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THE BLIND SPOT.
Speaking to the California Daily Breeze, Geraldine Ferraro, the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1984 and a feminist trailblazer, said Barack Obama's success is dependent on what she seems to understand as the novelty of his racial identity:
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.
Sigh. Just another example of a Clinton supporter failing to accept that electing the nation's first African American president would be a historical and healing event, just as electing its first female president would be. I first noticed this trend in June 2007, when I attended a Clinton fundraiser targeting young women. At the D.C. event, Ellen Malcolm of EMILY'S List said, "Did you watch the debate? There is a stage full of all these white men in their power suits and ties, and standing in the middle is the power of Hillary Clinton!" Malcolm seemed not to have looked closely enough at her TV screen to see Obama -- either that or she was intent on denying the history-making power of his own run.
Do these types of comments reflect a conscious message of the Clinton campaign, or simply a blind spot from which many of the people affiliated with her suffer? It's difficult to tell, but Clinton herself has, on several occasions, spoken of her pride in being part of a Democratic field that looked different than any presidential campaign ever had before, as has Obama. She's been reluctant, of course, to speak directly about what it would mean for the United States to elect its first black president, just as Obama is mum on women's leadership as such.
Update: On Ferraro's comments, Howard Wolfson tells Ben Smith, "We disagree with her."--Dana Goldstein
COMMENTS (10)
Stop talking right now, Geraldine.
Posted by: Maj. Archie Gates | March 11, 2008 9:46 AM
She parachutes into NYC and gets a Senate seat roughly five days later. She's considered the "experienced" candidate on the basis of four extra years in the Senate. She's a party leader who got THE big question of the last seven years wrong, has negatives that have been polled past 50%, and nonetheless has managed to be the frontrunner/inevitable candidate for most of the period to date, a trick even LBJ couldn't pull off.
Is any of this possible if she doesn't marry Bill Clinton?
No one doubts that she's taken gendered shots based on something else, and sometimes shots based solely on her gender. But, dear gawd, could the media please ask her surrogates who say things like this whether they think that HRC was normally situated at the initial stages of her own political career? Good lord.
Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | March 11, 2008 10:05 AM
Shorter Wolfson: "We disagree, but we're not going to reject or denounce the comments. I mean, it's not like she called him a 'monster' or anything horrible like that."
Posted by: Fred App | March 11, 2008 10:12 AM
The conduct of the Hillary Clinton campaign is like a living, breathing demonstration of all those writings from Third Wave feminists about how Second Wave feminism has a blind spot about racial issues.
Posted by: jonp | March 11, 2008 10:27 AM
Ferraro's comments weren't helpful or constructive.
But what I would like to know ... did any of you object when Jesse Jackson Jr. -- Obama co-chair -- implied that Clinton's supposed tears in NH (which didn't exist ... the woman was wet-eyed but not crying) were about her appearance ... and oh, yeah ... she didn't cry for Katrina victims? Why are you people silent when your team marginalizes Clinton with sexist digs?
Posted by: Texas Yankee | March 11, 2008 11:02 AM
There were plenty of writings (in real-time) by Second Wave feminists about how Second Wave feminism had a blind spot about ratial issues. This is not new and it's certainly not restricted to feminists, Second Wave or otherwise.
Posted by: Anonymous | March 11, 2008 11:06 AM
Oops...that's "racial issues"; sorry 'bout that.
Posted by: Anonymous | March 11, 2008 11:11 AM
At the D.C. event, Ellen Malcolm of EMILY'S List said, "Did you watch the debate? There is a stage full of all these white men in their power suits and ties, and standing in the middle is the power of Hillary Clinton!" Malcolm seemed not to have looked closely enough at her TV screen to see Obama -- either that or she was intent on denying the history-making power of his own run.
Thank you, Dana. Two of my favorite moments in this campaign season were:
1. Seeing the debate between Richardson, Edwards, Clinton, and Obama in NH.
2. The comment by Obama in one of the debates (SC?) about the first women candidate, the first African American candidate, and John.
My only hope is that this isn't only a change for this year in the D party.
Posted by: rob | March 11, 2008 11:29 AM
>Sigh. Just another example of a Clinton supporter failing to accept that electing the nation's first African American president would be a historical and healing event,
It will certainly be historical but I suspect it will only really be healing if Obama is a successful President and wins a second term. (I don't think a Clinton win will be "healing" regardless of whether she is successful.)
That's assuming either of them beats McCain.
Posted by: tdraicer | March 11, 2008 12:47 PM
Did Geraldine Ferraro, of all people, really say that? Pot, meet kettle; kettle, pot.
Posted by: Pat | March 11, 2008 12:50 PM