Letters to the Editor
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Bill Shaheen
"...Shaheen said Obama's candor on the subject would 'open the door' to further questions. 'It'll be, 'When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?''"
Washington Post, Dec. 12, 2007 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/12/12/post_235.html
No one's saying that Governor Shaheen's husband is racist but by couching the issue of selling drugs as a possible campaign tactic, when Obama had been open about his youthful dalliance with narcotics use, he, along with BET's former head, Bob Johnson, New York's Charley Rangel and other Clinton surrogates opened a window on Clinton campaign anxiety in the face of a growing challenge by a young campaigner to which they'd previously condescended. Panic set in, which would be exacerbated by Hillary Clinton's loss in Iowa, a month later and, despite New Hampshire, led Bill Clinton, starting with S. Carolina, to haul out the vintage '92 campaign tactics he used to reassure White Americans that the Party he represented wasn't the Party of Carter, Mondale and Dukakis.
They were afraid, when faced with the biggest opportunity, in a generation, to grab political control in Washington, that by having an African American candidate heading the ticket they'd blow it. In short, to them, hope was a fairy tale and faith in the American people was a bad bet that would end badly for Democrats. Again, they panicked.