Well, she does know what she talks about.

Given her record, etc. she would not have been on a national ticket in 1984 with Mondale if she weren't female.

Of course, Obama is running his own campaign and being picked by the electorate, rather than being picked by some party elder.

Let's be honest, she should also say that HRC wouldn't have a Senate seat except for her last name.

Ah, consistency. Thy name is *not* Geraldine.

This story is blowing up elsewhere, meaning here at TPM it will take a day or two to get its legs. Fortunately, they have the Spitzer story to distract attention.

Just an abominably racist and rotten comment and one for which Hillieberman needs to give some answers.

I think that the sexism in the media is real, but to suggest that he has it easier than her as a black man is beyond laughable and undermines all well deserved credability she had. Is he black enough? Is he just another Jesse Jackson? Did he ever sell drugs? Is he a Muslim? Does he transcend his race (code for overcome)? Sounds like a free pass to me.

All this shows is that this woman is completely out of touch with the day to day realities of people of color, not only black men, but also Latinos, Native People, Middle Eastern Folks, Asian Pacific Islanders, etc.

Recent polls show both Obama and Clinton have people who would never support them due to their identities and both have had the media feed the racism and sexism against them. What an embarrassing statement her for to make.

What a troll.... his name is Barack Hussein Obama... and he is lucky he is black?

Ms. Ferraro, Ms. Clinton, Ms. Steinem, and Ms. Jong need to take a vacation and sip some mai tais. Ladies... go burn your support bras...

Bitches for Obama.

I wrote last week about another racist remark that Ferraro made on NPR:

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/03/of-surrogates-and-delegates.php

HEY TPM, DO YOU THINK THIS STORY MIGHT BE NEWSWORTHY??????

Jesus, you had the "monster" story on the front page not 5 minutes after Drudge and HuffPo.

Seriously, it's gotten ridiculous around here. I scoffed at the "bias" accusations for months but stuff like this seems to slip by in favor of Wolfson conference call stenography all day long.

What's that saying, "birds of a feather, stick..." Hindsight is 20/20. This is one time that I'm glad that we can look back and see that we made the right decision in '84.

That was supposed to be for the "Bitches for Obama" comment.

Let me get this straight? If Obama were white, running exactly the same campaign, he would be pulling 90% of the black vote? Why?

We need to start a "Stories TPM is Ignoring" thread, update it every day, and keep recing it to the top of the list until we see some movement. The list is getting long.

For the Ric Flair fan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrXTVFx8DXs

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."

I'm not sure what her point is here. Where does she think Hillary Clinton would be were she not married to Bill Clinton? Does she think just anyone can waltz into New York and be elected Senator?

I think Hillary is a bright, talented woman. If she had not married Bill, she might very well have made a political career on her own. But Hillary Rodham would probably be the Republican senator from Illinois and would be currently challenging John McCain for the Republican nomination for President.

Is Mississippi listening?!

Come on Hillary people...you gotta admit this is over the top. It was a stupid and insensitive thing to say, at best.

Yes - how fortunate to be a black politican in America! We've really embraced them at every opportunity - that's why Barack Obama is the lone African-American Senator. (And in the last 30 years there have been 2 black Senators). Lucky indeed.

Unbelievable...looks like Ferraro isn't the only one who thinks color is some (unfair) advantage in American public life...

Do you think Obama would be LOSING the white Mississippi vote 17 to 70%, if he were white??

Do you think operatives would be floating around pictures of him in African garb and attempting to slander his own name, if he weren't of African descent?

Exit polls by the Times show that being a woman gives HRC 5%, but takes away that much from Obama. Because of his race.

This is just a stupid comment by Ferraro. I would expect this kind of talk from a Republican talking head but not from a Democrat, and especially not from a surrogate of the Clintons who were once considered to be the first "Blacks" in the White House.

Sad to see we are stooping to that level in the Democratic Party.

But you keep on pushing that racist line, Hillary. Lets see how that works out for you with all the other minorities (black and non-black) in the U.S. who know exactly how hard it is to be one in this country.

I'll admit that part of Obama's charm is his racial heritage, if Clinton supporter's admit that Hillary Clinton would not be here without her husband Bill.

For those interested in reading about Obama's childhood, I suggest reading "Dreams from My Father." I suspect it's the most candid autobiography you'll ever read from a modern-day Presidential candidate.

Also, let's take down Rep. Steve King for his recent bigoted comments!

There is a Democrat running against him, and all of his horrible past comments are starting to snowball against him, WE CAN WIN THIS SEAT! We just took Hastert's old seat, and we can do this!

Read about his past comments, and DONATE to his opponent, let's take him down and make the GOP waste more money in the process!! You can donate through ActBlue, there is a link to his website near the end of my post, go there! Let's show him payback is a bitch!!

http://www.thepersonalispolitical.com/post/28555150

Why does race come into this at all?? Because Clinton supporters keep making it about race, plain and simple. Obama has done all he can to avoid being pigeonholed as a "black candidate", and in so doing he has inspired not only an overwhelming majority of black voters, but a wide range of people who want to move beyond the divisions of race, gender, ethnicity, etc...I think it is interesting to note that Obama was way down to Hillary in black support just a few months ago, with many worried he wasn't "black enough". What happened to turn this around? The minute the Clintons started tallking about race, the bullshit alarms started going off like crazy, and the more they talked the more people got turned off by their shameless attempt to marginalize Obama.....And how'd that work out for Hillary? For Ferraro to try this again shows just how cynical she really is, and how willing team Hillary is to continue playing Karl Rove's "divide and conquer" style politics....let her keep talking. All she does is turn off more undecideds/independents/decent people.

Ferraro's comments merit a TPM "story."
And Obama has been called racists slurs during his childhood. He did attend a prestigious school in Hawaii, but look at the photos -- not many other Black kids there. All "non-Whites" are not alike, and don't always like each other.
My "dream" ticket? Obama and Tiger Woods.

I think part of the problem with Ferraro, and with Hillary's supporters who see nothing wrong with her comments, is they are still steeped in identity politics. I think that's what happened to some of the Hillary is 44ers who are treating everything as so good-and-evil. To advocate for your own "group" somehow comes to involve putting down other groups so you look better, different. It's totally fine for Ferraro to say something as appalling as this, to sound like Rush Limbaugh, because she's fighting for WOMEN and against SEXISM, and people are SEXIST and so somehow it becomes okay to say a black guy has it easy. Of course, it is appalling, and what she says is patently untrue. (Hillary's candidacy is all about her gender, about being this strong women who has worked hard in a male world and now this young smooth-talking MAN is trying to charm everyone away from what she has EARNED. Her senate record doesn't scream "Presidential" either, but it's a lie that experience and senate tenure have anything to do with selecting a president. Otherwise we'd be fighting between Dodd and Biden right now.) If everything is about gender politics, about women first, it makes perfect sense to state that Obama only got there because he's black, to raise the specter of affirmative action taking away the hard work of white people, which is so appalling for any Democrat. If women work twice as hard for half the credit, apparently the road is just paved with gold for a black guy. Her comments are offensive, disgusting, absurd, and just plain wrong. She should be ashamed of herself.

In other words, I think people who have gone off the deep end about Hillary to the point where they are saying, and defending, indefensible things, are so steeped in identity politics, and in Hillary as its champion, they can't see straight.

I do wonder if anyone who is part of the campaign or supports Hillary is at all concerned with these comments and what it might do to the black vote if Hillary manages to kneecap Obama, of if they are too busy pretending anyone who thinks they're offensive is nuts. Even if you don't agree it's offensive, you have to engage with the fact that any black person who has been accused of only getting where they are because of race might not take kindly to these comments. If that chunk of Dems stays home because of comments like this, how is she going to win? Hillary is a 50 plus 1 candidate, with her high negatives and McCain's false portrayal as a maverick she relies on all the Dems going for her. But she's not going to get that 50 if she offends black Democrats.

It really is a symptom of a racist society when you are not allowed to make the observation that race or how we think about race effects our perceptions.

For the most part, I agree with Ferraro's comment. But I think that we have to separate Obama the man from Obama the presidential candidate. We all know that Obama is smart, accomplished, and a good politician to boot. But Ferraro's comment is speaking to the reason why she feels Obama has been a successful presidential candidate, a phenom.

When Obama says that he will change Washington and bring on a age of new politics, he doesn't have to show a record of doing or even of trying to do that in a convincing way. In terms of politics and policy, there is nothing daring, revolutionary, or original about Barack Obama. But he sure seems to represent something new. I think his race, youth and rhetoric promotes a symbolic image of something new. Without really having to be substantively new.

Cynic alerts will wag their finger and cry, there you go again, you mean and racist Clintonites. Claiming that we are trying to marginalize their candidate with tactical moves. First, the only person that can marginalize Obama is Obama, at least when it comes to race. He must not sound afro-centric. And he hasn't. Ferraro whether appropriate or inappropriate, is speaking out of her heart. She is frustrated at watching Obama, a person who she feels is a lesser candidate with a lesser vision for America, succeed based on mere symbols. Symbols that have incorporated identity politics into what we think of as new.

Bringing up race does not make you a racist whether you are a republican or a democrat. I argue that Geraldine Ferraro is not a racist!

Miss. Primary exit polls from CNN:

91% of African Americans for Obama, 50 to 60 plus % of total democratic vote

72% of Whites for Clinton

These are just crazy numbers. Lets stop pointing fingers and just take a deep breath. Mississippi is got a racial divide. Not pretty.