Letters to the Editor
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A travesty
She says the truth that's obvious to any two year old and predictably the Obambi campaign and their allies in the press determined to make the suffering sop the nominee all rush out with the race-card collectively and do their best to whip up a frenzy over this non-issue.
She had the smarts to take the ammo away. Good for her.
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it's all subjunctive
Sorry for badgering you, mister Koppelman. Thanks for the summary. Personally, what offends me most about this whole story is this:
Ferraro: "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position."
What offends me about this is Geraldine Ferraro's complete ignorance of the subjunctive verb tense. See this page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjunctive#Form
The problem is Ferraro's use of was. She should be saying were. Ferraro is using a dependent clause which requires the subjunctive and not the indicative tense. You can uncover these errors through inversion, as so:
"Was Obama a white man..."
"And was he a woman..."
Those are obviously confusing. That's because Ferraro has failed to use subjunctive. As an older, educated woman, she should know better.
SHAME - ON - YOU Geraldine Ferraro!
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An appropriate resignation
I am a Hillary supporter, but I have found the Ferraro comments and the weak responses of the Hillary campaign to them (until tonight) to be very disturbing.
I am a white, older woman who is very sensitive to gender slights in politics, political commentary, or the workplace. I know a bigoted comment when I see it. And Ferraro's comments were racist. It is important to admit it.
I was very disappointed that Hillary's campaign wasn't more forceful in renouncing these comments last night and during today. Given Ferraro's status in the Democratic Party, it must have been very difficult to attack her comments. But I wish Hillary had mustered the strength to do just that.
I believe that Hillary's experience and expertise are superior to Obama's. She must now show that she is also a woman of honor and courage. She must show that she deserves to win the nomination. For the first time, I am having doubts. I pray she redeems herself.
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Would Hillary do so well if she wasn't a woman.
If it applies to Obama, it applies to Hillary. She has no experience that objectively sets her on a better footing. How is she sitting so well when candidates with much better qualifications and experience got no traction?
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Disappointed Democrat - Please Help
These are sad times for the Democratic Party, at least for this Democrat. Americans have expressed their profound disappointment in their government leaders, President AND Congress. However, they have refused to accept despair and have chosen to embrace hope. All of the Democratic candidates had symbolized for some portion of the rank and file party the hope and promise of something different, something honorable, something we can depend on to deliver back our faith in the process and our confidence in our leaders. It was an exciting time, not too many weeks ago, when we listened to the "debates" and engaged in excited dialogues, argued passionately, and "got involved." We caucessed, spending a whole evening "participating in the process," and leaving the event shaking hands and saying, "well, in the end they're all pretty good!" We sent money, we watched the news, we cheered and sometimes we booed, but we were all in this together.
And now I read blogs with people calling each other names. I see people who I used to admire making me wonder who's side they're on. It wasn't supposed to be this way. We were supposed to be doing it differently and "the right way."
When I say it is a sad day for the Party, I have to own up to the fact that it is a sad day for me. Now, no matter who wins the nomination, I won't be able to point to the other side and say, "see, this is how it's done" because it's being done, at least by some, the way the other side does it.
I was proud of Ferraro back in the day. I thought she stood for "ideals." I was proud of President Clinton. I thought I understood the balance of human weakness against idealist and practial struggle to make the world better. I was proud of Senator Clinton and what I thought were her positions on social issues. Now, I am a sad Democrat.
I've been a Democrat all my life. I don't know how much longer I can continue. I won't go over to the other side, but I just can't be part of this self-destruction...and more importantly the disappointment of those who have newly, hopefully, and expectantly come to the process.
Can Obama survive this toxic environment? Can the Party? Can the Country? Is there any way we can return to "issues?" Is there any way we can make this about the future? Is there any way we can find mutual respect again? Please, if you know how, let us know.
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Ferraro explains that she was not qualified either
From a recent interview:
Ferraro, who was Walter Mondale's vice presidential running mate, said Wednesday that her remarks were not racist and had been taken out of context.
"I was talking about historic candidacies and what I started off by saying (was that) if you go back to 1984 and look at my historic candidacy, which I had just talked about all these things, in 1984 if my name was Gerard Ferraro instead of Geraldine Ferraro, I would have never been chosen as a vice presidential candidate," Ferraro said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "It had nothing to do with my qualification."
In other words, Ferraro is saying she was never qualified to be Vice President!
No word from Ferraro on whether Hillary Clinton would be a candidate if her name were Edmund.
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The difference between Ferraro and Obama
When Ferraro went on the talk show circuit today to "defend" her remarks, she repeatedly made the claim that she would not have been picked for the VP slot in 1984 if she were a man.
"If my name were Gerald Ferraro instead of Geraldine Ferraro, I would have never gotten the nomination," she told The Early Show.
This comment is very telling. By her own admission, Ms. Ferraro was an otherwise unremarkable politician who would never have reached the national stage if it weren't for her gender. She argues that the same must be true for Barack Obama with regards to his race.
But Obama is not Ferraro. He's not a lackluster politician who is defined solely by his race. He's an intelligent, inspiring leader who has created a diverse base of supporters from all walks of life. This is the reason he is in the position he is. This is the reason he leads in popular votes, states won, and pledged delegates.