As Clinton And Obama Agree, Aides Spar

Washington Post: Democratic Front-Runners Try Backing Away From Racially-Charged Debate

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Jonathan Weisman and Anne E. Kornblut.

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As a controversy over racially charged politics threatened to spin out of control and supporters of Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) expressed concern that the ongoing debate would revive old images of a party mired in identity politics and haunt the eventual Democratic nominee in the general election, the candidates inched toward a truce yesterday.

Speaking at a Service Employees International Union event in Manhattan marking the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Clinton heaped praise on the civil rights leader. In a statement issued later, she said: "We differ on a lot of things. And it is critical to have the right kind of discussion on where we stand. But when it comes to civil rights and our commitment to diversity, when it comes to our heroes -- President John F. Kennedy and Dr. King -- Senator Obama and I are on the same side." Bill Clinton is to appear on Al Sharpton's radio show today to take calls from listeners on civil rights issues.

Campaigning in Reno, Nev., Obama told reporters, "I think that Bill Clinton and Hillary have historically and consistently been on the right side of civil rights issues. I think that they care about the African American community, they care about all Americans, and they want to see equal rights and equal justice in this country."

But earlier in the day, surrogates for each seemed determined to continue waging the war of words.

"Someone said, 'You can't unring a bell' -- well, the biggest bell in American politics just got rung," said James Carville, a Clinton confidant.

Rep. William Lacy Clay (Mo.), an Obama campaign co-chairman, said yesterday that Clinton was "trying to score cheap political points on the back of Martin Luther King's legacy" when she said that "King's dream became a reality when Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964" -- the statement that helped launch the debate over the role of race in the campaign.

Rep. John Lewis (Ga.), a prominent Clinton supporter, raised criticism of Obama to a new level. In an extensive interview, Lewis, a King lieutenant and icon of the civil rights movement, called Obama "a friend" but added: "He is no Martin Luther King Jr. I knew Martin Luther King. I knew Bobby Kennedy. I knew President Kennedy. You need more than speech-making. You need someone who is prepared to provide bold leadership."

Among loyal supporters on both sides, the duel triggered deep concerns about where it will lead. Obama last night joined some of his allies in suggesting that the Clinton campaign is intentionally fueling a discussion of race "to knock us off message," he told NBC News. Her advisers insist that she stumbled into it through a series of tactical responses to Obama, who delivered a speech before the New Hampshire primary in which he invoked both Kennedy and King.

"Instead of the Democratic Party celebrating and wallowing in euphoria over the fact that our party will in all probability nominate a woman or an African American, we have engaged in 'Swift boat' actions that we all say we deplore," said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (Mo.), a Clinton supporter, referring to attacks that helped derail Sen. John F. Kerry's 2004 White House bid. "The Clintons have been Swift-boated in this thing."

Rep. Artur Davis (Ala.), an Obama supporter, said the flap over race is hurting both candidates, potentially narrowing Obama's appeal with white voters and harming Clinton as the nomination fight begins to be waged in the Southeast, where the Democratic electorate is heavily African American. The first test in the region for Democrats will come in South Carolina on Jan. 26.

"We're not going to win on identity politics," Davis said. "Barack Obama is not going to win on identity politics. Hillary Clinton is not going to win on identity politics. The Republican Party is sitting there salivating at the prospects of a battle between white females and blacks."

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (Tex.), a Clinton supporter, made a similar appeal for peace and sought a return to a discussion of issues that could draw independent and some Republican support to the eventual nominee: the economy, health care and energy. But both sides acknowledged the momentum of the race debate was becoming difficult to stop.

Clinton advisers said that they were trying to simply undercut Obama on his merits. They added that it is far from certain that racially controversial attacks would work against Obama; if anything, they said, they feared the episode could backfire against them.

Both campaigns agreed they were entering uncharted territory at the presidential campaign level. Carville, a longtime Democratic operative who grew up in the racially charged politics of Louisiana, described the debate as wholly unfamiliar. Other Clinton allies have conveyed similar distress that two champions of civil rights have, in essence, been swept up in allegations of racial insensitivity.

"I'm shaken by the whole thing," Carville said.

The controversy grew from a pair of comments in the run-up to the New Hampshire primary, when Bill Clinton called Obama's claims about his record on Iraq "the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen," a comment that some black leaders interpreted as belittling Obama, and Hillary Clinton's statement on the roles of King and President Johnson in passing civil rights legislation, which she capped by saying: "It took a president to get it done."

Obama kept the debate alive Sunday when he weighed in for the first time, calling Clinton's comments on King and Johnson "unfortunate" and "ill-advised." But the fight turned toxic after Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television, introduced Clinton at a South Carolina event with comments that seemed to both revive the issue of Obama's admitted past drug use and question the authenticity of the candidate's image as a "non-threatening" black man.

On the former issue, Johnson obliquely referenced what "Barack Obama was doing . . . in the neighborhood. I won't say what he was doing, but he said it in his book." Johnson later backtracked, insisting he was discussing Obama's activities as a community organizer.

Although Clinton officials -- and both Clinton and her husband, repeatedly and publicly -- have said that there is no effort to exploit racial divisions and essentially accused Obama of doing just that, they have not stepped in to sever ties with Johnson.

Clinton surrogates did not defend Johnson's statement, but they roundly ridiculed what they said were conspiracy theories spinning out of the Obama campaign.

"Bill Clinton is a really smart person. Senator Clinton is brilliant. They ain't that clever," Cleaver said.

The people who are injecting race into the campaign are overanalyzing poorly worded statements or meaningless slips, said House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (N.Y.), a Clinton supporter who is African American.

"I'm angry because I'm looking for the white people that are insulting me, and I can't find them," Rangel said.

[gunownerdan]

Both Hillary and Barack want to ban all guns in America for civilians. Meanwhile they are constantly surrounded by armed guards carrying fully-automatic MACHINE GUNS.

"Tyrants mistrust the people, hence they deprive them of arms."
- Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

"How a politician stands on the Second Amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual ... as a trustworthy and productive citizen, or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded over, controlled, supervised, and taken care of."
- Suzanna Gratia-Hupp

www.a-human-right.com

[samsel3]

We can all talk about the past, but what about now and the future ? Presently the CNP Council for National Policy is planning your future. This secretive organisation of several hundred of the richest men in the USA put Bush & Cheney in office to accomplish their global agenda. In September 2007 they met again in Salt Lake City. Cheney & Mitt Romney were keynote speakers. Romney wants their backing. The CNP wants to continue their agenda in global market control for BIG OIL & allied industry in the next election. National media outlets are owned by their members. Who will expose them? Who will stop their insanity and destruction of constitutional freedom ? Who will stop their misuse of the military to promote their global agenda? Paul Wolfowitz,Don Rumsfeld, Scooter Libby, George Bush, Richard Cheney, Eliot Cohen. Zalmay Khalilzad, Steve Forbes, Donald Kagan, Pete Rodman, Henry S Rowen, Dan Quale, William J.Bennett, Jeb Bush, they are all members of the PNAC Project for a New American Century.

[taotxzen]

Hillary Rove??

Swift Boat 101:

Attack your opponent%u2019s greatest strength.

Appear to remain above the fray while your supporters, Slick and Rev. Billionaire, sling mud at your opponent.

Use these inaccurate charges to get your opponent off message and on the defensive addressing baseless allegations.

Dij` vu

[l00ker]

Hillary is toast.

[likeitis5050]

Rep. John Lewis (Ga.), a prominent Clinton supporter, raised criticism of Obama to a new level. In an extensive interview, Lewis, a King lieutenant and icon of the civil rights movement, called Obama "a friend" but added: "He is no Martin Luther King Jr. I knew Martin Luther King. I knew Bobby....


This is tired...it''s already been done and it needs to be put to rest...please!!!

On the former issue, Johnson obliquely referenced what "Barack Obama was doing . . . in the neighborhood. I won''t say what he was doing, but he said it in his book." Johnson later backtracked, insisting he was discussing Obama''s activities as a community organizer.....

Enter the backdoor politics of anyone tied to Clinton...classic example!! "Ooopppps...did I imply he was doing drugs...as he has said he did in his youth? My bad...what I REALLY meant to imply..." Right!!!


This is Hillary tactics routinely used on OTHER opponents coming back to bite her on her very own azz!! Everyone knows she didn''t intend on insulting King...however...if the opportunity had landed in her lap she would be running with it, and that''s because she is habitually looking to foul someone else''s doorstep to slow them down. Live by the slime...die by the slime. She''s got this coming.

[realpatriot1]

pepperp,

I don''t base my conclusions on who I respect or who you respect but on what the polls with the best track record over a long period of time have to show about how the public as a whole thinks about the candidates who will potentially match up in the general election.

I''m under no delusion that Clinton isn''t popular with many people; you should not be under any delusion that she is not extremely unpopular with just as many people.

She is a devisive candidate who people either love or hate and the only way she can win given that fact is to create negatives for others. You can attack me all you want but it won''t change the facts.

When I said the election wouldn''t be decided by the kinds of people who go on these boards I was including both myself and you, obvious partison supporters of opposing candidates.

[l00ker]

Clinton not popular nor highly respected on a national electability level...GIVE ME A BREAK, this is the biggest fairy tale that I''ve ever heard. Are you awake, because if the New Hampshire primaries for the Dems and GOP were on different days, we would be reading her obits here as we write. Faaairry Taallleesss...can come truuuee...it won''t happen this year for the dumbocrats if pluto is the Dems nominee...

[oriy]

Obama doesn%u2019t really relate to the working class, but to the rich and elites, they mainly voted for him in Iowa and New Hampshire. That%u2019s because they%u2019re the only ones who can afford his cheap unreality!! However, Hillary has done well in reaching this group, partly through having been and continuing to be someone of action. She offers practical tools.

[prinzowhales]

Race, Race, Race!!!...***, ***, ***!!!....Quack! Quack! Quack!....Ignore the war...ignore these war pigs positions on the war...ignore ...lets not waste our time talking about the open borders...***! Race! Quack! Quack! Quack!...lets not talk about the export of jobs...Race! Race!...let''s not talk about the police state! ...***! Race! Quack!...Let'' not talk about the unfair trade policies, the fall of the dollar, the inflation, the corruption...the corrupted election process!...Quack! Quack! Quack! Race! ***! Quack!

"You can''t fix stupid"....you can''t fix the Democratic electorate anymore than you can fix the Republican electorate....

[oriy]

The heads of the two embattled campaigns have made a truce over the racial conflict. So let people of SC stop refraining from voting for Hillary. In sharp contrast to Obama, Hillary mainly appeals to non-rich and non-elites. And the last time I checked, most black people were not rich. Obama can now stop blaming Hillary for keeping the racial fight going (as she isn''t blaming him).

[pepperp1]

"Surprise, all this started on Fox News.

Republicans know that if you divide Americans that it''''s easy to steal from them."


Wrong on both counts.

Democrats started this 40 years ago.



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Posted by One_American at 05:56 PM : Jan 15, 2008


WRONG it started on MSNBC with that goof giggle ODonnel with Representative Jackson Jr first with that goof giggle ODonnel co chair of the Obama campaign, then Professor Dyson on Tweetys show and Clinton using racist code then again Dyson on CNN and then off to the races, Newsweek, MSNBC, WaPO, NBC then back around, again and again and again and watch they never mention Jackson-Dyson interviews the day after NH that started on their shows they of course are out there Representative Jackson went so far as to say Hillary cried for he appearance and not for Katrina victims, Dyson flat out claimed the Clintons where using Racist code pining the scarlet R on their chest %u2026..

[honesttalk]

Quoting the article above, Rep. J. Lewis, said it right.
"Rep. John Lewis (Ga.), a prominent Clinton supporter, raised criticism of Obama to a new level. In an extensive interview, Lewis, a King lieutenant and icon of the civil rights movement, called Obama "a friend" but added: "He is no Martin Luther King Jr. I knew Martin Luther King. I knew Bobby Kennedy. I knew President Kennedy. You need more than speech-making. You need someone who is prepared to provide bold leadership."

[one_american]

"Surprise, all this started on Fox News.

Republicans know that if you divide Americans that it''s easy to steal from them."


Wrong on both counts.

Democrats started this 40 years ago.

[micma-2009]

Surprise, all this started on Fox News.

Republicans know that if you divide Americans that it''s easy to steal from them.

[one_american]

The Democrat Party has for so long been engaged in racist and sexist "baiting" - it was inevitable that they would fall into their own trap sooner or later...

Now the hypocrisy is exposed for all to see.

[pepperp1]

The general election won''''t be decided by the types who write on this board but by independent swing voters.

If Hillary isn''''t toast before the nomination she will be afterwards. No one with 50% negatives can win and she can''''t re-invent herself for the voters. She''''s poison to the party and the polls show it.

She was asked by Tim Russert on Sunday about the polls and she got real evasive and defensive and tried to downplay them with a reference to the diebold job in New Hampshire.

She is toast.


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Posted by realpatriot1 at 04:52 PM : Jan 15, 2008


Hello let me help you here I am and unaffiliated voter and I swing for the candidate, I choose for myself who is good for my community my country, not the party elitist or hate baiters and I agree it is we who will choose, your delusion that Senator Clinton is not popular nor highly respected is well wrong. You may need to select a personality you like well many of us want a person we can R-E-S-P-E-C-T we NEED change real change we don%u2019t just want it.

[denn034]

That fact that race even became an issue with Democrats shows how rabid they can get when it gets personal. Shame on Bill and slick Hilly for letting it go that far, they and their cronies made it possible. Here''s hoping Obama gets the Democratic nomination.

[prinzowhales]

This controversy surrounding who said what, when, about whom is one worthy enough to go down with Brittany''s panties. It has kept people occupied with the fact that both of these Establishment shills are Class-A War Pigs in the pocket of their backers and financiers--Wall Street, the Defense Industry and the Israel-firster War Pigs. You might as well listen to the CIA run DAILY KOS and go out and vote for Romney.

"You can''t fix stupid."

[l00ker]

Because it''s the Independent, who does the swinging, and she''s outta here.

[sgtrds]

There were a lot of people for that war but now that it has gone on and on, they have now changed their minds.

Posted by erasmus6 at 04:46 PM : Jan 15, 2008

And there were a lot of us who were opposed to this invasion of Iraq in the first place, because we knew that it had nothing to do with terrorism, WMD''s, removing Saddam or 9-11. Invading Iraq has been a neocon wet-dream since the early 1990''s and they twisted 9-11 and their whipped up "War on terror" as a reason to give it a try. These morons actually thought that Western style democracies would suddenly bust out all over the Middle-Eat, while not pulling their heads out of their collective as*ses long enough to realize that most of the Middle-East wants to be governed by religious theocracies. not Western style democracies.