Yeah, this strategy is stupid on many levels, but above all else, it’s trading a potential short-term windfall (winning the nomination) for success in the long-term (winning the general election). A Republican can win without black votes. A Democrat can not. Everyday Billary is giving black folks another reason to turn their backs on them. If Obama loses, I just can’t see how Hillary will be able to convince blacks to support her this fall. I see a lot of people either staying home or voting for someone else. The damage is done. And I put the blame squarely on Bill and his big mouth.
What surprises me is that Bill and 'em didn’t work out this math beforehand. It’s wayyyy too early to be discounting the black vote. The pandering should have continued well up into November.
My guess is that they assume they have the black vote. They think “Who else are they gonna vote for?” Politicians never seem to foresee the “none of the above” scenario where people stay home, and they looooooove taking certain voting blocks for granted.
And I guess they’d have good reason to. I’ve gone on record saying that I’d vote for Hillary if Obama lost, just because they share some of the same basic positions.
There’ve been such a run of similar statements by top Clinton surrogates before now, that it’s hard for me to see it as not deliberate.
If it were just this one remark…but in the words of Goldfinger, once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, and the third time is enemy action.
Outside of the South, probably not. And as long as Edwards stays in, he rather than Clinton will likely be the main beneficiary of white votes that Clinton chases away from Obama.
I don’t see it as exploiting race or racism more than setting the expectations. If he can show that Jesse Jackson more or less performed as well as Obama, he can show that there’s nothing groundbreaking in what Obama has accomplished so far - “much ado about nothing”, in short. If there’s anyone who exploited race and race-baiting, it’s the Obama camp.
I can’t access the link, but I have seen a video clip of Bill’s comments about Jesse Jackson, obviously in response to a question. What was the reporter’s question?
I could see Clinton shaking up the people who like what Obama has to say and like that he doesn’t fit the black stereotype. I don’t know how much it’ll matter, though because those people will probably end up getting scared off before elections anyway.
Bill’s not dumb, and I think at least part of the comment was intended to steal Obama’s thunder (hey, Jesse already did this) and also link the two.
But I think this is fascinating. It’s going to force White Americans, who have an irrational dislike for Jackson, though I think he’s done more good than harm for this country despite never holding elected office - to reconcile how they feel about him with how they feel about Obama. It’s not like they’re a million miles apart politically - Jesse Jr. is a high-level advisor to Obama and they’re both in Illinois. The comment that Bill made shouldn’t matter - it certainly doesn’t to me, but if it makes one Obama-nut ask him or herself why he or she has such a visceral reaction to Jackson, I’m glad he said it.
It might force Obama to make a comment about Jesse, which is bound to disappoint someone. Say something too neutral or positive about the guy, and he comes across as “one of them”. But if he’s too condemning, he may alienate people who like Jesse or at least feel he’s been unfairly villified.
Obama painted himself as the black candidate. His speeches borrow from the devices Malcolm X used. Their speeches are usually peppered with statements that appeal to African American pride pulling the spectre of racism here and there.
So if he never mentioned he was black, he wouldn’t be the black candidate? It’s not like Huckabee’s religion. It’s pretty obvious from looking at him that he’s black.
That’s like saying Hillary Clinton painted herself as the woman candidate by using words that have been used by women in the past.
He doesn’t have to use those literary devices that are distinctive of an African American icon if he doesn’t want to emphasize it. “You’ve been bamboozled”. - statements of that nature.
I think Clinton’s strategy might backfire. It appears that Ted Kennedy’s endorsement of Obama is due in part to Kennedy being angered by the tactics used by the Clintons (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/01/27/sen_kennedy_to_endorse_obama.html?hpid=topnews) and while endorsements might not be as important in politics as endorsees like to believe, I suspect there are a number of Democrats who were similarly turned off by Bill Clinton’s comments.
Yes. She doesn’t mind it. If Obama minds, then he shouldn’t paint himself black. Bill Clinton wasn’t painting Obama black but simply setting expectations. A lot of Obama supporters are trigger-happy with their “racist” guns because it helps Obama.
Obama would have had to gone out of his way not to paraphrase Malcolm X in that sentence. The relevant quote, via Spike Lee, is: “You’ve been had. You’ve been took. You’ve been hoodwinked. Bamboozled. Led astray. Run amok.”
Malcolm X also frequently referred to “the big con” and “foul tricks.”
So here’s what’s out:
Bamboozle
Hoodwink
Lead Astray
Had
Took
Conned
Tricked
Anybody else have an informal way to say “mislead”? Duped maybe? Can anyone check and see if Malcolm X ever used the word “duped”? :rolleyes:
No. If he doesn’t want to be painted black, then he shouldn’t do it. There’s nothing wrong with using those phrases, but don’t complain if you’re painted as the black candidate. (I’ve not heard him complain, BTW) Pointing at Bill Clinton for the state of affairs is disingenous.
I suspect that the Clinton’s were trying to downplay the loss in S Carolina and get a dig in at the opponent. I think that the race is immaterial, it’s just attack any weakness. Since a lot of people thought of Jesse Jackson as a loon, linking Obama and Jesse is a tactic to take attention away from the fact that there was a huge voter turnout and they voted for Obama. Clinton raises the doubt that this is not a “meaningful” victory because Jesse did the same thing in this State.
IMHO, I think its low politics rather than racial.