Clinton Apologizes to Black Voters for Racial Comments
WASHINGTON — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton did something Wednesday night that she almost never does. She apologized. And once she started, she didn’t seem able to stop.
The New York senator, who is in a tight race with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, struck several sorry notes at an evening forum sponsored by the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a group of more than 200 black community newspapers across the country.
Her biggest apology came in response to a question about comments by her husband, Bill Clinton, after the South Carolina primary, which Obama won handily. Bill Clinton said Jesse Jackson also won South Carolina when he ran for president in 1984 and 1988, a comment many viewed as belittling Obama’s success.
“I want to put that in context. You know I am sorry if anyone was offended. It was certainly not meant in any way to be offensive,” Hillary Clinton said. “We can be proud of both Jesse Jackson and Senator Obama.”
“Anyone who has followed my husband’s public life or my public life know very well where we have stood and what we have stood for and who we have stood with,” she said, acknowledging that whoever wins the nomination will have to heal the wounds of a bruising, historic contest.
“Once one of us has the nomination there will be a great effort to unify the Democratic party and we will do so, because, remember I have a lot of supporters who have voted for me in very large numbers and I would expect them to support Senator Obama if he were the nominee,” she said.
The Clintons long have enjoyed overwhelming support from black voters, but that has been eclipsed during the primaries and caucuses by enthusiasm and support for Obama, who has pulled huge margins among black voters. Arguments over the role of race and gender have flared up repeatedly throughout the contest between Obama, who would be the nation’s first black president, and Clinton, who would be its first female one.
Earlier in the day, Hillary Clinton supporter and fundraiser Geraldine Ferraro gave up her honorary position with Clinton’s campaign after she said in an interview last week that Obama would not have made it this far if he were white. Obama said Ferraro’s remarks were “ridiculous” and “wrong-headed.”
Of Ferraro’s comment, Hillary Clinton told her audience: “I certainly do repudiate it and I regret deeply that it was said. Obviously she doesn’t speak for the campaign, she doesn’t speak for any of my positions, and she has resigned from being a member of my very large finance committee.”
As first lady and senator, Clinton rarely cedes an inch to her critics. On the issue of her vote to authorize the Iraq war, for instance, she steadfastly has refused to apologize, coming close by saying she regrets it, despite calls from many anti-war voters in the party to make a more explicit mea culpa.
Her third conciliatory statement of the evening was more in keeping with that fighting stance.
Asked about the government’s efforts in the Gulf States after Hurricane Katrina, Hillary Clinton turned an apology into a criticism of President Bush, who happened to be speaking at a Republican event in another room at the same hotel.
“I’ve said it publicly, and I say it privately: I apologize, and I am embarrassed that our government so mistreated our fellow citizens … It was a national disgrace,” she said.
FERRARO WAS RIGHT. When 80-90% of ANY GROUP are voting for a candidate–across age, gender, income, education and geography–they are voting ON RACE. OBAMA is the most UNQUALIFIED CANDIDATE IN HISTORY–with no real legislative (save the phony 5 page list of ‘legislative accomplishments’-he’s passed two bills), executive, or military experience.
The scary part? Check out his crazy church:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZXeNk7H3u4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8YmQUqj15g&NR=1
“Have you ever heard Obama say anything racist?” In Sumter, SC, on January 24th, Obama quoted from Malcolm X (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuB_W8o_UsUgoogle: -” for a short snippet). His campaign co-chair and close friend Jesse Jackson Jr. likened Obama’s win in Iowa over Clinton in a weird ‘OJ murdering Nicole’ thing to a Post reporter that has never been apologized for or explained. Here’s the link-look for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDaO7N-JujU&feature=related
For those people that are talking about Barack lack of experience need I say that Bill Clinton had less experience and was younger at the time when he first ran for President. Why is it so hard for people to give him credit for how well he is running and not suggest that he is only doing as well as he is doing because he is black.
I wonder whether Senator Clinton wouldn’t be having fits if someone in the Obama camp hadn’t suggested that she were in the position she is only because she was a woman. A statement such as that could imply that she would be considered incompetent as a male. She’d be asking him to DENOUNCE the statement, wouldn’t she?
Just another example that Hillary is a self serving piece of garbage–Just like she got Peter Paul for 1.2 Million dollars. Every american should watch “Hillary uncensored”.
Does anybody else feel like we are living in the Matrix? The politicians are telling us what and how we should feel? I like Shakespears comment about lawyers…
It is interesting that the press has given extensive, front page coverage to G. Ferraro’s relatively tame comments, yet the ranting of Obama’s self-proclaimed spirtual mentor, which are clearly anti-Semtic, racist, and hateful are being buried. The videos surfaced, reporters describe them, but the stories are largely getting buried.
Watching hundreds cheer as Pastor Wright says that 9/11 was payback for America “bombing Hiroshima” and saying that “the Clintons did to us blacks what they did to Lewinsky” is truly frightening.
Obama’s mentor runs a cult of hate.
Audacious, yes. Hopeful, No, more hateful.
Geraldine Ferraro is a person capable of independent thinking and the fact that she was a vice-presidential nominee shows that at least some Democrats have faith in her, so why does Hillary need to apologize for something she did not say?
Also, if people like Geraldine Ferraro continue to lose their First Amendment Rights for the sake of being politically correct, then we all will lose our rights to freedom of speech.
Racism exists within all races, I have been called many names by people of my own race and of other races, but I do not let that affect me.
The fact that one of Obama’s aides called Clinton a monster has long been forgotten, so why hasn’t this remark been forgotten. You can prove that Obama is at least part Black (fact), but you cannot prove Clinton is a monster (opinion). Plus, do we really want a president who gets made over a little comment such as this, is he not going to have to deal with people making far worst remarks than this about him if he becomes president?
To: L Coleman
If you have read the Bible then you know that God’s chosen are not “black” but Jews. Are you a member of Barack’s racist America hating Trinity United?
Nonsense. Geraldine is now a “free to do as she pleases attack dog.”
Well have no doubts “Who let the dogs out” and who is holding the leash.
The reality is that we have to elect a socialist as the presidential candidates are all three that. Race and gender don’t matter as much as ability to command respect in the military, business, and the world. Our country as we know it will be gone. The reason others want to come here will be gone. Poverty will be redefined as there is no poverty in the U.S. in relation to other countries. We try to place our values in other countries’ people’s minds. Our poverty is their wealth, but not too many Americans have been elsewhere. The old vets know and can’t understand how the U.S. can be so focused on insurance, gas, and material things when we already have more than enough. I haven’t met a vet yet who likes any of the candidates. Our concern should be to uphold our Constitution so that our children can exist at least at the present level rather than be taxed to death to pay for those who can’t meet U.S. material expectations. We need to defend our country first or nothing else will matter. Socialism isn’t going to help our country. Ask Europe. Let’s elect the least socialistic one running and figure we’ll never totally get our desirable country back. I don’t know which one is least socialistic. I’ll wait until November to figure that out.