One tough cookie
Kasia March 12th, 2008
I have to hand it to Geraldine Ferraro. The woman’s got spine.
What she essentially did was say what a lot of people have been thinking: that one reason (certainly not the only reason, but one of the reasons) that Barack Obama’s campaign for President has caught fire like it has, is that Obama’s black.
It’s not necessarily a criticism. It’s an observation. It doesn’t have to be a slur against Obama’s qualifications or achievements.
Historic “firsts” tend to catch a lot of attention and drum up some support. Ferraro points that out in her own VP nomination, and says directly that her being asked to run for Veep had nothing to do with her qualifications (which one presumes were pretty good, or the Democrats would’ve known they’d be laughed at for running her). I would also point to Joe Lieberman having been the first Jewish Veep candidate, or Colin Powell’s having been the first black Secretary of State (and Condoleezza Rice being the first black female Secretary of State). I don’t remember anyone questioning whether Lieberman, Powell, or Rice were qualified. These things catch people’s interest, that’s all.
Trouble is, we as a society are apt to use a candidacy as a barometer for how far our society has progressed in a given area. I actually saw a columnist a while back suggest that if one did not vote for Clinton, one was sexist; but if one did not vote for Obama, one was racist. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.
So when Johnny Democrat looks at his options, maybe he does think, “Wow, it would be really awesome if the U.S. actually elected a black president!” I know I’ve talked to people who’ve said as much, both American and not. And I’ve talked to people who react similarly to the prospect of a woman president. I even had an ardent feminist friend admit that she’d be in a bit of a quandary if Condoleezza Rice were to be nominated for President, because on the one hand she disagrees with everything Rice stands for. But on the other hand, she’s a black female. I kid you not.
Not that I’m some brilliant political philosopher, or even a brilliant anything, but it seems to me to be pretty cut and dried. If I shared my friend’s politics – which I don’t – it would be a no-brainer to vote against Rice in a Presidential campaign. It’s not because she’s black, or female; it’s because her views are pretty much 100% diametrically opposed to this friend’s. Frankly, even with my own more moderate politics, I would have reservations about voting for Rice. She’s a heck of a smart woman, there’s no question about it, but I have serious reservations about her approach to foreign policy. I’m sure if she did run for President, other things would come out that I’d have trouble with about her. That’s the way things tend to happen.
In any event, I suspect that this may blow up in Obama’s face. Ferraro did the smart thing: she immediately dissociated herself from the Clinton campaign so as to minimize potential damage, but she relentlessly stuck to her guns and is standing by what she said. And I say, kudos and may God bless her for it. There’s no good that can come of allowing oneself to be bullied by the threat of being called racist (or sexist, or whatever). If anyone’s got cred with the older liberal set, it’s Geraldine Ferraro. And I think she’s going to win this particular battle. In any event, it’s bound to be interesting.
Well said!!!!!
The American people need to be reintroduced to the concept of “honesty” for crying out loud!
In this instance, Geraldine Ferraro expressed an opinion, she did not say anything that disparaged Mr. Obama’s character nor did she say that he was not qualified to be running in this presidential race. She simply mentioned the fact that he is black and that this was getting attention because it’s making history. The last time I checked this was a fact – not a slam.
Not EVERYTHING is about race or gender. Furthermore, not necessarily everything that is said about race or gender is or is meant to be negative, racist or sexist.
Of course racism and sexism exists and there are plenty of people who hold those views who are willing to share them with all of us. HOWEVER, I would just like to point out that there is plenty of prejudice to go around and we can all be guilty of being judgemental but…sometimes it happens to be spread by those same people who typically complain the most…
We should be able to say what we think without having to walk on eggshells – as long as what we say isn’t damaging anyone or their character.
“I even had an ardent feminist friend admit that she’d be in a bit of a quandary if Condoleezza Rice were to be nominated for President, because on the one hand she disagrees with everything Rice stands for. But on the other hand, she’s a black female.”
Okay, this I take issue with. For me, there is not a difference between saying that you WILL NOT vote for a person on basis of his/her skin color or gender, versus saying that you WILL vote for a person based on his/her skin color or gender. Either way, you are making value statements about that person based on some arbitrary standard which has nothing to do with his/her qualifications for the position to which you are electing him/her. Further, it is a negative statement as to the value of that person as a *person*. Their unique unrepeatability in the context of being made as a daughter or son in the image and likeness of God is completely disregarded, and their personhood denied. By viewing people in this light, you are essentially saying that this is not a human being, but a collectible. The only difference is now, instead of saying that you want all your toys on the shelf to be little blond, blue eyed male dolls, you would now like them to be a variety of different dolls, and begin collecting the ones that will “complete your set.”
Sorry to sound harsh, but that just seems to me to be a NON-loving position to hold, and only reinforces the “importance” that gender and skin color have in our decision-making processes.
No, actually I agree with you completely. That’s kind of the point. But you, of course, said it much better than I could have.
Ferraro actually didn’t have the qualifications to be vice-president, which is one reason why people blew up over the analogy between her and Obama. They thought she was implying he wasn’t qualified to be president (and he’s not, in my not-very-humble opinion).
I’ve run into 20- and 30-somethings who want to vote for Obama in order to “prove” that this country isn’t racist. I don’t think they realize it’s oxymoronic.
Plus, it’s seems race becomes the issue when a Democratic candidate is involved. I was too young to vote for the first black candidate I strongly admired: Bill Lucas, the gubernatorial candidate in 1986. He had switched from the Democratic Party to the GOP while he was Wayne County sherriff, if I remember correctly. I was lucky enough to meet him and talk to him during a summer camp. He was TOTALLY beaten by Blanchard, but he nor anyone else ever cited racism.
Incidentally, I should probably vote against my favorite candidate, as they always seem to lose. I strongly preferred Paul Tsongas over Clinton or Paul Simon, back in the day.
Interesting, MissJean – I will have to do some research on Ferraro’s qualifications. I was too young in 1984 to assess that kind of thing, and my focus in my poli sci undergrad was more on comparative/world politics and substantive law than American politics.
I’m totally with you about the oxymoron of voting for a black candidate (whomever it may be) to “prove” that America isn’t racist. I had thought that was self-evident, but apparently not everyone would agree…
I remember Tsongas!! I wasn’t following politics in a lot of depth in ‘92, but I remember reading an article about him in Newsweek or some such publication. They said he was known as “Saint Paul” in Washington because he was so principled. :-p (The things that stick with you…)
I am not a fan of Ms. Ferraro, but she really hit the nail on the head with this one. What I don’t get is how it is racist to say, “The reason people are listening to him is because he looks different from anyone who has tried this before.” It’s the truth. His complexion got his foot in the door, now it’s up to him to come all the way inside.