Joan Ganz Cooney | 04/03/2008 11:28 am

Why Does Geraldine Ferraro Keep Hammering Away at Barack Obama's Skin Color?

Is anyone other than me wondering what prompts Geraldine Ferraro to keep hammering away at Barack Obama’s skin color?

The general reaction was negative enough when she first stated that Obama’s race was the only thing that made him a competitive candidate for the presidency. But she just keeps it up as if we didn’t hear it the first time. I would happily vote for Hillary if she becomes the Democratic candidate, but one could answer Geraldine that Hillary wouldn’t be a candidate for president if she hadn’t been a president’s wife.

The fact that Barack’s father was a Kenyan and his mother a white woman from Kansas is part of his biography, and important part of who he is. What are we supposed to answer to her charge? Should it be "Thanks, Geraldine. I’ll vote for McCain if Obama wins the nomination?” I cannot understand why she persists in this line of criticism; but, perhaps someone who reads this will have a comment that will enlighten me.

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And of course there’s the other great phemanist philosopher, Robin Tyler: “I think the Democrats and Republicans should change their national emblem…. to a prophylactic: it stands for inflation, halts production, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives a false sense of security when one is being screwed.” - Robin Tyler

By Mugsy Peabody on 04/04/2008 2:05 am

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LOL! L-O-V-E it, Mugsy…..

By Karen Hittinger on 04/04/2008 10:47 am

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Okay. I’m gonna keep reading, but I see both of these candidates, Clinton and Obama, being very careful not to “play cards” of any kind with our future. I read a paperback about Geraldine Ferraro just after she and Mondale lost the election. I’ve probably moved that paperback 17 times so that when the day comes, and my kids show up to dispose of my belongings, maybe, one of my daughters will learn about the first woman to run for executive office in the United States of America. Racism is endemic to the white culture, otherwise the movement led by MLK and others in the ‘60’s would not have been necessary. The barbarity of Jim Crow… that we all just turned a blind eye too. Most white folks did. I know I did. I’m a recovering racist, and I admit it. And the day I saw my felonious perception of myself for what it was, I was so ashamed. If Ferraro is still talking about skin color, more’s the pity. She’s probably confused by the whole debate. But I can’t just dismiss her like an old bag of bones. She was a pioneer in the arena of gender-equity politics. And should be remembered. Maybe Obama knew that when he placed her name in the same breath with his minister’s. I’m much more curious about what Geraldine Ferraro has been doing with herself the past thirty years, than why she’s still harping on skin color.

By Ms. Dee on 04/12/2008 2:42 pm

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I was not aware that Ferraro was”keeping it up .” I recall the one time ,after which she resigned fron Senator Clinton’s campaign. Unless Ferraro is sitting by her phone with her media numbers, my best quess is that it is her individual opinion that Senator Obama’s campaign floats more on the color of his skin than the character of his person. The media would, I believe, be the aggressors here: they call, they ask, they print. She’s a private citizen, definitely not the shrinking violet type; she’s going to be honest But personally, I think, people need to pay close attention to Senator Obama’s mellifulous voice and clever turn of phrase. As Marshall McLulan said, “The medium is the massage.” Obama ‘s presentation can lull young people into a false sense of security. Ana Deaver Smith has a wonderful article in the recent “Nation”. She describes purchasing a tape of FDR’s fireside chats and dancing to them because they had a certain cadence, lending them to her waltzing around her room. But Smith also speaks of the dangers of too much packaging of public figures. Obama is more than the color of his skin, but he’s too much of an empty command of voice and voabulary. I grew up watching Jon Kennedy, I mourned John Kennedy. Obama is no Jon Kennedy. ‘

By beth willis on 04/03/2008 12:55 pm

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Beth: Amen. McLuhan said “Message.” I love your typo, as it uncovers precisely what is being offered to voters, young and old (and us somewhere in the middle). Massage’s goal is to relax, release and adjust. Therapist’s use all the modalities available to them to “pamper” a client. Words, adjectives, jocular stories can serve the same end. Ana Deaver Smith is a woman I admire. We’re not voting for Prom King.

By iris odonata on 04/03/2008 7:18 pm

All due respect, McLulan used “massage”, interpreted to mean we are more oftened by the presentation than the substance. I’ll look for my copy…60’s journalism and English majoe

By beth willis on 04/03/2008 10:24 pm

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Now, now, the author’s questions were about Ferraro’s logic, not about the relative strengths of the candidates. Let’s keep our eyes on the ball in this post - for if we don’t, what good is it? Why would Ferraro highlight Obama’s (specious, according to Ferraro) qualifications? It’s to weaken his claim to the candidacy, and that’s typical politics - maybe a bit crude wording, but let’s put that aside and get to the question at hand: How is it different (to parahprase the author) from someone highlighting the possibility that Mrs. Clinton has herself been aided by non-merit-based factors (e.g., being married to a successful politician and inheriting a well-oiled poltical machine)? In other words, is Ferraro’s strategy a good one, regardless of its tone?

By D S on 04/03/2008 1:22 pm

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I am personally fed up with race issues and hate that it is ruling this presidential race. Our economy is in shambles, more and more kids are dropping out of school and the candidates can’t seem to catch on to that. All Obama has been saying is that he can “unite us” and “bring change”, well I want to know exactly what he means by that. I live in an area of Mississippi where race rules everything: where you’re kids go to school, where you live, what restaurants you eat in to who you vote for. In an election here last December, a black city councilman was encouraging black voters to vote for the black candidate, our sheriff was also “politicking” at the polls using the same line. When Obama visited our town last month, you would have thought Jesus had arrived. I almost felt sorry for Obama as I watched the parade of one unqualified elected official after another speak on his behalf. I don’t want to see anyone elected to a position of power just because of their skin color; I want the most qualified candidate and so should the rest of America.

By Lisa Mullins on 04/03/2008 1:30 pm

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Lisa, I love the thought of Jesus coming to town but I’m not so sure about voting for him for political office. He already refused the offer anyway. Whatever happened to separation of church and state? People used to go to church for hope, now they go for Jihad and to learn to feel hopeless about their country. People used to go to church to look up with worshipful eyes at their Savior, now they go to a political rally to faint over Obama. I suppose Moses was a Harvard elitist lawyer politician and George Washington was the Pope.

By A B on 04/03/2008 1:49 pm

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I’m with you. Give us a candidate that cares about our county instead of what they can leave for the history books.

By b walker on 04/03/2008 2:50 pm

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HIllary wrote a letter to American Axle’s CEO to stop the strike that is hurting the economy- American Axle’s CEO is asking to cut workers wages in half while the CEO has already cut thousands of jobs with 2 buy outs and has built several overseas plants - while making millions in profit. Hillary is action and out there with concrete actions. McCain & Obama are not. Obama isn’t even attending MLK event in Memphis and that is not any policy action to fix this country. Why? Cowardice? Hillary stands up for the American worker - THANK YOU HILLARY - without jobs this country will never get back on its feet. Please donate whatever you can to keep this energizer bunny working for America’s well being. She is tough and tackles head on the most daunting issues the others shy away from or only give lip service to. I also cannot believe how many elders are being led by the nose by their children’s & grandchildren’s opinions as to who to support (i.e. Carter, Caroline Kennedy etc) - but then elders have been super indulgent to this younger generation - me included to a point. Go HILLARY! DONATE FOR HILLARY to show your support and backing as well as to give her the fuel she needs to get her message across. GO HILLARY & THANK YOU for the LETTER for the working and middle class!!! BTW I would be consisdered wealthy but I am happy to see action to strengthen the backbone of this country - our foundation must be strong.

By Kay Sara on 04/04/2008 11:12 am

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Meant country not county.

By b walker on 04/03/2008 2:51 pm

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Let’s face it, regardless of the color of Obama’s skin or the fact that Hillary is where she is because she married a guy who became president of the United States—they have equal “qualifications” to be president. They have each been elected as a Senator. Hillary is no more prepared for the phone to ring at 3 a.m. (she keeps saying that she is). The phone never rang at 3 a.m. when Clinton was president. Is she qualified because she slept in the White House where the phone that rings at 3 a.m. is located? My phone sometimes rings at 3 a.m., does that make me qualified? It is a sad day for America, we have two socialists who are presenting themselves as democrats and a democrat who is presenting himself as a republican. What has this country come to?

By Giving Heart on 04/03/2008 1:41 pm

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On, horse feathers! Hillary Rodham Clinton was a full partner in getting William Jefferson Clinton elected governor of Arkansas. She was a totally functioning attorney, well respected and well liked. So she gets to the White House and the first damn thing is they want her to bake cookies to show she is a “real” woman. At that point, I think she should have shown them how a “real” woman tells them to go do the biologically impossible to themselves. Her mistake has always been, in my view, not to tell people who say “because she is married to….” to shove it. He was President of the United States because he was smart enough to marry Senator Clinton, not the other way around.

By Mugsy Peabody on 04/03/2008 3:45 pm

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Thank you Ms. Mugsy! The first time I saw Hillary Clinton on TV was the “60 Minutes” episode re: G. Flowers. Wasn’t into politics at that time, yet turned to those family assembled and said, “there’s the first female president of the United States.” We would have known who she was even without him. Two people in the same boat rowing in the same direction. Isn’t that what a successful partnership is based on? I believe there is an Olympic gold medal awarded for that.

By iris odonata on 04/03/2008 7:07 pm