Is She Friggin' Insane?
Former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro shot her mouth off in a phone interview today, revealing a dark side to the attitudes of at least one prominent Clinton supporter.
If she wants to talk about white men, and where they would or wouldn't be, Kevin Drum points out that "young and charismatic" worked well for some white guys named Jack and Bobby, as well as Gary Hart and Bill Clinton. And that's just the Democrats. Let's not forget about Chimpy, er, our President, who had a much weaker resume. White guys, many of them less qualified, have been in Obama's position plenty of times before.
And if, as her comments suggest, she wants us to think about Obama as some kind of 'affirmative action' candidate, let's not forget why we all know the name Geraldine Ferraro in the first place. Is she seriously suggesting that, in 1984, she was more qualified to be on the Democratic ticket, and therefore presumably a heartbeat away from the Oval Office, than Obama is now, after he has won primary after primary himself?
And once we go down that road, does she really want us to think about how much of someone else's vaunted "experience" is attributable to having been married to the right man? I don't think so.
The Clinton campaign needs to stop telling each other that "there's no there there" with Obama, stop complaining about him to anyone who will listen, stop asserting that she deserves the nomination, and start proving it.
A good start would be dropping Geraldine Ferraro, and making it clear that they aren't secretly trying to appeal to the prejudiced white male vote in Pennsylvania.
Update: See also what Will Bunch said.
Update 2: Keith Olbermann has his say:
"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."Ferraro appears to have forgotten that Obama is a United States Senator, a job to which she herself could never manage to get elected, and that in addition to his notable charisma, he was the president of the Harvard law review. Despite what the Clinton campaign insiders may keep telling themselves in frustration, there IS some "there there".
If she wants to talk about white men, and where they would or wouldn't be, Kevin Drum points out that "young and charismatic" worked well for some white guys named Jack and Bobby, as well as Gary Hart and Bill Clinton. And that's just the Democrats. Let's not forget about Chimpy, er, our President, who had a much weaker resume. White guys, many of them less qualified, have been in Obama's position plenty of times before.
And if, as her comments suggest, she wants us to think about Obama as some kind of 'affirmative action' candidate, let's not forget why we all know the name Geraldine Ferraro in the first place. Is she seriously suggesting that, in 1984, she was more qualified to be on the Democratic ticket, and therefore presumably a heartbeat away from the Oval Office, than Obama is now, after he has won primary after primary himself?
And once we go down that road, does she really want us to think about how much of someone else's vaunted "experience" is attributable to having been married to the right man? I don't think so.
The Clinton campaign needs to stop telling each other that "there's no there there" with Obama, stop complaining about him to anyone who will listen, stop asserting that she deserves the nomination, and start proving it.
A good start would be dropping Geraldine Ferraro, and making it clear that they aren't secretly trying to appeal to the prejudiced white male vote in Pennsylvania.
Update: See also what Will Bunch said.
Update 2: Keith Olbermann has his say:
posted by Paul at 10:45 PM |
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