.

[MidwestTransplant]

10. Hey Bob, if there were no black people, nobody would have watched BET and you wouldn't be rich.

Stupid for Stupid.

[Lerkfish]

11. as I predicted

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5515226&mesg_id=5518821

but in a twisted way! LOL!

[bunnies]

27. Yep. You nailed it! Kinda sad isnt it? nt

[rocktivity]

12. Johnson became a billionaire by selling his Black Entertainment TV channel to Viacom

Then promptly got rid of his most valuable assets, Travis Smiley and the Teen Summit talk show.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Nitrogenica]

14. Said a guy who's name alone is the whitest ass name ever.

Barack is an intelligent man, and that has nothing to do with his skin color.

Michelle is equally brilliant, strong, and American.

[Hoof Hearted]

53. His name isn't black enough for you to respect his opinion.

That strikes me as very, very racist of you.

[Emit]

15. So he's winning because he's black, but will lose because he's black?

:crazy:

I don't get it

[Hoof Hearted]

55. No - he's going to lose because he's got two tin ears and he gets in trouble when he

wanders too far away from his teleprompter.

[PoliticalAmazon]

70. Say, how do you explain the polls? Hillary may have torpedoed...

...her own danged campaign so many times that she may very well lose even PA.

She was the "inevitable" candidate, remember? Started out with a huge lead over Obama.

But the more people see Hillary, the more they recoil in horror.

[LTR]

16. Would Bob be where he is if it were not for his skin color?

Remember, he became wealthy by starting BET, a network geared toward African-Americans.

The guy's a hypocrite.

[knixphan]

18. geared towards peddling crap to African-Americans...

[SeaLyons]

17. The truth is

he absolutely would not be where he is today if he wasn't black. That's just the bottom line. Blacks started supporting him at practically 100% levels when they realized his candidacy was viable.
A white man (or any other ethnicity) would not be in Obama's shoes with the same resume.

I don't think this takes away from Barack, but come on, it is the truth.

[tyne]

23. Totally wrong

"he absolutely would not be where he is today if he wasn't black. That's just the bottom line. Blacks started supporting him at practically 100% levels when they realized his candidacy was viable."

When you consider those who won't vote for him BECAUSE he's black (some Hispanics, some Dems...some frightened older white ladies)....he'd be blowing her out if he were white.

"A white man (or any other ethnicity) would not be in Obama's shoes with the same resume."

Of course he would. His color has nothing to do with his ideas, intelligence, and common sense appeal.

[SeaLyons]

46. Unfortunately, I don't think you can solidly come to those

conclusions until he wins the GE.

[terrell9584]

103. But would he be getting the same black support?

a legit question, if just because black voters have not typically gone along with the "college student" candidates since they became major players in Democratic politics, if anything, they have usually been reliable votes for whoever the Democratic establishment candidate was at the time, exception being when a black candidate was in the race. We never got to see this tested in 1992 because Wilder dropped out early.

However, I for one do believe that the whole "blacks may not vote for Obama" was a smokescreen all along. I say this because Obama signs began appearing in black areas of this city before he was even a candidate, they had campaign allies down here last summer, even if they didn't publicize an HQ until the month before the primary.

These signs were appearing in the black neighborhoods of the city even as all of the black ward leaders had already signed up for posts on the Clinton campaign, to be Clinton delegates, etc. It was a brilliant feat of organization, and I don't think it was a "blacks reserved their judgment till Iowa" because Iowa didn't prove anything in terms of gaining white support, I honestly think he had black support in the tank a long time ago and it was something that a lot of black political leaders missed, or may have very well known and just could do nothing about it. What this campaign may end up representing is a generational change in black leadership because the incumbent black leadership class has been the biggest loser in the election, especially in Southern states.

[democrattotheend]

26. Would she be where she is today if she were a man?

I highly doubt it. Let's just say she was a White House advisor or a member of Bill's cabinet instead of First Lady, and now a Senator at the beginning of her (or his) second term. Great resume, understands the issues...sounds a lot like Bill Richardson, and we saw how far he got. I did this exercise once where I tried to imagine Clinton and Obama as white men, and in Obama, I still see a young, charismatic leader who sounds more authentic and genuine than most politicians and has yet to become as cynical. I imagine Clinton without her gender and celebrity status and I really don't see anything special. Decent resume, but not more impressive than Richardson, Biden or Dodd.

[SeaLyons]

43. That's a fair question,

and you may be right. She was not my first choice, but I do think Hillary is an outstanding candidate, and because of her gender, has been unduly rediculed, unlike Obama.

[Saturday]

33. You are absolutely right. nt

[PoliticalAmazon]

72. Oh, THAT's why African-Americans left Hillary--because Obama's campaign became "viable"?...

...How did it become viable without African-American support?

And if African-Americans vote for Obama because they share a common race, why didn't they immediately back him?

Sorry, but your theory just doesn't hold up to scrutiny....just like Hillary Clinton's endless whining excuses for her losses don't stand up to scrutiny.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

74. 100% of black voters vote for white candidates *all the time.*

[SemiCharmedQuark]

88. Yeah, but that's because all of those white candidates were AWESOME.

[cyndensco]

99. Please stop saying "blacks started supporting him at practically 100% levels"

when (we) realized his candidacy was viable. THIS black knew long before Iowa that he was my first choice. Most of my friends and family were supporting him LONG before Iowa. That alone makes your "Blacks started supporting him..." statement untrue.

Damn, I have spent my life having my behaviors grouped in terms of race. Ya'll hear "typical white person" and freak out. It is not fun is it???

[Lilith Velkor]

101. Besides, it's not true

It's practically 90%.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[Bullet1987]

19. Bob Johnson needs to shut the fuck up...

[skypilot]

20. "I don't think he has that common...

...'I-want-to-go-out-and-have-a-drink-with-you'-- touch,"

Jesus, hasn't this shit gotten old yet? It's getting truly revolting hearing so many Democrats sounding like right-wing Republicans. Hell, I'd have a drink with him. Not that that necessarily means a fucking thing as far as what kind of a president he'd be. Dammit.

[still_one]

21. Other than johnson being racist, hillary wouldn't be where she was if it wasn't for bill.

Blacks have had it sooooo good in this country.

Obama was initially dissed by the black community because he wasn't "black enough", and dissed by the white community because he was black

I have no doubt it must irk johnson to no end that with all his BILLIONS, his candidate is losing to a black man

Too bad he doesn't realize that it isn't because of the color of Obama's skin, but because of his ideas and vision

[skypilot]

22. And did Obama even "start off"...

...with 90% of the black vote? I seem to remember that blacks, like a lot of other people, were initially a bit skeptical about him because they thought he lacked enough experience. Hell, I was one of them.

[BlooInBloo]

24. To white folks, any black guy's achievements are due to affirmative action...

... It's just how white folks think.

[bunnies]

29. But Bob Johnson is black.

I wonder if he attributes his success to his race as well. Doubt it.

[BlooInBloo]

34. Naturally not. *HE* achieved success through his merits. All *OTHERS* are affirmative action...

... You browbeat people long enough, and they give in.

It's hilarious reading the rightwing talking points he spews tho - thanks for the article!

[Bad Thoughts]

25. And That's Why Richardson is Running Away with the Election

:sarcasm:

If voters wanted an experienced politician that soothed their conscience about racial politics, Richardson would have been a better choice than Obama.

[Lucky 13]

28. He did not START OFF with 90 percent of the black vote.

He started out with about 35%. Hillary had about 50%. She LOST her advantage because of her own NASTINESS.

But keep pushing this angle. It's a proven loser for Hillary.

[smiley_glad_hands]

31. If he were white, he'd have the nomination already. eom

[journalist3072]

32. As an African-American too, I agree w/ Bob Johnson

One of the things that troubles me is that I get the sense some White Americans are voting for Obama, simply to appease their White guilt.
And I get the sense that they feel if Obama is elected, that will heal all of our country's racial problems, and we won't ever have to deal with race again.

Even more troubling is that the Obamas seem to believe it too. Remember Michelle Obama said to "imagine" their family on the inaugural platform.

She said America will look at itself differently.

[Saturday]

36. Thank you for your thoughtful post.

And Michelle also said Blacks would come around and they did.

[tyne]

37. Mmmmm...

"One of the things that troubles me is that I get the sense some White Americans are voting for Obama, simply to appease their White guilt."

Well, then you evidently have no sense.

[Scout]

83. I know white people who are doing exactly that ... they want to look

oh so liberal, and oh so cool, so they are voting for the black guy because he is black.

[terrell9584]

104. Actually, a lot of people have said this

you especially heard people talking about this before Iowa, Matthews being one of them, i don't know you can find the transcript, but for several weeks, he kept talking about how "there are many whites who have been waiting for the chance to vote for a black candidate" or something to that effect.

anecdotally it is also stereotypically bore out by supporter demographics, namely, where his white vote comes from as opposed to hers, the theory being that his is drawn from groups that are more likely to have "white guilt" whereas hers are not.

There's probably some truth to it and some non-truth to it. I personally think that Obama just was a great organizer. They knew what their spiel would be in the primaries, who they were going to direct it to, and how they needed to organize such a thing. It was a brilliant feat in organization. I think however that there may be a lot of "yes man" think at the campaign, I think he pulls in true believers to work for him and she pulls in more heartless hacks, and hacks typically look at things that true believers just want to brush off and say "will make no difference"

I will say though that if anyone thought this campaign was going to be clean and nice they should have known better because of where the country is now, and if they didn't know before hand, just checking primary votes on Super Tuesday and prior bears this out, how in both parties, votes went along such stereotypical demographical identity election lines that it boggled the mind. This is going to be a rough one, and I honestly believe that we will have strong third party challenges from both the left and the right. Because despite all the goody goody ness that you now see from the GOP, the fact is, that primary exposed some real fault lines, and there are some political figures (a Roy Moore perhaps) who would love the oppurtunity to make some political hay.

I think this will be the most contested election in national history, no matter who gets the nomination and I will say there will be strong third party challenges from both spectrums. Theres just too good an oppurtunity for such a thing to make an impact this year.

[GarbagemanLB]

38. Apparently you didn't listen to or read Obama's speech on race. He said even if he wins, the issue

won't go away.

[smiley_glad_hands]

45. As a white person, I must say

that I'm not supporting him for any percieved (cough, elitist, cough) white guilt. When I see Obama, I see strength, in his ability to raise money among many people and not just special interests. I see a positive influence on younger people, a family man, someone America can be proud to have as its leader. Mind you I have not always been an Obama supporter. I too once thought his supporters were kinda culty. Many of them are younger than I I'm sure, so I will give them the benefit of doubt. JFK, RFK and MLK made people the same way and if he can lead the way they did, then only good can come of it.

[bunnies]

47. I dont know anyone who feels that electing Obama will make

the countrys racial problems go away. And I'm also not inclined to think that Obama supporters are the type to carry 'white guilt'.

Of course the country will see itself differently if Obama is President... but I dont think that implies the Obamas think race relations will be magically healed.

Did you see Obama's speech? I think he made it pretty clear that the country wont be healed by one President and not even in the space of one or two terms.

Dont underestimate Obama... he has a hell of a lot more to offer than his color.

[oviedodem]

50. I'm black and Bob Johnson, a true "sellout" to his people for letting BET become what it

has become, is an ass of asses for how he himself has gone in the gutter. I can respect Smiley but Johnson is truly an ass.

[Bad Thoughts]

52. I'd disagree

This is only something that might be said if the race had only ever had two candidates. We started out, however, with more. Most of them had more experience in elections and government than Clinton and Obama. There accomplishments were numerous and impressive. And one of those candidates was himself the member of a minority, and he seemed to have a set of skills in energy, diplomacy, and executive experience. The electorate chose Clinton and Obama over all of them.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

77. Hey, look at what I found:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4802933&mesg_id=4802988

[TragedyandHope]

35. The same old horsesh*t again

But a black commentator on CNN made a good point the other day. The one and only way that being black has helped Obama is that everyone consistently underestimates him. There's a long line of people who dismiss him and write him off for a myriad of questionable reasons, so when his brilliance shines through, he just blows everyone else away.

[NJSecularist]

40. Would Hillary be one of the leading candidates if she weren't the husband of Bill Clinton?

Would she have started with 65-75% of the white working class vote if she wasn't the husband of Bill Clinton?

We can play this game all day. You are who you are.

[GarbagemanLB]

44. DING DING DING. We have a winner! It is a stupid argument for a Clinton supporter to make, because

she also benefits from superficial bullshit.

[ErinBerin84]

41. Ferraro wrote a letter that was in this week's Newweek

This is like the third time that Ferraro has written in to Newsweek, I swear.

"Ellis Cose says that there has been an 'unending stream of race-baiting silliness emanating from people with strong opinions about candidacy ("It Was Always Headed Here", March 3rd). Every time anyone says anything that the Obama campaign thinks hurts him politically, they place the race card. Cose makes my point when he says that I am 'famous largely because she was once selected to run for vice president." If my name were Gerard and not Geraldine, I would never have been the nominee in 1984. Does Cose believe that if Obama were a white man with limited legislative experience, he could have raised the money he did and survived a primary against John Edwards? In a June 5th 2003, Chicago Tribune article after Obama was elected to Senate, he said the same thing beginning with the phrase "if I were white". There is nothing racist in my comment about Obama. Yet his campaign irresponsibly seized on it in an attempt to hit Hillary."
-- Geraldine A. Ferraro
New York, NY


This is funny, because it's not as if Ferraro was making just any criticism of the campaign, and people cried racism. She said that Obama's position as the leader in the campaign was largely due to the fact that he is African American. I'm not sure which Chicago Tribune article she speaks of, but doesn't she realize that when SHE keeps talking about this, she is not helping Hillary either? The comment may not have been "racist", but it was pretty freaking racially insensitive. And why is the 'John Edwards' card pulled all of the time in this equation, as if he and Barack Obama were interchangeable. While I do think that Edwards kind of got screwed in the sense that the media's fascination with Hillary and Barack, and their "historical candidacies" unfairly overshadowed him, I don't think that we can blame that on Barack Obama being African American. The best comment I heard on this arguement was on Face the Nation (I forget by who)-"Maybe the message of Obama's One America just resonated better with people than Edward's message of "Two Americas".

[rucky]

48. And if Bob wasn't named Bob...

His team would have been called the Fredcats.

And I could end world hunger if I pooped tacos.

And Ice-T can say the "n-word", but I know better.

[BigDaddy44]

49. Well clearly he is a racist

Just like Geraldine Ferraro.

[Major Hogwash]

54. Then how come Obama got 80% of the white Democrats' vote in Idaho, Bob?

Ya stupid fucking asshole!

[bunnies]

71. Its just us white folk trying to clear our consciences.

We'd never vote for him if he wasnt black dontcha know.
:sarcasm:

[terrell9584]

105. just a slight point

There were more people who voted in my county in the primary then voted in all of Idaho in their caucus, and I live in a city as large as Boise. And in our primary, our precinct and the neighboring precinct posted more votes than all of Ada County.

Which brings up the point that Idaho was a caucus not an election. It was something where there is no secret ballot, where you have to put in more effort, and well, where a lot of people are simply unable to attend.

If you want to bring up Obama doing well with white voters, use Wisconsin, because Wisconsin was a primary state, where we actually had a cross-section. Wisconsin really has been his best win in the whole campaign.

[Texas Hill Country]

57. I love Hillary, but Bob needs to stfu.

[CreekDog]

67. Amen, thank you

:hi:

[grantcart]

58. somebody isn't going to be the most powerful African American in the country and he is just going to

pout, please pass him a blankie

[bunnies]

76. Good Point!!

I guess he'll have to settle for simply being the richest. Poor bastard.

[NatBurner]

60. are u my psychic friend, bob?

i didn't know u could read the minds of all of america-

i guess we're lucky to have u to speak for us-

i rarely bother to pay attention to uber-rich, bootlicking yessuh men responsible for peddling 15+ years of low-brow, bell's palsy-inducing "entertainment"

but you'd never do that, right?

right?

so just to clarify: being Black, with a funny-sounding name = the quickest path to the white house-
gotcha

[Hard_Work]

81. Off topic, NatBurner...

But you and Paris(bay area political rapper) think along the same lines. His email address is GatTurner...

[oviedodem]

61. *** HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT JOHNSON ***

http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2002/12/18/all_hail_bob_jo

[CreekDog]

62. some ass recommended this thread

:eyes:

[zulchzulu]

64. So if he is half-white, is that somehow in this dubious equation?

First the Hillbots say Obama can't win because he's NOT white and then they say he's winning because he's NOT white.

Get a better crack dealer.

:crazy:

[JoFerret]

68. Question:

It's said that 90% of african american voters are for Obama.
Are they making their minds up based on race?

[skypilot]

73. I don't think that anyone...

...would be qualified to tell you what is going on in the minds of 90% of ANY group of people. I'm sure that we black voters are making up our minds based on many things, not just race.

[JoFerret]

75. I would hope so

(Actually I DO understand why - or at least have a theory.)

But it is worth asking the question because when all the threads start up about why women should not be "loyal" to Hillary because they should not base a vote on sex. The same could be said of race.

90% - if accurate - is a pretty solid bloc.

[skypilot]

78. You "DO understand why" what???

Yes, women shouldn't base their vote solely on sex and blacks shouldn't base their vote solely on race, but I still don't understand where this 90% figure is coming from or how anyone would determine what the main motivation of that 90% is.

[JoFerret]

84. I don't want to make generalizations or speculate

but my guess is we all have a theory. And you know - that is OK.

(If that 90% is accurate, or close enough - something accounts for it.)

[FlaGranny]

79. Black Americans are

some of the most progressive people in the country. Just look at the Congressional Black Caucus. Perhaps progressive Black Americans are voting for Obama for THAT reason. Perhaps 90% of white Americans would also vote for Obama if some of them weren't bigots. You should hear what my bigoted cousins call Obama (actually, no you shouldn't, cause it would make you as angry as it makes me, I'm sure). There is a percentage of white Americans (especially older ones) who will never, ever vote for anyone of color. That's just the truth.

[Arrowhead2k1]

69. That guy should speak for himself.

He's probably basing things on his OWN experiences which obviously don't apply so much to someone talented like Obama.

[Vinca]

80. Bob Johnson wouldn't be a billionaire if he hadn't exploited women. nt

[ej510]

82. Bob Johnson had a great thing in Bet then he ruined it with garbage.

He used to have programs like Teen Summit and magazines like YSb. Things that uplifted black people. Then somewhee down the line he decided to become Mtv. Bet had class when the had host like Donnie Simpson. Those were the good ole days when we had great hip hop songs like You must learn by Krs-One. And Juic by MTume. Bet isn't even a shell of it's former self. Bring back teen summit and promote higher education.

[JoFerret]

102. Probably true

...and some of them were black.

[Thrill]

87. They trot him out there whenever they need a token black person

to insult Obama. Sad

[TheWraith]

89. Me: Bob Johnson would still be a moron if he were white. nt

[Kurovski]

90. "But he is, Blanche! He is the leading candidate!!"

[KaptBunnyPants]

92. Damn lucky blacks always steallin' our jobs!!!!1!

When will America be ready for a White President????!


On Edit: This is the scumbag that owns BET? That seems about right...

[Justitia]

93. Nobody would give a rat's ass what Bob Johnson says about Obama if Bob Johnson were white.

So, he's only winning because he's black (Johnson)
and he'll lose because he's black (Rendell);
and oh, by the way, Jesse Jackson won before he lost too (B Clinton).

Who the hell can keep all these racial prognostications from the Hillary campaign straight???

:crazy:

[kwenu]

94. It was dumb when Ferraro said it and even more stupid now that Johnson is saying it.

[stillcool]

95. That notion has been proven wrong..

on DU every day since this Primary Season began. I've seen some state that this country is 80-90% racist, and that is why Senator Obama will "never" get elected.

[smiley_glad_hands]

96. If he were white he'd already have the nomination. eom

[RazBerryBeret]

97. I agree...He would NOT the be leading candidate...

he would now be the Presumptive Nominee, having wrapped it up by Super Tuesday.

[McCamy Taylor]

98. Karl Rove probably would not have picked him to be the "McGovern" if he were someone else, so yeah