Disappointing
To say the conduct of the Clinton campaign was disappointing would be as gross of an understatement that's been uttered in a long, long time.
Surely, the suit filed by the teacher's union against the Nevada Democratic Party is puzzling enough (particularly since this is something that increases voter participation and was overwhelmingly approved by all interested parties more than a year ago, but is only an issue now as the Culinary Union, who endorsed Obama within the past week, will benefit from the at-large caucus sites), but the weird and counterproductive racial overtones the Clinton campaign have been parroting are almost inexcusable.
Aside from the fact that it's an example of politics at its worst, it's also creating unnecessary division and strife in a community which should be embracing such a strong field of Democratic candidates.
(Rep. James) Clyburn, in an interview in The New York Times, had expressed disappointment in the Clinton campaign over what she had said as well as former President Clinton's remark in New Hampshire about Obama telling a "fairy tale" in his opposition to the Iraq war.
"I regret the way that this matter has been used," Clinton told reporters. "The comments about it are baseless and divisive. I was personally offended at the approach taken that was not only misleading but unnecessarily hurtful."
She suggested reporters consider the sources of the criticism, much of which has come from the black community.
"I think it clearly came from Senator Obama's campaign and I don't think it's the kind of debate we should be having in our campaign," she said.
Well, pardon me, but if that's not the type of debate we should be having, then don't make it. Over the past two weeks, the Clintons have run one of the most condescending campaigns toward the African-American community I've even seen.
- They've managed to downplay the accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr., accusing Obama of stirring up 'false hopes' and then making a comparison of his actions to King and Clinton to Lyndon Johnson.
- Andrew Cuomo, one of Clinton's campaign co-chairs in New Hampshire, used racially loaded language to describe Obama's policy positions.
- Bill Clinton called Obama's a candidacy a 'fairy tale.'
- A Clinton advisor was quoted as saying "If you have a social need, you're with Hillary. If you want Obama to be your imaginary hip black friend and you're young and you have no social needs, then he's cool."
When an Obama spokesperson wisely notes that these aren't isolated incidents, but rather represent a rather depressing pattern, the Clinton campaign has the audacity to say it's Obama playing the race card? It's a disconnect from reality and an eagerness to win no matter what it takes.
It'll be interesting to see what type of effect these slash-and-burn politics will play in the general election because the more supporters of John Edwards and Obama that I speak with, the less certain they'll be willing to actively support a Clinton candidacy. This is worth considering. In Michigan, it's just Clinton's name on the ballot, and she's only polling at 56 percent. She's had overwhelming majorities of Democrats vote against her candidacy in both New Hampshire and Iowa, and the past week has revealed a steady stream of high-profile endorsements for Obama.
Surely, the suit filed by the teacher's union against the Nevada Democratic Party is puzzling enough (particularly since this is something that increases voter participation and was overwhelmingly approved by all interested parties more than a year ago, but is only an issue now as the Culinary Union, who endorsed Obama within the past week, will benefit from the at-large caucus sites), but the weird and counterproductive racial overtones the Clinton campaign have been parroting are almost inexcusable.
Aside from the fact that it's an example of politics at its worst, it's also creating unnecessary division and strife in a community which should be embracing such a strong field of Democratic candidates.
(Rep. James) Clyburn, in an interview in The New York Times, had expressed disappointment in the Clinton campaign over what she had said as well as former President Clinton's remark in New Hampshire about Obama telling a "fairy tale" in his opposition to the Iraq war.
"I regret the way that this matter has been used," Clinton told reporters. "The comments about it are baseless and divisive. I was personally offended at the approach taken that was not only misleading but unnecessarily hurtful."
She suggested reporters consider the sources of the criticism, much of which has come from the black community.
"I think it clearly came from Senator Obama's campaign and I don't think it's the kind of debate we should be having in our campaign," she said.
Well, pardon me, but if that's not the type of debate we should be having, then don't make it. Over the past two weeks, the Clintons have run one of the most condescending campaigns toward the African-American community I've even seen.
- They've managed to downplay the accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr., accusing Obama of stirring up 'false hopes' and then making a comparison of his actions to King and Clinton to Lyndon Johnson.
- Andrew Cuomo, one of Clinton's campaign co-chairs in New Hampshire, used racially loaded language to describe Obama's policy positions.
- Bill Clinton called Obama's a candidacy a 'fairy tale.'
- A Clinton advisor was quoted as saying "If you have a social need, you're with Hillary. If you want Obama to be your imaginary hip black friend and you're young and you have no social needs, then he's cool."
When an Obama spokesperson wisely notes that these aren't isolated incidents, but rather represent a rather depressing pattern, the Clinton campaign has the audacity to say it's Obama playing the race card? It's a disconnect from reality and an eagerness to win no matter what it takes.
It'll be interesting to see what type of effect these slash-and-burn politics will play in the general election because the more supporters of John Edwards and Obama that I speak with, the less certain they'll be willing to actively support a Clinton candidacy. This is worth considering. In Michigan, it's just Clinton's name on the ballot, and she's only polling at 56 percent. She's had overwhelming majorities of Democrats vote against her candidacy in both New Hampshire and Iowa, and the past week has revealed a steady stream of high-profile endorsements for Obama.
posted by Jmac at 11:20 AM
1 Comments:
In what way is calling the campaign a fairy tale something to do with race?
Not denying that there are racial undertones to what's going on, but it's not clear to me why that is considered part of it.
Also, I do think to some extent it is true that there are those who will see Obama as a "hip black friend." This is an aspect of the way a stable and secure white polity works, unfortunately. But that's not to insult what it means to be black, but to acknowledge that imitation of hip is something a privileged group can do. And, for whatever reason, black is hip, even if Obama does not represent the kind of black that is hip.
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