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CAN WE ALL GET ALONG?
As a feminist who remembers the thrill of seeing Geraldine Ferraro take the stage at the 1984 Democratic National Convention as the party's vice presidential nominee, I can't tell you just how depressing I find the remarks she made about Barack Obama, blogged here by Dana.
Whatever her shortcomings, Ferraro was a culture hero to me. She kept her birth name, a fact that highlighted the sexism of the New York Times, which, in its refusal to use the term "Ms." insisted on calling her "Mrs. Ferraro," even though her husband was "Mr. Zaccaro." ("Mrs. Ferraro is my mother," Geraldine Ferraro famously said.) She stood up to the Catholic church, refusing to yield on women's reproductive rights, and took the backlash, which came when John O'Connor, the cardinal archbishop of New York, called on Catholics not to vote for her. (Funny, Teddy Kennedy never faced that kind of opposition from the church.)
But now she has revived the resentment argument against Obama, pitting race against gender in what Echidne of the Snakes has called the "oppression Olympics."
If there is a singularly unhelpful notion to espouse in this campaign, it's this one. It smacks of racial resentment, and divides the liberal coalition. I do think that the Obama phenomenon is inseparable from his personal story, which is not just that he's black, but that he's biracial and multicultural. In his very person, he embodies the aspirations of those who long to see our nation transcend the divisions of race that stem from the wounds of slavery. He embodies those things, in combination with a keen intellect and a talent for leadership, at a moment of great longing; the moment belongs to him. That is nobody's fault or achievement; it's Zeitgeist. It's the way that history works.
--Adele M. Stan
COMMENTS (6)
At point does someone become non-black? What I mean is, Obama's father is black and his mother is white. But he's referred to as black. Is there a percetage of one's ancestors that have to be non-black in order for someone to not be black? Or is it merely about appearance, in that he looks more black than white?
Posted by: Ross | March 11, 2008 2:03 PM
Sorry, forgot the "what" in my first question...
Posted by: Ross | March 11, 2008 2:05 PM
Only problem with Ferraro is that as a political talent.....she just stinks.
She ran an atrocious campaign for Senate, losing to the dynamic Bob Abrams (joke!). She was also not the finest performing VP candidate....well, decent vetting on Mondale's part would have prevented this from the start.
Really, your admiration except for a few symbolic stands like you mention, is totally misplaced. She's an utter mediocrity. She helps HIllary with a segment she doesn't need in a state she's already won and would win. Why the heck does Ferraro have a microphone in front of her?
Posted by: Buford P. Stinkleberry | March 11, 2008 2:45 PM
Adele, come on. Ferraro didn't in any way say or suggest that somehow Obama was *at fault* for any of this. You yourself admit in your last paragraph that, just as she said, he wouldn't be where he is if he wasn't black. He could run for president, sure, but he wouldn't be at the center of a huge inpirational movement of African Americans, students and affluent white liberals.
Same goes for Hillary to some extent, too, by the way. John Kennedy motivated and excited legions and legions of American Catholics to support him. Michael Dukakis got the Greeks. That's the way it works in this country.
Posted by: gryfalcon | March 11, 2008 3:18 PM
Where's that straight jacket when you need it?
http://osi-speaks.blogspot.com/2008/03/geraldine-ferraro-if-i-had-brain.html#links
Posted by: KYJurisDoctor | March 11, 2008 8:13 PM
@gryfalcon, et al.
I think the real point is that Obama wouldn't be where he is if he weren't alive. We fans of the undead are peeved at this season's slate of Democratic presidential candidates.
Posted by: Erik | March 12, 2008 1:56 PM