US 2008 Presidential Campaign/Debate Discussion Thread - The Fifth Installment

[MrsSpringsteen]

^Yes she did say that, so let's give her a break as far as that's concerned. I watched Chris Matthews last night and he defended certain things she was trying to convey in her remarks. But like the lovely female commentator who was on his show said (I can't remember her name, she is an Independent and involved with an Independent Womens Forum) Barack Obama is where he is today in spite of being a black man, and not because of it. And I believe that wholeheartedly.

This is the original Daily Breeze article

Geraldine Ferraro lets her emotions do the talking
By Jim Farber Staff Writer
Article Launched: 03/07/2008 07:52:09 AM PST


As the only woman ever to be selected by a major political party for the position of vice president of the United States, Geraldine Ferraro is uniquely suited to comment on the political events of the day.

An outspoken advocate for women's issues and a staunch supporter of presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, Ferraro will offer her views on the state of the nation and the race for the White House at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Armstrong Theatre in Torrance. The program is part of the American Perspectives series.

Speaking by phone from her New York law office, the 72-year-old former Democratic congresswoman outlined the themes that will dominate her talk. She also offered pointed observations regarding the Barack Obama juggernaut and what she sees as a sexist media bias against the candidate of her choice.

"I will probably start with a personal account, drawing attention to the historic first of both these candidacies in our party, and point out specific, significant differences between Hillary's campaign and mine," said Ferraro.

"I will discuss what I think's been going on in her campaign and the role of the media, which has been far larger than anything I've seen before. And I'll get into what this bides for the future. I may also speak about the superdelegates, since I was involved with their creation."

Born in 1935, Ferraro was a teacher, a lawyer and member of the Queens County District Attorney's office prior to being elected to the U.S. Congress in 1978, representing New York's 9th District. But it was the presidential campaign of 1984 that thrust her into the national spotlight, when Ferraro was chosen to be Walter Mondale's running mate. The campaign lost in a landslide to Ronald Reagan.

After two failed attempts to gain a seat in the United States Senate, Ferraro was appointed ambassador to the United Nations Committee on Human Rights during the Clinton administration. From 1996 to 1998 she appeared as co-host of the political television show "Crossfire." Currently, Ferraro is a senior managing director of the Global Consulting Group, a corporate public relations firm.

Despite suffering from multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer that limits her energy, Ferraro said she is committed to keeping up an active speaking schedule and doing everything she can to help the Clinton campaign.

"I'm on Hillary's finance committee. I've done a fundraiser for her here at my firm. And I went and worked the phone banks before Super Tuesday. I have to tell you, this is a very emotional campaign for me," Ferraro said.

When the subject turned to Obama, Clinton's rival for the Democratic Party nomination, Ferraro's comments took on a decidedly bitter edge.

"I think what America feels about a woman becoming president takes a very secondary place to Obama's campaign - to a kind of campaign that it would be hard for anyone to run against," she said. "For one thing, you have the press, which has been uniquely hard on her. It's been a very sexist media. Some just don't like her. The others have gotten caught up in the Obama 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." Ferraro does not buy the notion of Obama as the great reconciler.

"I was reading an article that said young Republicans are out there campaigning for Obama because they believe he's going to be able to put an end to partisanship," Ferraro said, clearly annoyed. "Dear God! Anyone that has worked in the Congress knows that for over 200 years this country has had partisanship - that's the way our country is."

As our conversation came to an end, Ferraro said of her upcoming talk in Torrance, "It's going to be very up to date. It's going to be my version of the inside story."

[Vincent Vega]

So, she said she was picked for Vice President in 1984 because she was, and still is, female, and Jesse Jackson as well as Obama only are Presidential candidates because of being black.
Doesn't she believe that it could ever be possible that a woman or a minority is succesful due to his/her qualification?
This argument certainly holds true in some cases, but in all?

[Irvine511]

Originally posted by deep


why ?

it is how she began this dialog

so she cast doubt upon herself to be a qualified VP due to the fact that she was a woman?

[Vincent Vega]

A severe lack of self-confidence, isn't it?

[Irvine511]

Originally posted by Vincent Vega
A severe lack of self-confidence, isn't it?

paternalistic liberalism?

[diamond]

Originally posted by Irvine511




now that's substance.

Brevity is the essence of wit.

dbs

[verte76]

Well, she shouldn't have said it, and now she's had to resign. All of these resignations!

[Irvine511]

i'm still puzzled by her comments -- does Ms. Ferraro still think that the only thing she brought to the ticket in 1984 were her breasts and vagina?

[deep]

Originally posted by Irvine511
i'm still puzzled by her comments --

I do remember the 1984 election.


I don't remember her being a primary candidate at all.


I believe she was a congresswoman from NY.

The ERA had recently failed, to get the 2/3 states to ratify.

And I believe Mondale chose her hoping to get a lop-sided woman's vote?


I also remember GHW Bush said he "kicked a little ass" after the VP debates.


The GOP also muddied her up with Mafia innuendo, having to do with her husband's business dealings and Italian heritage.

[diamond]

A parody and expose of supposed soft bigotry tatics employed by the Clinton campaign:

http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/...a_is_black.php

[joyfulgirl]

I've been puzzled by her comments, too, and trying to understand what she meant. There is no evidence in her long career that she's racist so I kept thinking somehow she's being misunderstood, or more accurately, she botched what she was trying to say but if that's the case, why doesn't she just say that she didn't make herself clear and restate it so that she cannot be misunderstood instead of so stubbornly standing by her comments? It's just unfortunate that she hasn't been on anyone's radar in years and now she comes out with this, which is going to be remembered for a long time.

Anyway, I came across this article this morning (never heard of its author) but it sounds reasonable--I don't know though. I'm posting an excerpt but you can read the whole article here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carlot...tml?view=print

Personally, I think Senator Obama might be in the same position today whether he were black or white. He has a John Kennedy-Abe Lincoln quality about him, a charisma and oratorical style that make him an excellent candidate. He has the education and the background to run for president. His campaign seems to have been run effectively and efficiently. Whether I agree with his positions or think he would make the best president is another matter, but I think he is undoubtedly a highly successful candidate. No doubt Geraldine Ferraro does, too. She said he has the kind of campaign it would be hard for anyone to run against. She also says that the black community has enthusiastically rallied around Senator Obama, not just for these obvious talents and abilities, but because they are excited by the prospect of a successful black Democratic nominee for president. And she cites exit polling that shows Obama taking as much as 80 percent of the black vote in some primaries.

I ask you: can you deny that what she says is true? Is it racist for her to point our that, in addition to his other great attributes, he has the support of the black community? I'm not saying that he is only supported because he is an African-American candidate. But he is a very well-qualified candidate who happens to be African-American and there are many in the black community who are excited about his campaign.

I do not agree with Rep. Ferraro when she says that Senator Obama wouldn't be where he is today if he were white IF by that she means that he couldn't have become a successful candidate. However, if she means that he might not enjoy as much support from the black community if he were white, then, yes, I agree, that is probably true.

Is he "lucky" in the sense that he has the attributes of being young, good-looking, intelligent, well-educated, and a gifted speaker? Yes. When you add to those qualities the fact that he has a special appeal to many in the black community, I don't think it's difficult to see why Rep. Ferraro called him "lucky."

For anyone to suggest that the Clinton campaign somehow stoked this fire and put Rep. Ferraro up to making these controversial comments, such an idea qualifies as Byzantine without brains. There was nothing to be gained from such a gambit and much to be lost. Why would the Clinton campaign want to risk alienating black voters when it needs them? Does anyone think they wake up in the morning and say, "Today we should try to lose some votes!" Does anyone think they need to call attention to the fact that Senator Obama is black? That's about as necessary as pointing out that Senator Clinton is female. In general, things that lead to supporters resigning are not good, so this was probably not something that was planned, for you conspiracy theorists out there.

I do not think that people should vote for someone because of their skin color. I do not think that people should vote for Hillary Clinton because she's a woman. I think people should vote for the person they believe is best qualified to be president regardless of these things. But this campaign has undeniably elicited charged emotions on all sides when it comes to gender and race. I do think that too much has been made of Rep. Ferraro's remarks and that some people have either intentionally misunderstood them for their own purposes -- or there are some people who need to drink a lot less caffeine on the campaign trail.

[shart1780]

All I have to say is I'm not happy with any of the candidates. And I'm not happy with Bush. The coming years are looking bleak for me.

[INDY500]

Originally posted by shart1780
All I have to say is I'm not happy with any of the candidates. And I'm not happy with Bush. The coming years are looking bleak for me.

Bleak?
You live in the freest, strongest, most prosperous country in the history of human civilization and that's not going to change under George Bush, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

[joyfulgirl]

Originally posted by INDY500


Bleak?
You live in the freest, strongest, most prosperous country in the history of human civilization and that's not going to change under George Bush, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

McCain?

[anitram]

Originally posted by INDY500


Bleak?
You live in the freest, strongest, most prosperous country in the history of human civilization

How are you more free than I am?

[INDY500]

Originally posted by joyfulgirl

McCain?

Listening to Democrats lately you'd think his name was Bush's Third Term.

[diamond]

Originally posted by anitram


How are you more free than I am?

we have unlimited choices of which dr. we can choose for our healthcare, do most of your countrymen have this same privilege? or do they have to wait 3-4 weeks for a dr. appointed by govermental agency and often times wind up with a quack ?

we have bigger football fields too and laugh at quarterbacks such as doug flutie who play arena football.


dbs

[corianderstem]

Originally posted by diamond
we have unlimited choices of which dr. we can choose for our healthcare, do most of your countrymen have this same privilege? or do they have to wait 3-4 weeks for a dr. appointed by govermental agency and often times wind up with a quack ?

And gosh, how nice for the people here in the US that they can choose whatever doctor they'd like .... oops, too bad for those who can't afford insurance or even a doctor visit. Sucks to be them.

At least they're sick and uninsured in the greatest, freest nation ever!

[BVS]

They are free to die of bad health... that's freedom.

[U2isthebest]

Originally posted by BonoVoxSupastar
They are free to die of bad health... that's freedom.

We're all free to marry anyone we choose, unless they happen to the same gender.