Ferraro was correct (kind of) -- but that doesn't make her right.
Frankly, I don't think Ferraro was speaking of Black men generally when she made her infamous comments; I think she was speaking of the fact that Obama is "biracial," that that is what has caught the imagination of some (particularly) White Americans. But once she put her foot in it, she didn't dare say anything more in that regard.
But, frankly, she's got a point there.
That does not, however, make what she said any more acceptable. Obama's ethnicity may have sparked some initial interest/curiosity. Modern-day White America loves its mulattos. Plus, Obama is a family man. He's young and hip, and he can speak flawless Standard American English -- always something that gets us extra brownie points with White folks. Wrap all that up in a package that's none too hard on the eyes, and you've got a combination set to make White America swoon -- and White women practically cream themselves. I mean they're literally fainting at his rallies. And at a time when White folks are fantasizing so hard about being anything other than just plain, boring white bread (e.g., a half Native American former drug dealer raised in South Central L.A. by a classic "Big Momma" earth mother stereotype, a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust -- get this -- raised by wolves!!!), they're doin' it in published "memoirs," embracing a "biracial" person makes them feel less racist, less ... well, White. And if accepting "biracial" people makes them feel all warm and fuzzy, then, shit, voting for a "biracial" presidential hopeful should be right up there with popping a few "special" mushrooms or tokin' that wacky tabacky. It feeds their fantasies of some great, big, amorphous kumbaya melting pot, of that oft-invoked "color-blind society" (whatever the hell that is), their delusions of that nonexistent "level playing field." Ah, the afterglow!
Yep. They be straight-up trippin', boo. ;p
But all that said, let's be fair. To any reasonably objective person, it is obvious why Obama is where he is in the race today for the Democratic party's presidential slot. I'm not going to bother to name his positive attributes. I'll let others do that. Keith Olbermann's "Special Comment" smackdown of Clinton on CNBC was dead on. Suffice it to say that the upshot is he appeals to that segment of the voting public who are hungry for change, who are seeking a new idealism and vision in American politics.
The other reason is he's run a smart campaign. Hillary, frankly, has not. And after dumping her Latina campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, she's hired on a Black woman, Maggie Williams, to spin her shameful, race-baiting attacks on Obama.
In no small part because of the ineptitude of her campaign (add in a healthy dose of real hatred/contempt for her and her spouse on the part of the American electorate: "So, how do we beat the bitch?"), she's lost the contest for the Democratic nomination. She hasn't won, and will not garner, enough delegates in the remaining primaries to beat Obama. There's no defensible rhyme or reason to her continuing in the race -- not even if she's hoping superdelegates will give her a break and swing her way. She doesn't have enough of those either. All she's doing now is engaging in a self-serving, ego-massaging exercise in futility. Her blatant and tackily shameless exhibition of her clearly deeply felt sense of entitlement to the White House is not only hurting the party but her own political future as well -- and I called her national campaign headquarters to say just that. What she and her husband have said about Obama is simply scandalous.
I have to sneer each time Clinton says she's "more qualified" for the presidency than Obama because of her "experience."
Uh, Earth to Hillary. You were never the commander-in-chief. You were First Lady! And if doin' the president makes someone qualified to be president, then why wasn't Monica Lewinsky (or any of Bill's Arkansas white-trash trollops) drafted to run? We may think the initial field of Democratic presidential hopefuls was crowded. But can you imagine? With Bill's series of skanks on the side included, those first debates would have had to have been conducted in mini series-like installments.
It's time for the DNC to do damage control. It's past time to rein in Hillary and tell her, "Enough is enough. Time to sit your ass down and shut the fuck up! You're going to cost us the White House if you keep it up."
But perhaps that's her mission: spoiler. It's the only ting that makes sense. She can't win her party's nomination, but she certainly can damage Obama so badly that he loses against McCain. Then she can self-righteously say, "See? I was right that Obama couldn't take the White House. You should have anointed me your candidate instead of voting for that loser."
Olbermann's right about Clinton campaigning like a Republican. She's taken a page from Dubya's playbook on this one: flimsy, nonsensical propaganda/logorrhea frontin' like Prophetic Truth.
