Sigh:
The only woman ever to be on a major party’s U.S. presidential ticket on Wednesday stood by her comment that Sen. Barack Obama is ahead in the Democratic race for the White House because he is black. [...]
She ignited a flap by telling a California newspaper that “if Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position.”
“And if he was a woman 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 said.
Whatever that means. Jake Tapper parses:
For what it’s worth — raised on the border of South Philly, which is not unlike Queens — I grew up around hundreds of working-class Gerry Ferraro types.
In a city with a history of racial tensions between working-class whites and African-Americans, I can hardly think of a better wedge issue for the Clinton campaign to use than this one — this notion that Obama has benefited from some sort of political affirmative action.
And I cannot think of a better surrogate to deliver that message than Gerry Ferraro.
Impeccable coincidence.
Or: she’s an utter fucking idiot. One or the other. I know this posts violates everything I’ve ever said about ignoring campaign surrogates for the sake of one’s own sanity, but: oy. The next eight months are going to be fun.
March 12, 2008 at 11:06 am
With advantages like these, is it any wonder that Obama is in the position he is now?
Thanks goodness for brave truth-tellers like Ferraro.
March 12, 2008 at 11:46 am
Also, his middle name is Hoosayn. Or something.
March 12, 2008 at 12:03 pm
wait wait…Geraldine is from Philly? But I never heard her pronounce ‘Schuykill’ correctly. And I never heard her say ‘that’s fantyastic’! So this must be a scurrilous lie.
March 12, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Oops, OK Jake was saying he was from Philly and she was from Queens. Oh yes, I agree, in fact I made that point several times when in Philly — “hey this place looks just like Queens!”
March 12, 2008 at 12:06 pm
So is she saying a, for example, white woman with minimal Congressional experience and no real legislation under her belt could never be a presidential(or vice presidential, for that matter) candidate?
March 12, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Ferraro told CBS’s “The Early Show” she thought Obama had been able to mount a strong campaign against Clinton because his was a “historic candidacy” that excited the country, as her candidacy did in 1984.
Is that the same way a young Joe Piscapo taught American to laugh?
I’m also pretty sure she nailed Santa Claus with a snowball during an Eagles game.
March 12, 2008 at 12:09 pm
The good news here is that this shows that, had Mondale/Ferraro actually won in ‘84 and not, as it happened, gotten blown out in 49 states, and had Walter Mondale died before inauguration day, that Ferraro had already crossed the Commander-in-Chief threshold and would have been ready to lead on Day One. I think that retrospective hypothetical reassurance more-or-less balances out the damage the current race-baiting and general Dem circular firing squad that’s on offer at the moment.
March 12, 2008 at 12:13 pm
tiger, something like that I suppose. Which is one of the reasons it makes zero sense, because it is shooting one’s foot in order to prove what a bad shot someone else is.
See, could they do THIS: Blam!.
March 12, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Did she follow it up with “And what’s with Black History Month, anyway? Why do they get a month? Huh? Do white people get a month? Where’s my month?”
March 12, 2008 at 12:19 pm
“if Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position.”
As a commenter at TPM said, she’s right. If Obama was a white man, the race would be over and he’d be the nominee.
March 12, 2008 at 12:31 pm
[...] Ferraro sticks by her guns – Barack Obama is nothing without his pigmentation. I think she may be the source of this transcript – or maybe just the questions. For the record, I [...]
March 12, 2008 at 12:39 pm
OTOH, perhaps Ferraro has a point. Maybe next time we can have a candidate that’s a black transgender former Mormon who’s now an avowed atheist. Imagine how unstoppable that candidate would be?
March 12, 2008 at 12:59 pm
A troubling question occured to me when I saw Obama’s picture in his high-school year book – is America ready for a president that’s so much cooler than they are?
March 12, 2008 at 1:48 pm
You know, not everything has to be an either/or question.
It could be a stupid work.
March 12, 2008 at 2:44 pm
This campaign is already a testament to the glory and genius of America. I can’t wait for the next seven weeks! It’ll be a special moment we’ll want to capture on TiVO and watch in a loop for the rest of our lives!
March 12, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Ferraro is a monster.
March 12, 2008 at 7:32 pm
She’s just bitter after being cut from the Nicks.
March 12, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Prior to the rise of postmodernism, a black man could have ran and not have had to defend his being “ahead in the Democratic race for the White House because he is black.”
March 12, 2008 at 8:54 pm
The point of this whole race for the White House for me is about race…Obama is not a black man….His mother was white his father was black….What does that make him????? a mulatto, one who is borned to mixed parents….The way people go after him, and never look in to his back ground reminds me of Nazi Germany the way the Germany’s looked at Hitler, they thought he was for change, and he was……for the worst if you were a Jew. That is what I think of this man…”.secret muslim”…..
March 12, 2008 at 10:42 pm
[...] 12, 2008 You are here, now Posted by The Editors under Uncategorized anna notes: The point of this whole race for the White House for me is about race…Obama is not a black [...]
March 13, 2008 at 5:13 am
I think what Ferraro was trying to say is that Obama’s inate sense of rhythm, his proficiency at basketball and his enormous genitalia and unstoppable libido account for his rise in politics.
Theres nothing racist about THAT.
March 13, 2008 at 8:48 am
finally, anna has the guts to say what the rest of us are thinking. hooray for anna!
March 13, 2008 at 10:07 am
Hawesdawg: And don’t forget he’s so eloquent! compared to some… other people.
March 13, 2008 at 10:17 am
Hawesdawg’s got it. If in doubt, remember: it’s always all about the cock.
March 13, 2008 at 9:36 pm
How’s what Ferraro originally said (with her complimentary context helpfully removed by everyone casting stones at her) different from what Obama himself said to the Chicago Tribune (and now proudly posts on his Senate website)?
“Obama acknowledges, with no small irony, that he benefits from his race.
If he were white, he once bluntly noted, he would simply be one of nine freshmen senators, almost certainly without a multimillion-dollar book deal and a shred of celebrity. Or would he have been elected at all?”
Oh, I can see it coming: it’s different when Obama says it. White people don’t get to say things that African-Americans get to. But Obama’s not conducting a race-conscious campaign. No sir.
March 13, 2008 at 11:12 pm
[...] 13, 2008 Authenticity Posted by The Editors under Uncategorized It just won’t stop. Contrarian Mickey Kaus is having a full-blown contrarian orgasm, comparing Andrew Sullivan’s [...]
March 14, 2008 at 4:38 am
Where would Hillary be if she wasn’t married to Bill Clinton?
Where would John McCain be if he was able to keep his plane in the air?