She said:
"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."
Yeah, it's been a real boon to candidates to be African Americans in politics hasn't it. 29 women (8 currently) have been acting governors in our country compared to 3 African Americans (1 currently). There have been 216 women in the US House and 35 women in the Senate. There have been 116 African Americans in the US House and 5 African Americans in the Senate.
So where does the part about being lucky to be African American come in? When did America decide to wake up and say "wouldn't it be cool to have an African American president?" I agree that it has helped him with the AA vote but doesn't anyone else think that it intensely hurts him among many voters who won't vote for a black man? Don't you think this is why we haven't had more AA successful politicians? Or are we supposed to believe that AA politicians have been squandering their national advantage and that they are just naturally worse politicians?
Also let me note that Democrats typically win 90% of the AA vote in national elections and isn't possible that one candidate can be immensely popular among them compared to other democrats (like Hilary with Asian Americans or Latinos, or Bill Clinton was with African Americans).
If it is such an advantage to be black why haven't Al Sharpton, Allan Keyes, and Jesse Jackson been successful in their bids for the white house? It's because Barack Obama is a better candidate running at a time better suited to his particular message.
Barack Obama is as charismatic as Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, and John Kennedy and is a better speaker than all of them with the possible exception of Kennedy.
His positions may not be vastly superior to Hilary's but it is incomprehensible to me that they cannot see the value and the appeal of being charismatic and a truly inspirational speaker.
Ferraro then went on to defend herself:
"Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and
says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world, you're
accused of being racist, so you have to shut up," Ferraro said. "Racism works in
two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white.
How's that?"
So I do not think that Ferraro is a racist in the least degree but I do believe she seems almost like a dixiecrat or someone who would deny that racial discrimination still exists. Even though it is not her intent, her comments seem to play to lower class white voters who are veiled (or not so veiled) racists or at least those that somehow believe that affirmative action is an unfair advantage that helps black people to be better off in society than white people as opposed to something that is trying to meagerly level the playing field.
Ferraro's comments are not racist but they show a deep misunderstanding of how society works and the ingrained truths of institutionalized racism.
Can I just say that I also find it amusing that in the first article Ferraro claims that the press has been sexist in their coverage yet is hurt that anytime someone says anything bad about obama they're called racist. Hypocrisy much, Geraldine?
Can I just ask Hilary and her supporters to consider the fact that maybe your candidate doesn't play well in the media because she just has a bad image, comes off as cranky and petty, doesn't speak well, and seems very insincere and hawkish? Not everyone has to like you. Regardless of whether your policies are better (debateable), the fact is that you are not as marketable, media friendly, or appealing in most ways.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment