Apologies to Geraldine Ferraro
Yep. I'm man enough to admit when I made a boo-boo. Last Monday, in a post entitled "Rogues Gallery" I put forth 3 examples of the types of words and rhetoric being expressed by prominent Democrats associated with the presidential campaigns of Hillary and Obama. In the post, I showed former campaign associates Billy Shaheen, Geraldine Ferraro, and the now infamous Pastor Wright and printed some of the words that got them in trouble. I included a pic of a box of popcorn indicating my delight in watching the ongoing Democratic Party infighting. In the case of Geraldine Ferraro, perhaps I could have picked someone more deserving of the title of "rogue". Let me explain...
Recall the offending words used by Ms. Ferraro about Senator Obama that got her jettisoned from the Clinton campaign:
"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."
At the time the story broke, I said to a friend, "Heh. That's the same thing Rush Limbaugh said about that black quarterback that got him fired from his stint as an ESPN football commentator." Of course, looking back, most agree Rush was right-- and, once you think about it, Ms. Ferraro is right here, too. Stripped away of the platitudes of hope, change,inclusiveness, and the celebrity of his black skin color, Barack Obama is a whole lot of nothing, which is ALL he'd be if he had been born white.
The headline in the DailyBreeze.com newspaper (CA) says it all:
Geraldine Ferraro resents being lumped in with the Reverend Wright in Obama speech
I can say I honestly don't blame her. As reported in the story,
Former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro said today that she objected to the comparison Sen. Barack Obama drew between her and his former pastor in his speech on race relations Tuesday.
In the speech, Obama sought to place the inflammatory remarks of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in a broader context, in part by placing them on a continuum with Ferraro's recent remark to the Daily Breeze that Obama is "lucky" to be black.
"To equate what I said with what this racist bigot has said from the pulpit is unbelievable," Ferraro said today. "He gave a very good speech on race relations, but he did not address the fact that this man is up there spewing hatred."
Nothing there to disagree with. The story further reported
Ferraro said she had "no clue" why Obama would include her in his speech, and said Obama's association with Wright raises serious questions about his judgment.
"What this man is doing is he is spewing that stuff out to young people, and to younger people than Obama, and putting it in their heads that it's OK to say `Goddamn America' and it's OK to beat up on white people," she said. "You don't preach that from the pulpit."
Ferraro also said she could not understand why Obama had called out his own white grandmother for using racial stereotypes that had made him cringe.
"I could not believe that," she said. "That's my mother's generation."
Bingo. Geraldine Ferraro nails each and every point that I've been hearing from everyone I've heard comment on the matter. Hers was the exact sentiment heard 'round the Easter dinner table where I was yesterday, and I'd imagine it was much the same at many other gatherings across the US as well. As I noted at the start, I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong on something. Lumping Geraldine Ferraro with Wright and Shaheen was a mistake. On this one, she's head and shoulders above those two clowns, and I'm happy to say so. I'm just not happy about the latest revelations of the state of BLACK racism here in America.
Comments
Posted by: Michael Kitch | March 25, 2008 11:27 AM