(no subject)

[bryant]

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. 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."

Ignoring the irony of those words coming out of Geraldine Ferraro's mouth, and ignoring the fact that they're a restatement of classic anti-affirmative action rhetoric, she's still flat out wrong. Cast your mind back to 2004, and you'll remember a young first-term Senator who was in second place down the stretch and who eventually became the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee. Which is exactly the job Clinton's offered Obama.

Comments

[tahnan.livejournal.com]

Er? I mean, yes she's flat out wrong--add to the irony of Ferraro saying them that Jesse Jackson was also running in 1984. But what does the analogy to Edwards have to do with it? Ferraro wasn't commenting on Obama's good fortune to be offered the VP slot by Clinton, as far as I can tell; she was commenting on race. And, of course, Obama isn't "in second place down the stretch"; he's leading by 100 delegates, which isn't decisive but also isn't Edwards in 2004, when (in May) Edwards had about a fourth the delegates Kerry did.

[bryant]

She's commenting on race plus Obama's inexperience, yeah. I think the implication is that his inexperience would disqualify him if it wasn't the case that he was black.

I think that's inaccurate because you only have to go back one cycle to see another first term Senator doing well in the primaries; certainly not as well, but the difference between Edwards and Obama is not just the fact that Obama's black.

[shadowflyer.livejournal.com]

And I seem to remember another young senator, younger than Obama in fact, who became one of the most revered names in modern American politics. Catholic kid from Massachusetts, maybe you've heard of him.

I'm deeply unimpressed with the way Ms. Ferraro has been carrying on.

I'm also deeply unimpressed with any Texas exit poll that doesn't comment on whether there was a noticeable effect on the (open) primary results from Texas Republicans who, flush with certainty that McCain can mop the floor with Clinton, were positively exhorted by influential conservatives to vote in the Democratic primary.

[bryant]

Well, in all fairness, JFK had six years in the House and was on his second Senate term when he ran for President. I think it'd be accurate to say that JFK had more political experience than Obama.

[tayefeth.livejournal.com]

How much time had JFK spent in the Massachusetts legislature?

Ferraro is flat-out wrong. I do wonder if Obama can swallow his sexism (he's said everything short of calling Clinton a shrill bitch) and take Clinton as his running mate, if he's leading at the convention, or if he's going to pick a white male VP instead.