In conference call, Obama campaign decries Ferraro outrage-Racism becomes huge part of HRC's efforts

[Tropics_Dude83]

This is what he needs to do. Every day for 2 weeks before the Ohio and TX parimaries, Wolfson had major conference calls each and every day decrying the perceived latest outrage from that hope monger Barack Obama. It cost Obama so dearly.

The Obama campaign has learned it's lesson that it can't let the news cycles be dominated by your opponent calling you Satan. They're striking back and hitting back hard.

Here's the latest. Awesome move Obama campaign. They need to do more of this to set the Clinton machine back on it's heels.

From Time:

Obama Camp Keeps Up Pressure on Ferraro Comment with Conference Call
Campaign holds media conference call with over Ferraro’s recent comments about Obama.
Rep. Schakowsky: “Any and all remarks that diminish Sen. Obama’s candidacy because of his race are completely out of line.”

Strategist David Axelrod calls for Ferraro to be removed from Clinton’s finance committee.
Says her comment reflects “an insidious pattern (in the campaign) that needs to be addressed.”
“When you wink and nod at offensive statements, you’re really sending a signal to your supporters that anything goes.”
Separately, agrees with reporter that Clinton campaign’s Wolfson “has assumed a kind of junk-yard dog role in this campaign.”
Earlier: Foreign policy adviser Susan Rice says on MSNBC that the Clinton supporter’s remarks are “outrageous and offensive.” Click here to watch video.
Response from Clinton spokesman Wolfson: “We disagree with” Ferraro.

"Disagreeing with" is not nearly enough Mr. Wolfson. Separately, for the past 4 months now, Bill and Hillary Clinton and their surrogates have been playing the race card from "Barack Hussein Obama" by Bob Kerrey to the "hood" to "Jessie Jackson won S.C." The question needs to be raised. Are Bill and Hillary racist or at the very least running a racist campaign?

[Tropics_Dude83]

1. Hope the media picks up on this and runs with it n/t

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

2. My only question is what took so long?

[Tropics_Dude83]

3. Whenever I feel guilty

for using certain adjectives to describe HRC, something like this always comes along to make me think the adjectives are correct.

[musiclawyer]

5. Exactly, I formulated a response in 15 minutes

They should have issued a condemnation yesterday, even with Spitzer, and then followed up with a full blown presser today.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

13. Obama's got good instincts, but he is a tad slow to respond. But . . .

better late than never, as I always say.

[Exilednight]

4. Hillary dug her own hole with this one.

[BeyondGeography]

6. Thank goodness, they're awake

I was starting to wonder in the run-up to March 4.

[Pirate Smile]

7. Some takes on this from last night::

Geraldine, He Gets Death Threats Because He's Black.

by Newsie8200
Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 05:02:15 PM PDT

DHinMI did a solid job discussing the racist underpinnings of Geraldine Ferraro's comments.

Ferraro's comments again:

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.

That's right Geraldine.

If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. He would not have gotten Secret Service protection as early as last May.

Newsie8200's diary :: ::

If Obama was a white man, CBS.com wouldn't have temporarily turned off comments on Obama stories because of the volume and persistence of racist comments.

If Obama was a white man, his Secret Service wouldn't rival that of President Bush's.

If Obama was a white man, I doubt that the Somali photo would've resulted in the Secret Service investigating a right-wing radio show host threatening the Senator's life.

This is just the publicly available stuff. I know people who have come off the presidential campaigns (particularly those who were on the staffs of all those who have dropped out), and staff members of rival Democratic presidential campaigns did notice when Obama's Secret Service protection was increased... And if you asked an Obama staffer about it, you might get the answer that there was a, um, rough patch.

....

Update <2008-3-10 21:44:53 by Newsie8200>: MissLaura on her experience when the campaigns were in NH:

I noticed at least one time his security increased. Attending his events in NH as press became more formal - you didn't just walk in anymore, there was a big check-in process and they started checking ID and stuff. Way more than either Hillary or Bill Clinton had.

Way more than either Hillary or Bill Clinton had. Says it all, doesn't it?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/10/193818/500/87/473837

Plus this small tidbit from Marc Ambinder:

Re: Geraldine Ferraro:

Because running as a black guy named Barack Hussein Obama is soooo easy.

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/03/ferraro.php#comments

[papau]

8. LOL - "Jessie Jackson won S.C."=RACE CARD ? - are the Obama fans that desparate to smear Hillary?

[ellacott]

11. It goes over your head, even many tv pundits finally admitted this race baiting

after that comment.

[wndycty]

9. Here is the call

http://i.timeinc.net/time/2008/thepage/Obama0311Edited.mp3

[OzarkDem]

10. Obama is wrong, as usual

The fact that he's trying to smear Clinton and Ferraro with bogus racism attacks show just how desperate he's becoming. Pretty pathetic that this is all he has to run on.

[babylonsister]

12. Top Obama Adviser: Hillary Must Remove Ferraro From Campaign

Top Obama Adviser: Hillary Must Remove Ferraro From Campaign
By Greg Sargent - March 11, 2008, 1:57PM

A few days after the Hillary campaign successfully claimed Samantha Power's scalp, the Obama campaign is out to force the Hillary camp to dump one of its own: Geraldine Ferraro.

On a conference call with reporters just now, top Obama adviser David Axelrod called on the Hillary camp to remove Ferraro from her position as major fundraiser for the campaign. Ferraro got in trouble when the news broke yesterday that she had suggested that Obama's race was responsible for his campaign's success...

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," she continued. "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."

Axelrod, on the call, said of Ferraro: "She ought to be removed...there's no other way to send a serious sign that you want to change the tone of the campaign." He added that the remark was part of an "insidious pattern."

It's unclear exactly what Ferraro's role is. She's merely identified on the campaign's Web site as a "Hillraiser," which is to say a major fundraiser with an unofficial role. But she described herself as a member of the campaign's finance committee.

One interesting thing from the call: Obama's female surrogate on the call, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, was generally critical of such negative attacks, saying that "all remarks that diminish Senator Obama’s candidacy because of his race are completely out of line," but she stopped well short of demanding that Ferraro be removed.

We'll bring you the Hillary camp's response as soon as we get it.


http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/top_obama_adviser_hillary_must.php