Advertising

The Seattle Times Company

NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWsource | Free Classifieds | seattletimes.com

The Seattle Times

Politics & Government


Our network sites seattletimes.com | Advanced

Originally published Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 12:00 AM

E-mail article     Print view

Election 2008

Ferraro comments anger Obama campaign

The Democratic presidential contest was jolted Tuesday by accusations surrounding race and gender, set off by remarks by Geraldine Ferraro...

The New York Times

PHILADELPHIA — The Democratic presidential contest was jolted Tuesday by accusations surrounding race and gender, set off by remarks by Geraldine Ferraro, the former congresswoman and vice-presidential candidate, who said Sen. Barack Obama had received preferential treatment because he is black.

Ferraro, who backs Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, told The Daily Breeze, a small 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."

She made the comments last week, but Tuesday, the Obama camp latched onto them, calling them outrageous and demanding Clinton repudiate them.

In an interview with The Morning Call of Allentown, Pa., the Illinois Democrat said the idea that his race has helped him in his presidential bid is "patently absurd."

"I would expect that the same way those comments don't have a place in my campaign, they shouldn't have a place in Sen. Clinton's," he said.

Clinton told The Associated Press she disagrees with Ferraro's comments.

"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," the New York senator said.

Later Tuesday, Ferraro defended her comments and said she was furious with the Obama campaign, accusing it of twisting her words.

"Every time that campaign is upset about something, they call it racist," she said. "I will not be discriminated against because I'm white. If they think they're going to shut up Geraldine Ferraro with that kind of stuff, they don't know me."

Despite calls that Ferraro step down from the Clinton campaign, where she is a member of the finance committee, there was no indication Tuesday that she would.

The Ferraro comments overshadowed an increasingly bitter dispute between the campaigns about the candidates' qualifications to serve as commander in chief.

On Tuesday, Greg Craig, a former official in the administration of President Clinton, and now a vocal supporter of Obama, issued a blistering rebuttal to Clinton's assertions that she had been deeply involved in her husband's foreign-policy successes.

advertising

"She never managed a foreign-policy crisis, and there is no evidence to suggest that she participated in the decision-making that occurred in connection with any such crisis," Craig said. Referring to her "red-phone" commercial, he said: "As far as the record shows, Sen. Clinton never answered the phone either to make a decision on any pressing national-security issue — not at 3 a.m. or at any other time of day."

The Clinton campaign said Craig's memorandum was baseless and the Obama campaign had been unable to make a positive case for Obama's experience.

Information from the Chicago Tribune is included in this report.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

Senate Democrats split on health bill's fate

Gaps for consumers in Democrat health care bills

SC gov faces 37 charges he broke state ethics laws

Obama: US economy has 'core strengths'

Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle

Advertising

Video

PNW Magazine | Easy As Pie
A little friendly competition between professional pie-baker Kate McDermott and The Seatttle Times' Kathleen Triesch Saul is handled with great taste.

Real Salt Lake wins MLS Cup
Raw Video | Real Salt Lake fans celebrate
Raw Video | Real Salt Lake receives the MLS Cup trophy
Real Salt Lake fans enter Qwest Field
Raw Video | MLS Cup Opening Ceremony
LA Galaxy's David Beckham
Real Salt Lake's Kyle Beckerman
MLS trophy arrives in Seattle
Chittenden Locks Inspection

Marketplace

Open Houses

Find this weekend's open house listings.
Or search by location:

nwautos

Less is more: Group rides, good gas mileage have led to a scooter swarm in Seattlenew
Local riders say they've seen a surge in scooter interest in recent years, mostly from people wanting another commuting option. Seattle now ranks as o...
Post a comment

 
Most read
Most commented
Most e-mailed
 
 
Advertising