Thursday, March 13, 2008
Suicide-bomber surrogates
Geraldine Ferraro has resigned from the Clinton campaign, she having refused to acknowledge that she was in error in having said what many people no doubt think, which is that much of Barack Obama's popularity with Democratic primary voters derives from his paternity, rather than his maternity. More or less.
It seems that Geraldine Ferraro has blown herself up in the middle of the Democratic nomination campaign, and in this act of terrorism done more to change the press narrative in ways that hurt the Obama campaign than she ever could have in the mere raising of money. Indeed, she would have done much more damage if Client #9 had not set off a truck bomb in the middle of Manhattan.
Of course, Ferraro did not start the cycle of suicidal truth-telling. Her attack on innocent voters followed Samantha Power's all-too-banal declaration that Hillary Clinton is a "monster." Having committed the unforgiveable sin of reminding the press that a lot of voters think that, she resigned from the Obama campaign just five days ago. She had much less courage than Ferraro, though, insofar as Power retracted like a banshee, saying that HRC is "incredibly warm and funny."
Ferraro, in sticking to her guns, is just one of several feminists from her generation who have entrenched around the Clinton campaign. Gloria Steinem also weighed in on the race/gender debate a few weeks back. In saying what they mean and meaning what they say, Ferraro and Steinem remind me a little bit of a very candid great aunt of mine, born in 1898. In my youth -- her seventies and beyond -- she was well-known to say and do slightly scandalous things (such as slipping me scotch whiskey at age 15, which was cool in 1977 unless you were a parent). If criticized by the younger generation, she would pull herself up and declare "I'm an old woman and I'll do any damned thing I want."
4 Comments:
By 
Andrew Hofer, at
Thu Mar 13, 08:35:00 AM:
I'll repeat my comment at Megan's:
It might have been Kinsley who said it first, but here's Time:
"a gaffe, it has been said, is when a politician tells the truth--or more precisely, when he or she accidentally reveals something truthful about what is going on in his or her head."
I think a lot of voters and party grandees would have expected Obama work on his resume/pay his dues longer if he weren't a minority candidate. In fact, I think that is obviously true yet politely unmentionable. But it doesn't subtract from his intelligence or rhetorical abilities, or the fact that he has been methodically kicking butt against someone who also benefited from non-merit identity advantages - her gender and her husband's success and name recognition. That, I'm told, is the source of her 'experience'.
By that reasoning, "Kristen" has just earned a few experience points towards the governorship.
There is no shortage of politicians and successful people who got a big headstart because of who they are. Some turned out to be exceptional leaders, others didn't.
By 
, at
Thu Mar 13, 11:30:00 AM:
I run a blog that is aimed at the urban crowd and as a black man I'd like to go on record saying I don't think Geraldine Ferraro is racist at all. At least not in the way we generally think of a racist. She see Barack being black as an advantage and not a disadvantage. In a way she is right. His race does get him noticed but in all honesty it is not going to help him get elected at all. One of the other writers over at Highbrid Nation says Geraldine Ferraro is evil not racist, lol. He might not be too far off.
By , at
Thu Mar 13, 11:40:00 AM:
Why is it that when the anti-American leftists argue that Clarence Thomas sits on the Supreme Court ONLY because of his race and affirmative action, the neocommunists all bob their heads?
When Ferraro points out the obvious about Hussein Obama, these former headbobbers pretend to be outraged?
By , at
Sun Mar 16, 04:32:00 PM:
I WANT TO FIX HILLARY CLINTON FOR STAYING WITH BILL WHEN SHE SHOULD HAVE DIVORCED HIM OVER:
1. HIS ANTIMASTURBATION
2. HIS CHEATING ADULTERY
ALSO IM AGAINST HER NOT LISTENING TO ME ABOUT VOTING AGAINST THE ANTI POKER BILL (PHONE CALLS, LETTERS) AND RECEIVING FUNDING FROM HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES WHEN THEY ARE ALREADY OVERCHARGING AND AGE DISCRIMINATING. I ALSO BELIEVE LIKE JOE LIEBERMAN THAT BILL CLINTON SHOULD HAVE BEEN IMPEACHED AFTER ILLEGALLY CHEATING ON HIS WIFE.
