Ferraro Defends Comments That Obama ‘Would Not Be in This Position’ if He Were White
Former vice presidential candidate and Hillary Clinton supporter Geraldine Ferraro fought back against charges of racism Wednesday, defending comments she made earlier this week that Barack Obama “would not be in this position” if he were white.
Speaking with FOX News on Wednesday, Ferraro said her comments are being misconstrued, and that she was only saying that race in Obama’s case, and gender in her own case, can be a reason why a candidate gets chosen over another candidate.
She said that in her comments to a California newspaper earlier this week, “I referred again back to the historic campaign of mine, and I said in Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Four, if my name had been Gerard Ferraro instead of Geraldine Ferraro, I would never have gotten the nomination. It doesn’t mean that I wasn’t capable of doing the job. I certainly was. I believe that if we had gotten elected, I not only would have been a good vice preisdent, but I would have probably run for president in 1992.”
She also accused the Obama campaign of continually playing the race card to its advantage.
“Every time this comes up, every time there is something to — some opportunity to play the race card — and this is being done by David Axelrod, who knows better, he’s his (Obama’s) campaign manager — every time they have an opportunity to do it, they do it. They did it against Bill Clinton, and it worked. They shut him up. They did it against (Pennsylvania Gov.) Ed Rendell, it didn’t work. And now they’re doing it against me.”
“I’m sorry. I said nothing negative. I care about the black vote in this country. I am absolutely thrilled by the historic campaign, and I really don’t think this is right that they should attack me,” Ferraro said.
Earlier, Barack Obama continued his attack on Ferraro, assailed her comments as “slice and dice” politics.
The back-and-forth between the two Democrat trailblazers — Obama, seeking to be the nation’s first black president, and Ferraro, who was the first woman on a major party presidential ticket — continued for a second day as they made appearances on network and cable morning news programs.
“Part of what I think Geraldine Ferraro is doing, and I respect the fact that she was a trailblazer, is to participate in the kind of slice and dice politics that’s about race and about gender and about this and that, and that’s what Americans are tired of because they recognize that when we divide ourselves in that way we can’t solve problems,” Obama said on NBC’s “Today” show.
The controversy began Tuesday when the national media picked up on comments Ferraro made in an interview last week with the Daily Breeze newspaper in Torrance, Calif.: “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.”
Clinton rejected Ferraro’s remarks.
“I do not agree with that,” Clinton said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press, and later added, “It’s regrettable that any of our supporters — on both sides, because we both have this experience — say things that kind of veer off into the personal.”
“We ought to keep this on the issues. There are differences between us” on approaches to health care, energy, experience, Clinton said.
LOOK this !!!!
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Look at the transcripts of Obama’s interview last Friday with Fox News, MSNBC & . He said that he never heard any hateful comments from his 20 yrs. of his Church coming from Rev. Wright and on todays speach he says that he did hear hateful comments.
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!!!!!!!! LOOK this -
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the transcripts of Obama’s interview last Friday with CNN, Fox News, NBC. Obama said that he never heard any hateful comments from his 20 yrs. of his Church coming from his pastor and on todays speach he says that he did hear that hateful comments.
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Obama, what a big Liar !
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Ms. Ferraro was right. If Obama had been white, can he get 90% black vote ????
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Obama, you need tell the truth !
Comment by eric
March 12th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
“So get your facts straight before you go telling the blacks to get over enslavement, which by the way went on for over 500 years in this country…”
Dearest Eric,
The first African slaves arrived in 1607, and slavery was abolished in 1865. That makes 258 years, not 500. Even if it were still continuing today, it would only be 401 years.
If I read it correctly (About.com:Geneology-Ancestry of Barack Obama), his great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were born in Africa. So where does Obamas slave history that he speaks of come from? Obama is a first generation American on his fathers side, and his white mothers side may very well have been slave owners generations ago. So he may have a slavery history, but from the wrong side. Is he wrongly trying to identify himself with the black population to get their vote? If so, shame on him! And shame on those who refuse to look behind the man and see his deception!! If I am wrong in assumptions that I derived from information I have read, I apologize. If I am correct, WAKE UP, AMERICA!!
Yes, I DO feel that it is time for America to have a black president, but not this man. I would have voted for Colin Powell in a heartbeat if he had decided to run. Maybe next time, Mr. Powell? Please?
Barb from Tennessee expressed my sentiments exactly. If Obama would give us something more than “It’s time for a change” and let us know exactly what the changes would be and how he would bring them about, I might have considered him for the presidency. As it is, I find his speeches to be full of slick rhetoric, his view towards immigration and foreign policy leaves too many frightening questions, and when I listen to him speak, I feel as though he is walking on jello, meaning he has nothing substantial to stand on.
Ms. Ferraro was right. If Obama had been white, people would have boo’ed him off the stage for his wishy-washy speeches. I’m sorry she resigned, and Hillary should have let her defend and clarify her comments, rather than denouncing Ms. Ferraro.
WITH ALL THE DEMOCRATIC HOOPLA ABOUT THE RACE CARD BEING PLAYED BY
OBAMA AND THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN, THINKS THIS RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE
IS IN THE BAG? THEY WILL BE SADLY MISTAKEN.
THERE ARE REAL ISSUES BEING DECIDED THAT WILL MAKE THEM
THE FOIL FOR THE SPOILERS.
THEIR ANTICS AND TACTICS WILL BACKFIRE ON THEM COME NOVEMBER.
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE NOT STUPID, NOR IGNORANT OF THE CHARGES
BEING LEVELED AT THE DEMOCRATS, AND, THE REPUBLICANS, ADMINISTRATION.
THEIR OWN TACTICS AND OBSTRUCTIONISM IN THE SENATE AND THE CONGRESS,
HAVE MADE THEM AND BACKED THEM INTO A CORNER.
NOW THE REPUBLICANS, ALSO HAVE THEIR FAIR SHARE OF BLAME,
BUT THIS IS NOT ABOUT THAT.
IT IS ABOUT WHATS BEST FOR THE COUNTRY AND THE NATION AS A WHOLE, NOT AS SEPERATISTS AND DEVISIVENESS OF; THE, PARTY LINE. NOT, WITHSTANDING THE BACKLASH OF THEIR NEGATIVITY AND CONDENSATION TO THE FAR LEFT WING AND ADAMENT POLITICAL RETORIC.
THAT WILL AFFECT NOTHING BUT, MOORE AND MOVE-ON, THEM TO DEFEAT
AND MORE GRIDLOCK IN THE CONGRESS AND THE SENATE!
WITH VETO AFTER VETO FROM THE WHITE HOUSE FOR THEIR OBNOXIOUS AND ARRAGANT CONDUCT; OF THE COUNTRIES BUSINESS AND OUR, INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY, INTERESTS AROUNT THE WORLD.
DON’T EVER FORGET, AND NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS ADMINISTRATION WHEN THE
PARTY POLITIC OF THE (DEMOCRATS) ARE THE INSTIGATOR OF THE CURRENT CRISIS
IN THE ECONOMIC SECTORS. AS WELL AS,
“THE DEFENSE! OF THIS NATION, AND THE BORDERS.”
AND THE ILLEGAL IMIGRATION, ISSUES ALL ARE THE DECIDING FACTORS!
THEY MUST ADDRESS THESE ISSUES BEFOR THEY GET TO THE NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION.
AND MR. McCAIN; IS OUT DOING THE JOB OF THE COUNTRY WITH HIS UPCOMMING
OVERSEAS VISITS THAT, WILL HAVE THE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW TO
STRENGTHEN OUR DEFENSE AND INTERNATIONAL ALLIES SUPPORT FOR THE WAR ON TERROR.
IN OTHER WORDS, BEING THE RIGHT CANDIDATE TO DATE; FOR AS HE IS CONSENTRATING ON; THE WORLD VIEW, AND THE BIG PICTURE, THE DEMOCRATS HAVE IGNORED AND ARE BLIND TO, WITH THEIR HATE OF BUSH AND BASHING THIS COUNTRY WITH THEIR, SOCIALIST DOGMA AND AGENDA.
THEIR CONVENTION AND THE SUPER DELEGATS, WILL NOT GET EITHER ONE OF THEM ELECTED, IN NOVEMBER. FOR THE REPUBLICANS AND THE PEOPLE WILL TAKE ALL THIS INTO CONSIDERATION; FOR THEIR SELECTION IN THE NOVEMBER ELECTION.
END TRANS: MARV!
America did not expect Pearl Harbor [no one did] or 911 because Terror comes without warning. Honor in those days …. even that did not help.
Current day terrorism cannot be explained; forget about reasons. Terror strikes for the sake of terror, destroys for the sake of destruction, so much better if the victim is nice and soft, but it is best if the victim can be made to point the finger elsewhere [President Bush, Rep. King in Wyoming, Geraldine Ferraro, anywhere away from the truth].
Hysteria is building up in this election, and it is encouraged to develop in the hearts and minds of people, in their subconscious. It almost literally jumps out at you from these Comments by ordinary people. Terrorism is ready and watching; when everything else is ready …. terror strikes. Convention Denver …. then next …. next …. ?
Riding high above all this, hands clean but planting the seeds, fanning the fears with nice words, stoking the fires with denial, pointing at what is wrong and who is responsible for the wrongs, no one wants to see it, very few even think about it, because it is not supposed to be like that, because he is the Healer, indeed he is the Savior [is he not?], across the screens of the Nation, the self-appointed Messiah of Change ….
America the Beautiful. Why you, why you indeed? Can’t you see it?
Why wasn’t my comment entered on your website ? It wasn’t unlawful, threatening, libelous or obscene. Is freedom of the press only restricted to those who edit only what they want to see ?