Mar 13, 2008 1:04 pm US/Central
Analysis: Racism, Sexism Roil Race
WASHINGTON (AP) ―
This is written by Ron Fournier, who has covered politics for The Associated Press for nearly 20 years. He publishes an occcasional column on events from the campaign trail.
Thank you, Geraldine Ferraro.
Not for calling Barack Obama "very lucky" to be a black man; that was an insensitive and impolitic thing to say. But thank you, Geraldine Ferraro, for reminding people in a clumsy way that racism and sexism - both original sins of the republic - still exist in the United States and will mar an otherwise extraordinary presidential election if we let it.
Let's start with race. A quarter of white voters in Mississippi's Democratic primary said race played an important role in their decisions Tuesday, and they voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Rodham Clinton. Thirty-seven percent of blacks said race was important to their votes and nearly all voted for her rival from Illinois.
In Ohio, 18 percent of white voters said race was an important to their vote last week, and those who did voted 76 percent for Clinton.
Many of these race-sensitive white voters are the children and grandchildren of so-called Reagan Democrats, working-class men and women who abandoned the party of their roots for the GOP when school desegregation, affirmative action and welfare programs seemed in their eyes to tilt the playing field toward minorities.
These are not cartoonish bigots, but people who live their lives and view their politics through a racially tinged prism. They wouldn't utter racial epithets or intentionally hurt anyone, but they would sell their homes when a black family moves on the block; enroll their kids in private schools rather than submit to public school busing; refuse to answer the door when a black man knocks at night; and blame affirmative action when a minority gets promoted over them.
"This country won't be over race for four more generations," said Democratic strategist Dane Strother, a white man who has seen the race card played in countless campaigns, particularly in the South. "Just below the surface in the country, everything is driven by race. Not just black and white, but Latinos as well."
When Strother worked in Louisiana, he knew a pollster who had a term for whites who couldn't bring themselves to vote for a black candidate despite feeling guilty about their reluctance: "Merely prejudiced," Strother said. "There are merely prejudiced voters all over this country, not just in the South."
This is where Ferraro's remarks come in.
"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," said the first woman to serve on a major party's presidential ticket. "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."
Obama, less than four years removed from the Illinois state Legislature, is a bright and skilled politician who has tapped the nation's hunger for change. The color of his skin is an added appeal to some voters _ those yearning to see race erased as a barrier to the nation's highest offices. But it's obviously a drawback to others.
Whether the positives outweigh the negatives, whether Ferraro is right or wrong, those questions are fair to debate. But this much is, sadly, certain: Obama and Clinton are trying to exploit the issue.
They may be speaking in code, but the polarized Democratic electorate gets the message.
- Obama credited Ferraro with being a trailblazer even as he accused her of participating in "slice and dice" politics that Americans are turning against. "They are divisive," he said of the remarks. "I think anybody who understands the history of this country knows they are patently absurd." Translation: The Clinton camp is playing the race card again, and black voters should beware.
- Clinton said she disagreed with Ferraro, a supporter and fundraiser, but stopped short of condemning the remarks. A defiant Ferraro fired back at Obama: "I have to tell you that what I find is offensive is that every time somebody says something about the campaign, you're accused of being racist." Do you think they're appealing to white, working-class voters who believe that they're called racists at the drop of a hat?
Ferraro, who stepped down Wednesday from her honorary post in Clinton's campaign, also faulted "a very sexist media" in the historic race of "firsts." Her sentiment resonates with female voters who feel that Clinton has been held to a higher standard, pummeled by a male-dominated media and political elite.
It's true, for example, that pundits and late-night comics who freely poke fun at Clinton's gender would never think of cracking a black joke.
Most Democratic strategists think a backlash from female voters saved Clinton's campaign in New Hampshire, Ohio and Texas.
"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," Clinton said. "We ought to keep this on the issues."
She meant issues like health care, energy and Obama's experience. But race and gender will be just as big - if not bigger - issues this year, especially if the candidates shamelessly exploit them.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
