Obama: Ferraro's comments "Patently Absurd"

[VolcanoJen]

Via ThePage:
thepage.time.com

Barack Obama: “I don’t think Geraldine Ferraro’s comments have any place in our politics or in the Democratic Party. They are divisive.

I think anybody who understands the history of this country knows they are patently absurd. And I would expect that the same way those comments don’t have a place in my campaign they shouldn’t have a place in Senator Clinton’s either.”

And Ferraro went on Fox News (!!) to express her anger at Obama and Axelrod:

**Ferraro responds on the Fox News Channel**

Says “I’m sorry that people thought it was racist,” but is “absolutely offended” by the angry response she has received. Blames Obama campaign and David Axelrod for the response.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. I don't see Ferraro apologizing adequately

[VolcanoJen]

7. She won't, either. Clinton has already shown she'll stand by her, and her comments.

Ferraro's comments were no accident. She's an historic and incredibly seasoned politician. There is a reason why the words came from her, and not another surrogate.

You know, after reading Ferraro's comments yesterday, I went home and re-read the excellent Newsweek cover story on Michelle Obama. Michelle speaks almost heartbreakingly about how she didn't fully realize her own "blackness" until she left the south side of Chicago for college and arrived at Princeton.

Michelle's thoughts are the perfect antidote to Ferraro's lashing-out.

[TahitiNut]

39. Precisely.

I gotta say, Michelle is one impressive person. Oh, and ...


:hi: Hi there, Cincinatti kiddo! :hug:

[VolcanoJen]

42. Hey hey hey there!!!

Yes, a nice, calm, sane voice. I needed to see you today!!!!! Somebody truly rational, who also "gets" this kind of politics.

:hug: Tahitinut :hug:

[cbayer]

44. Not true, Clinton has renounced them.

“I do not agree with that and you know it’s regrettable that any of our supporters on both sides say things that veer off into the personal. We ought to keep this focused on the issues. That’s what this campaign should be about.”

[VolcanoJen]

51. No, she pulled a Bush.

Someone as progressive and hard-fighting as Hillary Clinton claims to be should have absolutely renounced Geraldine Ferraro's comments, without nuance.

Instead, she finessed her response. She said, "I do not agree..." and then pulled a Swiftboat Trick that Bush used in 2004. In the quote you supplied, she immediately follows up her weak-ass "I do not agree" response by saying that Obama is as guilty as she is.

In the fall of 2004, when Bush was questioned about the Swiftboat ads, he would always respond, "Well, I'm against ALL 527's" rather than denounce the particular 527 Swiftboat Attack being used to shred the character of a Vietnam War Hero.

And he got credit from his supporters for "renouncing." It's exactly the game Clinton's playing here, and you're falling right into her bullshit.

[cbayer]

52. Thanks for your response.

I was responding to your statement that "Clinton has already shown she'll stand by her, and her comments."

In disagreeing with you, I do not think i am falling right into anyone's bullshit.

I just felt that her response should be posted in the spirit of fairness. She is being accused of putting Ferraro up to this. And whether you find her response adequate or not, she is distancing herself from it.

[VolcanoJen]

58. OK.

But there's a big difference between "reject AND denounce," as Hillary and Barack pointed out in the last debate (by the way, what happened to her calls for debates, like, weekly?).

And there's also a big difference between saying "I don't agree" and "Geraldine Ferraro does not speak for me, and she, as such, is no longer associated with my campaign."

That's what I'd expect to hear from Hillary Clinton, who needs to be Ready On Day One to unite this country, among other things.

[cbayer]

66. Can't disagree with you there.

Renounce was probably too strong a word on my part.

I don't know what happened to the call for debates. I would personally like to see more. In general, they seem to bring out the best in both of them.

Peace.

[BringBigDogBack]

25. Fuck her...

[OzarkDem]

46. No, Fuck him

for being a cynical, conniving asshole who would rather falsely accuse good Democrats of racism simply because he can't win a debate on issues. He's not fit to hold public office.

[AX10]

73. kick

[Rosa Luxemburg]

83. well he's not going to take that type of attack, she should be ashamed of herself

I think she did the same thing with Jackson?

[Alter Ego]

86. And in turn, fuck her

for being a cold, calculating, manipulative jackass who would rather destroy the Democratic party for the sake of her own ambition rather than see someone else take "her" spot as the nominee.

You see this goes both ways.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

2. Come on O-man, you can do better than that! How about calling out the BULLSHIT . . .

and use that word. That should grab some headlines.

[rucky]

85. I thought it was a classy and appropriate public response.

It would be cool to see a politician literally call "Bullshit" on someone, though.

[LSparkle]

3. Even Tweety is offended by those remarks

He's on right now saying that the only reason George Washington and other founding fathers
got the opportunity to be the great leaders they were is because they were WHITE MEN. Gerry,
you're WAY off base here ...

[PurityOfEssence]

35. Since when is he a paragon of sense, fairplay or honesty?

Much as race is an impediment in some corners for Senator Obama, it's an advantage in others. The question of whether he personally would have been proffered as a candidate for the Presidency strictly on his iffy accomplishments had he been a white male is the issue she brought up, and it's one that fairly applies to the gender issue with Senator Clinton.

One difference is that Geraldine Ferraro admits that, in that particular instance, she got special treatment.

As for the "even Chris Matthews" agrees part, that's premised on his being supremely tolerant of disagreeable stances, and where he may be on some, he's a calculated spotlight grabber with no shame. His opinion is colored more by how it reflects on him than on anything else, and just because he uses a version of Bill Maher's "no nonsense" schtick, it's nowhere near as real.

[LSparkle]

45. By "even Chris Matthews" I meant that he's usually NOT so offended

by remarks like these. The fact that his calloused, "old Boys club" sensibility was tweaked only
proves to me that what she said was out of line.

[woolldog]

65. How much "experience" did John Edwards have in 2004?

when he ran for President?

[PurityOfEssence]

87. And he got called out for it, didn't he?

He was accused of being an upstart and only being where he was because of being pretty. He was also accused of being jumped to the head of the line for being a WHITE MALE and for being a southerner.

He took hits.

Still, he had more national experience in 2004 than Obama does today, even if he didn't have the long history of statewide political experience.

This is precisely the point: he got accused of playing unfair advantages, and to a certain degree, he did benefit from them.

If nothing else, this is consistent.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. Standard Bill O'Reilly apology.

"I'm sorry that people were offended by racism."

[Coexist]

5. she is offended by the response?

please.

[wndycty]

6. Ferraro digs in

-snip-
But far from backing off from her initial remark, Ferraro defended it and elaborated on it.

"Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world, you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up," Ferraro said. "Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?"
-snip-

http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_8533832

[VolcanoJen]

15. Wow.

Well, that's even more proof that Ferraro's comments were no accident. That is actually shocking to me, to read those words.

She's fucking awful. One more example of Clinton's dropping a Race Bomb and blaming the reaction on Obama.

Is this stupid-ass Kitchen Sink out of parts, yet?

[grantcart]

34. she is all over the place with it

here she calls john lewis a coward

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqL_sm0J8jc

[VolcanoJen]

47. What in the hell...??!??

Ferraro's got a brass pair, that's for sure.

Patently absurd, indeed. John Lewis, The Coward.

[grantcart]

49. I think it is significant enough to deserve a seperate thread if you have extras

be my guest. love your mom by the way

[VolcanoJen]

53. I'm just really pissed off.

I can't believe her John Lewis comments!!! John LEWIS! Really!!!!

Grrrrrrr.

Yes, my mom is the bomb, isn't she? :-)

[flpoljunkie]

19. Unbelievable! And totally bizarre, as well.

[anigbrowl]

22. She did NOT say that...(as in she did, and I'm shocked)

:mad:

What an embarrassment.

[BringBigDogBack]

28. Holy shit! How does Clinton find these people?

:rofl:

I don't really believe she said that.

[tishaLA]

29. Jeebus. That's just nuts. Is she Bakke?

[NJObamaWoman]

31. LMAO I'm so sick of this mess. Sometimes I'm sad to be black in America :(

Because we can never win. People just never get it and I'm tired of trying to make people get it. Mrs. Ferraro is nuts and anyone who supporters her crap is just a waste of space. Its like we can't call anyone on their racist tendencies anyone because they want to protect themselves by screaming reverse racism. Oh please Mrs. Ferraro is a peice of garbage.

this is why some people have never been proud to be an american. America's still racist as ever.

[powergirl]

40. Don't be sad NJObama woman

We will beat these jerks together - all of us. I'm a Texan - basically a half Hispanic white lady and it breaks my heard to hear this. This is why Obama needs to win. To put to rest all of this crap. It won't stop racism, and Obama is going to get attacked for his race, name, clothing, hairstyle, brand of chapstick - you name it. But WHEN he wins, we can put a dent in this hate. I've been on the Obama train Day One and I will work everyday to get him elected. We can do it. Don't be sad. :pals:

[VolcanoJen]

54. Don't get sad, baby girl.

Get MAD.

I practically have smoke coming out of my ears over this Ferraro shit. The reaction to it is illuminating, though, and in a way, I'm glad this kind of bigotry-on-underboil isn't going on in fucking secret. You can learn a lot about people on DU just by looking at who's defending Ferraro, and Clinton's milquetoast "I don't agree" reaction.

:hug: NJObamaWoman :hug:

[knixphan]

57. Don't waste time being sad, sister.

Put that energy into an Obama donation!

Always makes me feel better.

Ferarro is a bad apple. A big one, but they are diminishing.

The real hope is the next generation... The same generation Obama is winning.

Cancer is being removed by degree... Stay in there.

Si Se Puede!

[americanstranger]

82. As a white man from New York,

I am embarrassed to even be in the same state as Hillary Clinton and Gerri Ferraro.

I am convinced that the Clinton campaign has decided to torch the entire Democratic primary in hopes that it will somehow net her the nomination.

But it won't work. Their manipulative bigotry is so pathetically transparent, it is indefensible. and as someone said below, it speaks volumes of the character of people who are 'defending' Clinton's tactics. (I quote defending because they are really doing nothing of the sort, they're just hurling invective like a rage-aholic mob.)

They will not win. They are on the wrong side of history.

Take heart. Don't give in, we will win.

- as

[BeyondGeography]

8. Geraldine is an ass

the only reason anyone pays attention to her is she served as window-dressing for a hopeless candidacy once.

With her limited skills, I wonder how far she would have gotten as a fatherless biracial child with a Muslim middle name and a last name that rhymes with Osama. Try those apples on for size, you clubhouse hack.

[NJSecularist]

33. Very well said

What does Geraldine Ferraro do well? Other than being a woman who plays the victim card, of course. What discernable political qualities does she have that merited her being a vice presidential candidate? She has been given everything by virtue of her being a self-righteous women who was at the right place at the right time.

[VolcanoJen]

55. Brilliant.

Damn, BeyondGeo. You really need your own blog.

That kicked ass.

[pdxmom]

9. She's offended because people are calling her out on her racist comments?

She needs to buy a clue.

[flpoljunkie]

10. Wonder if Ferraro was on John Gibson's "The Big Story" again. Fox news? Geez!

[PurityOfEssence]

11. Bad move

It shows him as defensive and divisive. He should have just ignored it, and if asked about it, probably should have still ignored it or at the most touted his achievements to dispel the concept of his unworthiness.

It's also rather hypocritical since his campaign's maligned her claims of experience as First Lady; his folks have essentially said that it's who she is rather than what she's done.

They'd all be wise to let this drop.

[flpoljunkie]

21. Totally disagree.

[joeybee12]

12. Good for Geraldine...

...make of that what you will, but she was being candid, and said she got a break, too, because of the time she was in...nowhere did she diss African-Americans and disavow that there is racism in our society...she was pointing out one shell of a man.

[Georgie_92]

16. Are you serious?

Really?

[mythyc]

38. um yeah. :-/ then says she's been the victim of racism no less.

pointing out one shell of a man as you so eloquently wax on (side note: let's weigh your achievements with his... how bout that Harvard Law Degree? OR the youngest had of the Harvard Law Review, how bout those community organizer credentials in one of the most difficult neighborhoods in America, wait, have you been a professor of law at a prestigious university? i'll wait to your reply on these creds before going into the legislative achievements. HEY Dillweed: Name one thing you've done in your life that compares to any of Obama's myriad, selfless achievements; but please do provide a link and corraboration so we know you're not talking out of your ass ...), you agree then with her charge that she's been the victim of racism in this? sounds like a double standard.

edit: type-o

[JBoy]

62. No, she didn't disavow that racism exists. She demonstrated it.

[VolcanoJen]

78. Damn.

That's the sanest post on this topic I've read.

She's demonstrating that racism exists. And sits out there, unchallenged by the vaunted Clinton Machine.

:thumbsup: JBoy :thumbsup:

[Georgie_92]

13. Foul Evil Thing She Is.

I hope it bites them in the ass!

[Diane R]

14. Geraldine Ferraro used to be my heroine. This is sad, in so many ways. She just doesn't get it.

[anigbrowl]

37. Same here. Her VP candidacy in 84 was part of what made me decide I supported the Dems

That was back when i was a teenager and I felt that the Democratic party was making history putting a woman on the ticket and showing why they were the party of the future (which I still believe). I was very disappointed that Reagan won in a landslide, and felt it was unlucky for Ferraro and other women politicians because a lot of people blamed her participation - whereas I thought Mondale was just a weak Presidential candidate. I have always admired her...so when she said it was about Obama being black yesterday I was a bit annoyed but just considered it poorly chosen.

This idea that she's being picked on because she's white, though....now I'm offended. Now I'm going to have to put up with every GOP idiot I know saying things like 'So, Ferraro finally tells it like it is' and such BS. The GOP are going to be running a whispering campaign all summer trying to paint Obama as the 'affirmative action' candidate. Thanks a lot, Geraldine Ferraro. That's the last time I offer you as an example of the Democratic party being forward-thinking.

[tishaLA]

17. LOL! Chutzpah! She's "absolutely offended" that she said

something offensive and people took offense? It's really a through the looking glass thing, isn't it?

[Barack_America]

18. Um, I didn't need Obama or Axelrod to tell me that was a ridiculous comment.

So try again, Geraldine.

Lol. The only person defending the comment on Hardball is Buchanan. I guess we now know who Geraldine's true audience is!

[VolcanoJen]

43. Tucker's defending it now, too.

Buchanan (the xenophobe/crypto-racist) and Tucker (the guy who just got fired) think Geraldine's right. And that's really all we need to know, isn't it? :-)

[moobu2]

20. LOL Barack race baiting on the eve of the Mississippi primary

Anyone really surprised?

[flpoljunkie]

24. Who's doing the race baiting here? Get a clue!

[moobu2]

32. You’d have to be insane

to think anyone in the Hillary camp would use race as an issue on the eve of the Mississippi primary. Pretty slick move by Barack though.

[NJObamaWoman]

36. Please its more about getting the white vote there to go against

the supposedly strong black vote for Obama in Mississippi. Please this would help her in Penn. too. I mean afterall didn't the damn Gov. there say that Whites wont vote for a black person.

[Kber]

50. They know they lost Mississippi

if they can throw Obama under (or into the back of) the bus, now would be their last best chance.

[blogslut]

61. Oh?

Ms. Ferraro is the one who played the race card here. She pulled that one out of the clear blue, all by her lonesome. If those Clinton people are so wary of this 'race card' business, why do they keep bringing it up?

[Lucky 13]

69. Please, PLEASE tell me this is SARCASM

"You’d have to be insane to think anyone in the Hillary camp would use race as an issue on the eve of the Mississippi primary. Pretty slick move by Barack though."


You're kidding right? Please say you're kidding. I didn't see any sarcasm animation. :scared:

Geraldine is elitist and racist and advises Hillary. SHE shows her ass to the world and inflames the media the day of a primary and that's BARACK's fault?! Explain that one to me? Honestly, I'd like an answer. Did Barack pay her to say those things? Is she secretly an Obama operative? Did he slip something in her drink? :wtf:

I really hope that you are kidding about that because otherwise you have officially lost touch with reality. Seek help immediately. They are doing wonders in mental health these days...

[knowledgeispwr]

68. Did Obama open Ferraro's mouth and force her to say what she said?

I'm amazed he has that much power.

:sarcasm:

[grantcart]

23. In this version she is calling Rep. John Lewis, in effect a coward;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqL_sm0J8jc

[flpoljunkie]

26. Ferraro is very angry. She is not helping her candidate.

[Cali_Democrat]

27. WOW

This is like when the Obama camp was mad at the Clinton campaign for circulating that picture. Then Maggie Williams said Obama and his campaign should be ashamed of themsleves for getting angry. Hillary's campaign is just so strange. I've never seen anything like it.

[powergirl]

30. "I"m sorry that people THOUGHT . . ."

is not an apology for her remarks. She needs to express a regret for those words coming out of her mouth. You can't apologize for what someone else thinks.

This is a Bush response - blaming those who are outraged by HER statements. For an analogy. When I complain of or disapprove of the War in Iraq, the Bush folks accuse me of hating the troops. Clinton and her posse are using the same tactic - demonizing those who dare to criticize their hateful words and deeds.

[1776Forever]

41. Let me say for me when I first heard it I was outraged! Just read Obama's reply to it.

Wow! I never thought in all my days I would hear a VP candidate of the Democratic Party say things like this! It is so darn disgusting I want to spit! How dare they say things like this? First it was Bill and then Wes Clark and now Ferraro’s comments. Just leave the Party and start your own! You do not belong in the Democratic Party!

:argh:

[Thrill]

48. As usual, its always the Clinton Campaign injecting race and sex

into this. Sad

[AtomicKitten]

56. A reporter, Lizza, on Tucker Carlson said he was attacked verbally by HRC supporters

who chastised him for not reporting that Hillary is winning .... Say what? I had no idea ClintonCo had become so desperate they can no longer see reality. You see that here too. A now exposed faux Obama supporter here at DU posted that he should resign after Ohio/Texas and yesterday that they were even. Unbelievable. If reframing reality insidiously is all they've got left, it's time to pack it in.

[knixphan]

60. 'Someone's hacking the Matrix!"

Beware. Agents are all around. They'll fight till the end.

Doesn't matter. We got the numbers.

[AtomicKitten]

64. He is The One. ;)

[Elidor]

59. He is exactly right

I'm glad he calls it out and doesn't tolerate it. There truly is no place for this shit.

[TheDonkey]

63. FUCK OFF GERALDINE FERRARO!

No wonder she goes crawling to Faux News to give this sob story. What a POS. Disgusting.

[rodeodance]

67. and she went on TV today--fighting back again bullies. Good for her.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

70. "I’m sorry that people thought it was racist"

The classic non-apology.

[saltpoint]

71. Geraldine Ferraro will have to blame herself.

She said the words. She granted the interview.

She ordered it, she eats it.

[Swamp Rat]

75. What was it that Hillary requested of Obama regarding Farrakhan during a debate recently?

[saltpoint]

77. No kidding.

She was real quick to pounce on that one.

I don't think it's carrying much weight at this point in the game, and her chum Geraldine kinda pissed in the punch bowl with this latest race-baiting barb.

[Swamp Rat]

79. And it's all down Hill from here.

pun intended... but I'm not laughing. It is really sad.

I think her campaign is now DOA.

[saltpoint]

81. Very good pun. And an astute read on the nom contest, too.

She had more money than God and blew it all very unwisely, and when it was clear that she wasn't going to be "inevitable,' she unleased the surrogates and their racist, divisvie attacks.

It just stinks.

[Cha]

72. Too sad when our elderly politicians

haven't learned a god damn thing in 20 years.

[VolcanoJen]

74. And yet, we're expected to sit back and take cues from losing politicians.

It's amazing to me. Geraldine Ferraro is no Hillary Clinton, but you wouldn't know that from hanging around Democratic Underground and DU:GP.

[JVS]

76. I am amazed by the restraint he shows.

[BenDavid]

80. obama and the campaign's strategists turned the primary

and caucus race to their advantage when they deliberately, falsely, and successfully portrayed Clinton and her campaign as unscrupulous race-baiters.While promoting Obama as a "post-racial" figure, his campaign has purposefully polluted the contest with a new strain of what historically has been the most toxic poison in American politics.RACE.

A review of what actually happened shows that the charges that the Clintons played the "race card" were not simply false; they were deliberately manufactured by the Obama camp and trumpeted by a credulous and/or compliant press corps in order to strip away her once formidable majority among black voters.

The Obama campaign and its supporters, well-prepared to play the "race-baiter card" before the primaries began, launched it with a vengeance when Obama ran into dire straits after his losses in New Hampshire and Nevada--and thereby created a campaign myth that has turned into an incontrovertible truth among political pundits, reporters, and various Obama supporters. This development is the latest sad commentary on the malign power of the press, hyping its own favorites and tearing down those it dislikes.The only way for obama to get the majority of black votes was to play the race card and blame Hillary Clinton.

Who gained power by splitting the party and getting Democrats to fight Democrats? We had this race won, and Obama stepped in "to unite us."

[marions ghost]

84. did anybody see Howard Fineman last night on MSNBC?

he was discussing the Ferraro thing and was really trying hard to restrain his anger...this is not a guy who shows much emotion usually. His public face is the traditional objective journalist. But last night I thought his rotor was about to fall off. He was visibly upset about these divisive remarks.

Ferraro's comments really were appalling. I felt transported to the WORST moments of the past...