OBAMA Playing the Race Card!

[Tellurian]

Obama playing the race card

Times of London columnist Alice Miles minces no words in calling out Barack Obama for playing the race card without merit against Hillary Clinton:

What a shame that a contest that has the world gripped, that is transforming international opinion of the United States, that has shown America in its best and most brilliant light, threatens to descend into a pathetic slanging match over race. What a shame for the centre Left, which had everything to cheer about in the stunning choice between, potentially, the first female and the first black president, that they are allowing the contest to slip into an idiotic series of unproven claims about racial bias.

On Monday Hillary Clinton called for a truce reminding everyone that “Senator Obama and I are on the same side”. Hear hear. But how did it come to this?

The thin catalogue of complaints against the Clinton campaign from the Obama campaign were unfounded, manipulative and self-indulgent. At best they called into question the oversensitivity of Mr Obama, at worst they showed him willing to play a divisive race card that is damaging the entire Democratic Party and tarnishing a great and historic electoral contest for the centre Left. The whole episode has convinced me he isn’t tough enough for the White House.

For since when has referring to somebody’s past admitted drug use - if indeed the Clinton campaign ever intended to do that, which is far from clear - been a racial slur? More racist, I would say, to equate drugs with blacks, and that’s what the Obama campaign is doing, not the Clinton one.

As for Mrs Clinton’s statement that Martin Luther King’s dream of racial equality was realised only when President Johnson managed to get the 1964 Civil Rights Act through Congress? No more than fact, surely; an attack on Mr Obama’s lack of experience, certainly, but hardly a slur upon King. Mr Obama’s campaign is twisting things so that a comment about any black man is a comment about him, just as any attack on him is an attack on all black people. I ask again: who is playing the race card here?

She’s unafraid to say what we’re afraid to say in the U.S. And I think she’s right.

http://www.buzzmachine.com/2008/01/16/obama-playing-the-race-card/

[Tellurian]

1. Shame on Obama for instigating unrest and worry in the black community..

The Clintons have been PRO-Civil Rights for years. Obama has done NOTHING for the black community in Chicago. Ask the families who were without heat in the midst of a cold bitter winter in one of Rezko's low-income housing that Senator Obama helped appropriating him the funding for his construction contracts.

[cali]

41. Is there any right wing nut source you don't kiss up to? n/t

[MethuenProgressive]

46. Obama's attempt to Swiftboat Clinton on Race is only fooling the fools.

:kick:

[Nedsdag]

2. OK!

Rickey Ray Rector.
Lani Guinier.
Marian Wright Edelman.
Jocelyn Elders.
Mike Espy.
Sistah Souljah.

[Middle finga]

3. Obama wasn't the one to complain about Hillary's comments

people in the black community got upset. While the writer is concerned about whats going on over here she should be concern about her own country at least we do have a black man that's a serious contender for presidency that's way more than I can say about the UK.

[Tellurian]

7. Nope, check the OP and #6

The precise reason I posted w/links..

You people like creating revisionist history.. I'm stating the facts, mam, just the facts!

[BeyondGeography]

4. I forget, how has Hillary done with black voters since the MLK remark?

[Tellurian]

16. Tell me why Obama is spinning Hillary's comment into Racial unrest?

[BeyondGeography]

33. Because blacks can't for themselves

Helpless creatures that they are, they don't even know when they're being insulted.

[Lucinda]

5. Thanks!

It's interesting to see how the election is viewed elsewhere.

[Tellurian]

8. Not only that... you see how the origin is subject to spin..

completely away from reality. This will be a bone of contention soon and why I wanted to capture it's beginning. (and especially who started it!)

[Lucinda]

11. Yep. I thought it was crystal clear from the onset....but I'm not a fan of kool-aid

so I see all our candidates pretty clearly, warts and all. :)

It is VERY interesting to get an outside perspective though.

[Tellurian]

6. More on Obama's faux pas!

"But now that Obama has played the race card in the Democratic presidential campaign my respect for him has diminished. By playing the race card I mean inappropriately exploiting race in the hope of personal or political gain. The controversy began when Hillary Clinton said, “Dr. King’s dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when he was able to get through Congress something that President Kennedy was hopeful to do, the president before had not even tried, but it took a president to get it done.”"

http://blogs.britannica.com/blog/main/2008/01/obama-sadly-playing-the-race-card/

[Metric System]

10. Bill Moyers give a history lesson

about LBJ/MLK and plays Hillary Clinton's comment in it's entirety.

http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?enablejs=true&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbillmoyersjournal%2Eblip%2Etv%2Frss&file=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Frss%2Fflash%2F613659&showplayerpath=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Fscripts%2Fflash%2Fshowplayer%2Eswf

[Tellurian]

13. Awesome video and affirming Hillary's position is as "Solid as a Rock!"

recommended for everyone to view at least once!

Thanks for posting..bookmarking thread!

[robbedvoter]

14. This needs to have a thread of his own

Amazing piece!
Just posted it here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2730533

[BootinUp]

20. This is worth a watch.

Moyers was there.

[Tellurian]

26. yes, by all means..highly recommended

[Levgreee]

28. I thought they were ill-advised also

it truly did sound like she was downplaying MLK's role

“Dr. King’s dream BEGAN to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964"

It is not Obama's, and 70% of the listener's fault, that the comment was worded in a way that it was interpreted in an offensive way. MANY people found the comment offensive on their own, before Obama made any mention of it.

This was hardly a playing of the race card. Even so, if Obama did directly say that Clinton, WHY is it the race card? Because Obama is black, and MLK is black? MLK is a hero, and people would consider it an ill-advised remark, if MLK was white, native-american, black, or whatever. I think people grasp onto too much, because a black person made a comment about a black historical figure. If MLK was white, Obama would likely say the same thing(except it wouldn't get to the point where he had to, since so much hoop-lah wouldn't be made about Hillary making a perceived as, insensitive remark, about a white person).

And this, my friends, is subvert racism. It is not only "Obama playing the race-card", it is everyone else involved making fools of themselves also.

[Tellurian]

29. You're wrong. It's ignorance of historical fact..

If Obama knew his history he would have agreed with Senator Clinton. I haven't decided which is worse. Obama's ignorance of black history and the Civil Rights movement or giving him the benefit of the doubt, he does know black history and chose to distort Senator Clinton's statement for political manipulation.

[desi]

9. There's no doubt about it.

Obama is so smooth he puts F. Lee Bailey of OJ "fame" to shame.

K&R

[Tellurian]

18. Obama's awkwardness and ignorance of US History is stunning..

He's really opened Pandora's Box on this one. And if you know the story, the HOPE theme fits like hand and glove.

[madrchsod]

12. murdoch`s news corp writer?

[Tellurian]

15. See post #10..

[BenDavid]

17. Clintons don't deserve to be put in same category as Don Imus.

Actually, it's Obama's campaign that is shamelessly playing the race card. Michelle Obama's comments attest to that. She chastises Hillary's campaigner Bill, making reference to his "fairy tale" comment. Then, she echoes Dr. King's words about people being judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin.

I believe the Obama campaign was intentionally misinterpreting the statements made by the Clintons. They're pushing racial buttons. Rather than accepting the Clintons' explanations for their remarks, the Obamas have encouraged the race-baiting. They certainly haven't done anything to defuse the racial tension.Barack and Michelle Obama and their supporters are exploiting race to score political points.

[gdaerin]

21. Umm, do you read the news?

They already resolved this, did you watch the last debate?

And Michelle has Every right to counter Bill, every right, they are each other's counterparts.

[BenDavid]

22. well thank you and now we agree that wjc can go after obama

[angie_love]

23. ..

You people need to LET THIS SHIT GO.

[oasis]

31. It's the sinister elements of the Obama campaign that will be his undoing. (eom)

[gdaerin]

19. Oh who cares about this stuff?!

This race crap is boring me! And when someone, or Hillary herself, mentions that she would be the first Woman president, what the hell do you think that is?! Or how about Hillary talking about her husbands affairs, hardly politically relevant, don't you think?

[Tellurian]

24. The Race baiting is getting distorted and out of control..by the Obama campaign..

It needs to be addressed, contained and reconciled so it isn't a Primary issue. We need to hear about candidates policies not BS Crap coming from political pundits stirring the pot or Obama's campaign personnel fanning the flames.

Another article:

DEMOCRAT Hillary Rodham Clinton has suggested that Barack Obama's campaign had distorted some of her comments to make racial tension a theme of the presidential contest.

"This is an unfortunate story line the Obama campaign has pushed very successfully," the former first lady said in a spirited Sunday appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I don't think this campaign is about gender, and I sure hope it's not about race."

Obama, who hopes to be America's first black president, called Clinton's allegations "ludicrous."

Both New York Sen. Clinton, who is campaigning to be the first woman president, and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have engaged in damage control this week after black leaders criticized them for comments made shortly before the New Hampshire primary last Tuesday.

Hillary Clinton was quoted as saying U.S. civil rights icon Martin Luther King's dream of racial equality was realized only when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, while Bill Clinton said Illinois Sen. Obama was telling a "fairy tale" about his opposition to the Iraq war."

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23048879-5006003,00.html

[angie_love]

25. STFU!!!!!!!!!

STFU! PEOPLE ARE OVER IT! God you are worse than repugs

[Tellurian]

27. No, you are mistaken, they are NOT! (try to keep up)

and the reason we want this issue resolved once and for all.

[avrdream]

32. STFU from someone with all of 80 posts.

I didn't get that bold for months and not before I at least had a star or two to my name.

[comradebillyboy]

30. he has to if he wants to win in SC

it will cost him the nomination though.

[rucky]

34. Y'all need to stop playing the card card.

Let's all just have an honest fucking discussion for once.

[William769]

35. Well when it's the only card you have...

[MethuenProgressive]

36. "The whole episode has convinced me he isn’t tough enough for the White House." Well, DUH.

The liberal Times of London sees thought Obama's attempt to swiftboat Clinton on Race.
Cheers!

Obama playing the race card

Times of London columnist Alice Miles minces no words in calling out Barack Obama for playing the race card without merit against Hillary Clinton:

What a shame that a contest that has the world gripped, that is transforming international opinion of the United States, that has shown America in its best and most brilliant light, threatens to descend into a pathetic slanging match over race. What a shame for the centre Left, which had everything to cheer about in the stunning choice between, potentially, the first female and the first black president, that they are allowing the contest to slip into an idiotic series of unproven claims about racial bias.

On Monday Hillary Clinton called for a truce reminding everyone that “Senator Obama and I are on the same side”. Hear hear. But how did it come to this?

The thin catalogue of complaints against the Clinton campaign from the Obama campaign were unfounded, manipulative and self-indulgent. At best they called into question the oversensitivity of Mr Obama, at worst they showed him willing to play a divisive race card that is damaging the entire Democratic Party and tarnishing a great and historic electoral contest for the centre Left. The whole episode has convinced me he isn’t tough enough for the White House.

For since when has referring to somebody’s past admitted drug use - if indeed the Clinton campaign ever intended to do that, which is far from clear - been a racial slur? More racist, I would say, to equate drugs with blacks, and that’s what the Obama campaign is doing, not the Clinton one.

As for Mrs Clinton’s statement that Martin Luther King’s dream of racial equality was realised only when President Johnson managed to get the 1964 Civil Rights Act through Congress? No more than fact, surely; an attack on Mr Obama’s lack of experience, certainly, but hardly a slur upon King. Mr Obama’s campaign is twisting things so that a comment about any black man is a comment about him, just as any attack on him is an attack on all black people. I ask again: who is playing the race card here?

She’s unafraid to say what we’re afraid to say in the U.S. And I think she’s right.

http://www.buzzmachine.com/2008/01/16/obama-playing-the-race-card/

[muriel_volestrangler]

43. "The liberal Times of London"? Ha-ha. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.

No. Proprietor: Rupert Murdoch. Editorial stance: centre-right. Example: Support for the invasion of Iraq.

[Skwmom]

37. The Clintons race baiting was much more than the MLK comment.

[pampango]

38. Kick & Hide. n/t

[ihelpu2see]

39. maybe he should shed a tear to garner favor and votes... nt

[Skwmom]

40. Obama is too smart to play the race card. The race card was

played by the Clintons b/c they needed to convince blacks and the Democratic establishment that whites and hispanics would not vote for a black man.

[ellacott]

45. That's how many see it

The OP can find any number of links to support any number of positions. That doesn't make it true. If a person is serious about understanding this issue they should at least try to talk with blacks.

This is such a sickening issue for anyone to perpetuate. Most here don't care about racial issues, they are just using this to prop up their candidate.

It is very insulting but they won't ever get it.

[Sparkly]

42. She makes some valid points here. I also wonder about "injecting race."

We keep hearing about "injecting race" into the campaigns... Race is in the campaigns and in the country and in the candidates -- that's inescapable. So what is "injecting race?" If it means making racial slurs, I agree the Clinton camp didn't do that.

Bill Clinton's "fairy tale" remark was convoluted into a racial remark, requiring several steps. Johnson's not-so-veiled reference to Obama's drug use was unseemly, but not a racial remark. And who in their right mind would belittle MLK, especially in a campaign like this?!

Along the same lines, I've said that Obama's camp should get out in front of the controversy around his middle name and embrace "Hussein," making it a positive. As it is now, saying his middle name is a racial slur, to some.

Race, gender, and age are all in the campaigns. I think we'll all end up learning a lot from this, but if resentments and divisions are the result, it'll be a high price to pay.

[Vinca]

44. So now we're even.

New headline: Clinton Playing the Gender Card!:cry:

[Iceburg]

47. Obama's wounds are self-inflicted ... simply not enough experience

on what to say and what not to say and when to say it. He is running not just for president of USA, but for the most powerful position in the world -- every word a viable candidate speaks and action a viable candidate takes (or doesn't take) will be dissected under the microscope. The pressure is enormous and only the broadest of shoulders and the sharpest of minds can withstand it. Further, both Hillary and Barak will be/are held to a higher standard than their predecessor making the burden that much greater.

His oratory skills are indeed exceptional, but his message of hope is appealing if and only if you are NOT one of those suffering from the inequalities of -- the working poor, the jobless, the uninsured, the single moms, the GLBT community -- they want and need more than rhetoric. His campaign should have shifted from inspirational words to actionable proposals sooner.
Obama, through either poor advice or through his own lack of judgment and unfortunate choice of words has managed to offend a whole generation via his negative baby boomer comments, and adulation for Reagan. His message plays short shrift to the elderly by emphasing youth in the age spectrum. As I said it isn't easy -- A politician walks a fine line that most couldn't hold a pencil to.

But Obama's biggest mistake was not putting out the fires that have erupted during the course of the campaign. Obama, and Obama alone had the power to put out the racist fire that is seemingly out of control. Where this bald-faced lie that the Clinton's are racist began is of little consequence -- Anyone (including the independents and the Republicans) who was not in a coma the past 20 years knows the facts about the Clintons which it totality say just the opposite. Thus Obama was and is perceived to have done nothing but fan the flames of a nasty lie. What would have been truly impressive was for Obama to use his great oratory skills to douse the flames of that ugly lie. He had the power in the palm of his hand and he didn't use it. In fact some would claim he abused it. For that, he should win handily in SC but that's where his victories will end. He lost the trust and with it the power that might have propelled him to a victory in 2008, and risks tarnishing a second run at the presidency in 2016 -- when he is older, wiser, more confident and ready to use his strengths in a timely and positive manner.

Is Hillary perfect. No! ... not at all, but Americans know her imperfections, respect the breadth of her experience and intellect and most importantly trust she that will use her power wisely and to the benefit of all. To be sure, if there was a gender war erupting in America, Hillary would be the first to throw a bucket of water on the flames.

Of course all of the above is a Canadian point of view that is of little value to most Americans (even at our current exchange rates :-) but I offer it up because I do care about America and do care what direction it takes because we know only to well how small and precious this planet is, and most of us inhabitants do regard the office of the President of the USA as the most powerful position in the world.

The Clintons are both deeply adored and respected in Canada, not because they are powerful but because they have used their power wisely, and we have all benefitted from their lifes' work.