Racial Tensions Roil Democratic Race

Comments From Clintons On Obama, MLK Jr., Have Infuriated Some African Americans

(Politico)  This story was written by Ben Smith.

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A series of comments from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, her husband, and her supporters are spurring a racial backlash and adding a divisive edge to the presidential primary as the candidates head south to heavily African-American South Carolina.

The comments, which ranged from the New York senator appearing to diminish the role of Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement - an aide later said she misspoke - to Bill Clinton dismissing Sen. Barack Obama’s image in the media as a “fairy tale” - generated outrage on black radio, black blogs and cable television. And now they've drawn the attention of prominent African-American politicians.

“A cross-section of voters are alarmed at the tenor of some of these statements,” said Obama spokeswoman Candice Tolliver, who said that Clinton would have to decide whether she owed anyone an apology.

“There’s a groundswell of reaction to these comments - and not just these latest comments but really a pattern, or a series of comments that we’ve heard for several months,” she said. “Folks are beginning to wonder: Is this really an isolated situation or is there something bigger behind all of this?”

Clinton supporters responded to that suggestion with their own outrage.

“To say that there is a pattern of racist comments coming out of the Hillary campaign is ridiculous,” said Ohio Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones. “All of the world knows the commitment of President Clinton and Sen. Clinton to civil rights issues - and not only the commitment in terms of words but in terms of deeds.”

Referring to the King quote, Sheila Jackson Lee, another Clinton supporter, said Clinton was trying to contrast King and Obama, not to diminish King: "It really is a question of focusing on the suggestion that you can inspire without deeds - what is well known to the child who studies Dr. King in school is that yes, he spoke, but he also moved people to action."

But other black Clinton supporters found themselves wincing at the Clintons’ words, if not questioning their intent.

A Harlem-based consultant to the Clinton campaign, Bill Lynch, called the former president’s comments “a mistake,” and said his own phone had been ringing with friends around the country voicing their concern.

“I’ve been concerned about some of those comments - and that there might be a backlash,” he said.

Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones, a prominent Obama supporter, echoed those sentiments.

"It’s very unfortunate that the president would make a statement like that," he said of Bill Clinton's criticism of Obama's experience, adding that the African-American community had "saved his presidency" after the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

"They owe the African-American community - not the reverse," he said. "Maybe Hillary and Bill should get behind Sen. Barack Obama."

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., through a spokesman, used even stronger language. "Following Barack Obama's victory in Iowa and historic voter turnout in New Hampshire, the cynics unfortunately have stepped up their efforts to decry his uplifting message of hope and fundamental change.

"Regrettably, they have resorted to distasteful and condescending language that appeals to our fears rather than our hopes. I sincerely hope that they'll turn away from such reactionary, disparaging rhetoric."

Many analysts think Clinton won New Hampshire on the back of a feminist backlash against criticism from her rivals and the media, and now, after his own defeat, it’s Obama’s turn. Race is particularly complicated turf this year, however, in a contest that features two towering figures who pride themselves for breaking racial barriers in American politics.

The first is Bill Clinton, sometimes referred to as “the first black president,” who now finds himself on the same uncertain ground as any other white politician speaking dismissively of an African-American rival.

He was expected to call into the Rev. Al Sharpton’s radio show, which airs in South Carolina, Friday afternoon, to explain his “fairy tale” comment.

And the second is Obama, whose 1995 book - subtitled “a story of race and inheritance” was hailed as one of the most astute examinations of race in America. He has played the question of race with remarkable dexterity in this campaign, leaving little doubt among African-Americans that he’s a member of their community, while delivering a message that excludes no one. To whites, he’s made clear that he’s a bearer of racial redemption, not racial grievance, even extending public absolution during a televised debate to a rival, Sen. Joe Biden, for past racially-charged remarks. Tolliver said Obama had no personal reaction to Clinton’s remarks, and was focused on his own message of “hope.” But he’s spoken in the past of the risk of falling into old narratives of racial division.

“I think America is still caught in a little bit of a time warp: The narrative of black politics is still shaped by the '60s and black power,” he told Newsweek this summer. “That is not, I think, how most black voters are thinking. I don't think that's how most white voters are thinking. I think that people are thinking about how to find a job, how to fill up the gas tank, how to send their kids to college. I find that when I talk about those issues, both blacks and whites respond well.”

Now, though, some of those old patterns are reasserting themselves.

The series of comments Clinton critics’ cite began in mid-December, when the chairman of HIllary Clinton’s New Hampshire campaign, Bill Shaheen, speculated whether Obama had ever dealt drugs. In the final days of the New Hampshire campaign, however, the discomfort of some black observers intensified as Bill Clinton dismissed the contrast between Obama’s judgment on the war and Clinton’s as a “fairy tale” and spoke dismissively of his short time in the Senate. And the candidate herself, in an interview with Fox News, stressed the role of President Lyndon Johnson, over Martin Luther King Jr., in the civil rights movement.

“I would point to the fact that Dr. King's dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when he was able to get through Congress something that President Kennedy was hopeful to do, the president before had not even tried, but it took a president to get it done,” she said, in response to a question about how her dismissive attitude toward Obama’s “false hopes” would have applied to the civil rights movement. “That dream became a reality, the power of that dream became real in peoples lives because we had a president who said we are going to do it, and actually got it accomplished.”

An aide later said Clinton didn’t intend to diminish King, and later that day she went out of her way to stress his accomplishment and courage in leading a movement.

Then, when Obama lost New Hampshire, the first question on black media outlets like the Tom Joyner Show was whether white racism had defeated him, and when a Clinton supporter, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, said - though not directly in connection to Obama - that politicians can’t “shuck and jive” in early primary states, it only added fuel to the fire.

Thursday, a key player in black South Carolina politics, Rep. Jim Clyburn, told The New York Times he’d consider endorsing Obama in response to what he considered a lack of respect in the Clinton campaign’s approach to Obama.

“For him to go after Obama, using a ‘fairy tale,’ calling him as he did last week. It's an insult. And I will tell you, as an African-American, I find his tone and his words to be very depressing,” said Donna Brazile, a longtime Clinton ally who is neutral in this race, on CNN earlier this week.

Asked in an e-mail from Politico about the situation Friday, she responded by sending over links to five cases in which the Clintons and their surrogates talked about Obama, along with a question:

“Is Clinton using a race-baiting strategy against Obama?”

The black blogosphere was even less diplomatic, with the widely read site “MediaTakeOut” calling Clinton’s comment on King “explosive” and the blog Jack and Jill Politics saying it “pretty much solidified the image that whatever happened in the '90s, you are now some out of touch rich white folks.”.

“There’s a concern about that kind of stuff - especially in the black community,” said Bill Perkins, a New York state senator who is among Obama’s leading supporters in Clinton’s home state. “The dynamic changed in New Hampshire, and all these little mistakes contribute to the general sense that this isn’t a mistake.”

Clinton’s supporters dismiss the hubbub as the Obama campaign’s strategy to woo African-American supporters in South Carolina.

“Some of the Obama people are clearly trying to use Hillary’s comments about Martin Luther King and distort them into something she did not say, which is outrageous,” said former Pennsylvania Rep. William Gray. “It’s a hot issue in South Carolina, and they’re spreading the word all over. I hope that the good senator will make sure that none of his people are doing that. We don’t need to have a debate about race or gender.”

Obama’s national spokesman, Bill Burton, wouldn’t comment on Gray’s assertion.

“Voters have to decide for themselves what they think about those comments,” he said.

Clinton’s campaign also released a statement from a deputy campaign manager, Bob Nash, defending the senator.

“The stress of the political season can lead people to say outlandish things and we assume that this was the case here. With Dr. King’s birthday upon us, it’s important to keep in mind that his legacy is about the things that bring us together as one people,” he said.

But Lynch, the Clinton consultant who is advising Clinton’s South Carolina campaign, said he wouldn’t advise Clinton to fight on this terrain.

“The more you kind of defend it, the worse it gets,” said Lynch.

[l00ker]

Why are the Republicans beating up on poor ( not literally ) Romney?

[angela4215]

It doesn''t surprise me that such racially charged comments would come from both Clintons. Lets not forget that Hillary stood by her husband and watched her husband do nothing to stop the genocide in Rwanda...

[croft777]

I knew this racial thing was going to happen. What gets me is Obama can''t say he''s black. Hes black and white. Clinton wouldn''t be that stupid to talk racism, knowing very well that it could cause problems in her campaign. Shes alot smarter then that. I also think that the press has belittled the African Americans by saying that the majority will vote for Obama because of his skin color.(Which is alot lighter then most I''ve seen.) How degrading. I think the African Americans have more intelligence then that and will choose the canidate who they feel has the greatest chance of making this country a better place for all of us.

[l00ker]

One wonders how much black love and sisterhood did Hillary show for Lani Guinier, after Bill gave Guinier the old Clinton heave-ho, when he realized that he had no more political use for her. Johnson better watch his shoes, they may begin to harden soon.

[l00ker]

The Clinton swamp was banking on gender and race fron day one. They thought that Iowa was in their hip pocket, because of Iowa''s racial makeup; and when they saw that New Hampshire was going the same route, Bill Clinton went on his baiting tirade. They didn''t even have to mention King or LBJ; they could have made their point in several other ways, but THEY chose to go that route, and have been back peddling ever since. Now he comes out with a laundry list of so-called attacks against Hillary from the Obama campaign, instead of a list of ask not what your government can do for you, but what you can do for your government. Yet, we get this Clinton crony, Johnson, and his blather about how the Clintons loves the black community so much; yeah, the same black community who whined about how thier soul brother number one was more Republican than Democrat in Clinton''s first term. Yeah, we love, but only until the lights come back on.

[realpatriot1]

SLL64,

By the same logic you could say that our troops didn''t win WW2 because without FDR sending them there they wouldn''t have had the opportunity.

Mahatma Ghandi didn''t help to free India, it was the British troops who left.

The Immigration bill didn''t fail because it was unpopular it failed because the politicians sponsering it saw the errors of their ways all on their own.

[sll64]

It is naive to think the Dr. MLK could have achieved the civil rights legislation of the 1960''s without the help of politicans and lawmakers. Without a doubt, Dr. Martin Luther King was the heart, soul and voice of the civil rights movement as were other more radical leaders. Hillary Clinton only spoke the truth of the facts of the 60''s. To deny it, is to be prejudiced or dipping your feet in dirty politics. Hillary is getting more of my support every day.

[candide777]

But, this lie about YOU being a Psychologist, is quite a stretch!!!
Posted by chitown639 at 08:15 AM : Jan 14, 2008

I have to agree -- if JohnFrost is a psychologist, I''m the Pope. John, there are, to be sure, some really very unintelligent psychologists out there, but YOU, a psychologist? Don''t make us laugh!!! You appear to be the very epitome of a pathological liar.

[candide777]

But, this lie about YOU being a Psychologist, is quite a stretch!!!
Posted by chitown639 at 08:15 AM : Jan 14, 2008

I have to agree -- if JohnFrost is a psychologist, I''m the Pope. John, there are, to be sure, some really very unintelligent psychologists out there, but YOU, a psychologist? Don''t make us laugh!!! You appear to be the very epitome of a pathological liar.

[l00ker]

Indeed, and this guy Bob Johnson of the Clinton swamp, is doing the "shuck and jive" for the Clintons, with his "step''n fetchit" yesterday about about Barack''s past. What about Clinton''s puff but no inhale; yeah, just like what the meaning of the word is is. Can you image, Bill Clinton smoking marijuana, without inhaling. GIVE ME A BREAK, this is the biggest fairy tale that I''ve ever heard. And what about this guy Johnson? Who is he? Where did he come from? What''s in HIS past? And what is his connection to the Clintons? Seems there is alot of smoking ( smoke and mirrors ) going on in the Clinton swamp. Barack will do himself, his campaign and the country well by not even thinking about falling for this bait, but sticking to the issues. Race, gender, and favor calling is what South Carolina is about for the Clinton swamp.

[chitown639]

The Clinton campaigns Race Baiting hasnt worked on Obama, he hasnt taken the bait. He has pretty much stay above of the rhethoric coming from the Clinton campaign. Obama is too intelligent to fall for that old trick....

[chitown639]

I%u2019m a Psychologist and here is my take on Obama:

Obama is a pathological liar that comes from a very dysfunctional family.. He lies, and lies and then shamelessly hides.

Posted by JohnFrost

(((JohnFrost)))

Lies, lies lies!!! If you post the same lies over and over, day after day, maybe people would start to believe them. But, this lie about YOU being a Psychologist, is quite a stretch!!!

[Netterz]

Racist come in every skin color. On this issue..the only thing I see is a black racist attempting to pull the race trump card. The Clintons have been in politics for WAYYY toooo MANYYYYY years, to ever inject a racial slur, knowing it is quite simply political suicide. They are all political robots, they would not make such a deadly error. It appears to me, that the words and terms were taken out of context, twisted to fit racism, for a color blind person is able to see the true meanings of what was said.

[johnfrost-2009]

I%u2019m a Psychologist and here is my take on Obama:

Obama is a pathological liar that comes from a very dysfunctional family.. He lies, and lies and then shamelessly hides.
He%u2019s a successful drug dealer-user, that was never caught.
He never takes responsibility for anything, he lies about change and then tries to peddle false hope. He%u2019s a complete Muslim fairytale.
This is the sign of a deeply troubled person who might also be addicted to crack cocaine.
We have asked him to show proof he did rehab and he accused us of being racists..

Women must be aware what this man means; Obama means slavery for Women forever.
Obama was born a Muslim and is a closet Muslim. He was indoctrinated 6 years as a radical Muslim. Obama is a Muslim ticking bomb. Obama is a Black Hitler.

Muslims believe Women are inferior, way below dogs

[johnfrost-2009]

AlQaida Is coming to Obama''s inaguration...Hamas, and the Taliban too. Of Course we need change from freedom to slavery and the Taliban will enforce it.
Obama means no nudity, No Crack cocaine, no painkillers, no liquor, no beer, no Music, no TV, no electronic games. Nothing but Allah! And Islam!!

And you Women will be slaves covered with black burkas forever. Branded inferior and ranked below the family dog.

So you American morons will be screwed Once a Muslim captures power in the USA. That power belongs to Islam and Allah. Obama can not return power to a Kaffir (Infidel, Christian or Jew) The USA will belong to Islam(Saudi Arabia) forever!
http://www.muslimsforobama.com

[d&pam!ne]

Hilary likes to pander and change positions when it is, uh, let''s say advantageous to her being elected.

Right now, it is advantageous for her to create a race issue. As commented by many political pundits, her strategy is a crafty one: she is going to make it appear that America just isn''t ready yet for an African American president. This makes her appear to be a voice of reason, but listen closely to it: She is basically making an issue where there wasn''t one AND coming out as a sympathetic ear. Very crafty, it plays upon voters who think that Barack has no chance, even though they may have voted for him.

I urge you to remember that a majority in Iowa voted for Obama, and this majority is white. He IS a viable candidate, and please do not vote for Hilary because you think he has no chance, rather vote for the candidate based on consistent message and platform.

[gunownerdan]

Both Hillary and Barack say you as a citizen cannot be trusted to own common handguns, shotguns, and hunting rifles while they are surrounded by armed guards carrying MACHINE GUNS.
If they ignore one of our constitutional rights, they can and will ignore them all.

[PulSamsara]

Barack Obama MADE A STAND against the IRAQ invasion when it MATTERED !
Hillary Clinton played politics.
Everything else is just BUNK !

[tibu987]

Please be careful what you read.
I believe comments are being planted by Clinton and other candidates to mislead the public such as the comments of Sartercmu, supposedly and African American. There is nothing in the article that would have an African American changing their vote, contrary, it should strengthen the resolve of African Americans to vote for whomever they please. Read it again and make your own decision.

[jghutto]

I think from the beginning race was going to be an issue for some. Oprah would have certainly supported Hillary if Obama had not been black.