"The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you."

Nice departing jab. "See how I did that... I'm flipping on em' Hilly" :)

Huh. I thought she didn't work for the Clinton campaign. That's what she said, didn't she?

And if she keeps talking, it's still going to be a problem, because she's going to be identified as a "Clinton supporter" every time she opens her mouth.

This is just ugly, at this point.

Ferraro has damaged her reputation more than anyone else this election season. Hillary still has a chance to catch her for that honor, but it'll be hard to do.

I, too, am unassociated with any campaign. So let me speak from the heart:

Good riddance, you miserable wretch. You do represent the ideals of the Democratic Party. You have done your damage and now you have moved on. Congratulations! You have also ruined your reputation forever. You have not apologized because you cannot grasp what your words have done.

Don't let the door hit your miserable ass on the way out.

BARF.

'The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you.'?? WTF???? Who in the Obama campaign is attacking her?

And the key phrase is, 'I'm stepping down so I can SPEAK FOR MYSELF...' Does this mean she's not going to shut up about Lucky Black Men (tm)? Looks like it.

That letter made me throw up in my mouth a little bit.

24 hours too late.

So much for sound judgement and leadership, Hillary.

Don't let the door hit you on your way out.

Stay classy, Gerry!

This woman has a pattern, and doesn't unapologetic.

Geraldine Ferraro is a bona fide racist. April 15, 1988, Washington Post:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/3/11/21956/1233/291/474642

Ferraro is just an instrument here. I want to hear the campaign reject and or denounce her remarks, not aid and abet her martyrdom.

Nasty, bitter, passive aggressive. Pitch perfect.
And so much for her not working for Hillary.

I want to thank Ms. Ferraro for helping us to see the truth in all of this smoke!

I do not believe that we are helping our situation if we refuse to see what is right in front of our faces.

It is plain that Barack Obama would not be in the position he is in, if he were white! He would not have made it through the winnowing process of the primaries against Senators Dodd and Biden and Richardson, Kucinich and the others. He is less experienced and less proven. There is nothing that says that these other candidates could not have "brought us together" as Obama desires to do. Being black does not make him more able to do that! He has benefitted from this being the election where we would elect either our first female, or first black president. That has seemingly overshadowed the real issues we face in this country.

I am also of mixed race. I believe I understand the confusion and energy around race in this country, having lived it and observed it. I think that it does allow a valuable perspective about race to have the experiences I have had.

I think I understand our society's limitations of women, though from a less experiential perspective.

I believe there is a very real prejudice against women being in positions of power. Simply look around and notice how few there are.

That said, it is also true that Hillary Clinton would not be where she is if she hadn't been married to Bill Clinton. This is equally true! That is not to say she might not have been able to make her way to the Senate on her own, without that connection and international visibility. I believe her to be a very capable candidate. But, it remains that she has benefitted from her marital relationship. This doesn't disqualify her, it simply is the truth.

It saddens me to see that Ms. Ferraro's telling it like it is, has turned into such ugliness and revealed the lack of a quality conversation around the choice of our national leadership.

We are in a very sad state, indeed!

I would love to hear more people willing to say what they see and feel without censoring their truth, for the fear that they will be misunderstood, and attacked. I understand the reluctance to do so in the current environment.

That would be something I would expect somewhere like Nazi Germany and not what is purportedly the greatest democracy on Earth! There needs to be a free exchange of ideas! We are certainly far from that.

We need more truth tellers, Not fewer!

The message is out- mission accomplished. Did you all read Josh's link to Attytood today about Archie Bunker democrats? It rolled out everything I've been thinking since South Carolina.

Want to take action?
Call Howard Dean
202-863-8000

You will be put through directly to Dean's comment line. My message was that Ferraro as a senior member of the party can be and should be taken to account by her peers, the DNC leadership. While they cannot undo the hurt she has inflicted on anyone of color who has achieved something in our society, they can offset the harm she has done to our party. How?

strip her of her superdelegate status.

This is so symptomatic of "old racism". People who suffer from old racism are so numb to their own prejudices that they can't see past it. I think she legitimately believes she said nothing wrong. It's like kids these days calling each other "f@gs" and thinking there's nothing wrong or offensive about it. They just can't fathom that there's anything wrong.

Gerry is a pissed-off lady who has believed for the past year that her avenging angel Hillary was going to win the election in some kind of cake-walk coronation. Now that Obama is the odds-on candidate her true colors are showing at last. She's so upset and in such a state of stunned disbelief that she can't control herself.

Sad.

Samantha Power resigned almost instantly, with no whining or parting shots at the Clinton campaign. It's too bad Ferraro doesn't have the same class. But she's served her purpose and the message is out for Pennsylvania.

I hope that she is able to get some time away and get some perspective about why her remarks are insensitive and inappropriate.

A more thoughtful person would really say something like - I can see how what I said could be offensive and I apologize. Instead, she plays victim and goes on all the talk shows to decry the Obama campaign.

It's all really sad. The kind of thing we should have expected in the general election.

I don't think the Hillary campaign had anyhting to do with her comments and they were put in a tough spot just as Obama was with Powers and her "monster" comment. To Obama and Powers credit they took responsibility and acted swiftly. The Clinton campaign fumbled and bumbled until now and coupled with WY and Mississippi results, completely have lost any and all good news coming out of March 4.

I'll pass on your sentiments to Presidents Jackson, Sharpton and Mosely-Braun. Dumbass.

The damage has been done. The Clinton strategy of white victimization has been put into play. Ferraro is now the martyr of political correctness that will spur Clinton "low information" white voters to the polls. Remember, she says she won't stop doing the media circuit. Just that she won't do so under the rubric of the Clinton Campaign. Plausible deniability. If you thought Mississippi black/white voting was lopsided, wait until you see Pennsylvania's.

Hillary will indeed take that state by at least 25 points.

Clearly, this is a calculated move by the Clinton campaign.

Well done good and faithful servant!

They just don't make em like Geri anymore! Thank god.

Geri The Jackass. I was sure she was going to cry on Good Morning America.

Don't worry Geri - Chris Mathews is taking up your cause and spinnin the hell out of what you said.

You've come a long way baby! Now go away.

"Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do to make this a better world for my children and grandchildren."

...and the Republican Party come the general election.

Ms. Ferraro, you will not be missed.

Martyrdom is right. I suspect it happened sort of accidentally but what a great one-two punch.

#1: TAKE HEED everyone!! In case you haven't noticed: he's BLACK. That means bad things, like the fact that he doesn't have any 'real' qualities, he's just in fashion this year.

#2: Another one of the bad things about his being BLACK is that little old white ladies wind up getting beat up. Remember me, over here in the corner bleeding, when you go to vote.

If she didn't mean her comments in a racist way, then this would be a wonderful opportunity for dialog, to show how strong and pure-of-heart Clinton and her supporters are.

You know, this politics of high emotion and victimization is really doing an awfully good job of reinforcing the very worst stereotypes about women. Reminds me of the first (maybe only?) woman baseball umpire. She was scheduled to have her first public appearance at a minor league park but didn't show up for the game.... turns out she was having an emotional melt-down back at the hotel, had locked herself in her room, just anticipating that people might say something unpleasant things to her.

I'm a woman so I hope I have standing to say that all this crap is insulting and demeaning .... to WOMEN! **Most** of us manage to act like grown-ups, some pretty exceptional and admirable grown-ups.

Polka: Yep, and as Kos points out on his site, after Gerry went out and continued her rant on all the networks this morning she decided to pile on to the friendly, Angry White Guy audience of Bill O'Reilly! That might actually be worse than Bill Clinton showing up on Limbaugh's show before Texas & Ohio voted.

How can anyone defend these tactics???

Dear Hillary –

I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself against the Black Threat and you can continue to speak for yourself about why you and the Republicans are better for this country than a negro.

The Obama campaign is attacking me because I am white.

I won't take crap from a negro.

Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do to make this a better world for white people.

Sisters in whitedom forever.

Gerry

Too bad for Ferraro and for America. She may be a bit testy in the current campaign but her comment and comparison about Obama's success based on his race is true. If he was not Black, he absolutely would not be where he is today in the campaign. I think he is the benefit of affirmative action by many supporters finding this a way to prove they are not racist and to relieve any perceived guilt. This becomes the Obama Cult because pointing out facts like his lack of experience, his spoonfed success in Illinois Senate, his corruption with Rezko, his lies about this and other things, his pandering (e.g., NAFTA), his rudeness, and so forth is met with disbelief--almost as if the critique is not politically correct--and often followed by accusations of being racist. Ferraro is right, remove race from the equation and folks would have a hard time believing and supporting Obama. It is sad that this is occurring and it will be the downfall of the Democratic party this fall if Obama secures the nomination as result of this affirmative-action blank check to the nomination that so many people are rushing to provide.

Geraldine, The Clueless.

Why couldn't Ferraro say Obama arrived where he is at because he has great character, or gives great speeches, or has shown fine judgment, or has positions similar to Hillary's, or maybe because hillary has such high negatives, democrats have to turn somewhere else? She could have even said it was because he is a man, and Hillary isn't (as far as I know...). No, Ferret has to credit skin color. Of all things...SKIN COLOR! And then she has the audacity to say her comments aren't racist, but she is being attacked because she is white? Hillary Clinton has many proponents who have ably advocated her candidacy without being attacked by the Obama campaign "because they are white." If Geraldine doesn't understand the distinction, she is as sharp as Dan Quayle. How can Ferraro be certain she wasn't attacked because she is Italian??? Gerry (a gender bending name like Gerry didn't hinder her career), you are pond scum for introducing this bile back into the forefront of this Democratic Party primary.

Another loss for the master race.

Hey, Gerry! I didn't get *my* invite to the pity party? What up with that?

All due respect to all the foregoing comments, I think you're missing something. I'll quote:

"I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what is at stake in this campaign."

So I can *continue* to speak for myself.

She's not done with this. Ferraro has merely been detatched from the campaign officially. She's going to continue churning this racist swill for the Clintonistas; today's development only gives Wolfson, et al. the cover to say 'Well, we can't comment on what a private citizen says; she's entitled to her views', etc.

In other words, they've just made it easier to move forward with this putrid strategy.

This whole episode, by the way, sheds a little light on what it means that the country is run by 70 year olds.

Having been the producet of a retro-grade community at the edge of the San Fernando Valley in the fifties and sixties which was then 95 percent white and 5 percent latino, I find myself hoping that someone will *itch slap the *itch until she wakes up.

She has done more for black people in general then anyone here including the people who run this site.

The truth - yes...
That is why your racist candidate almost had Chris Matthew's head for saying Hillary wouldn't be where she was today if her husband hadn't cheated on her. THAT was the truth. Offensive yes, but the truth.
Obama by contrast has gotten where he has DESPITE his race just like Hillary has gotten where she has DESPITE the deck being stacked against her for being a woman.

I am a white woman btw and I think she is a racist hag.

There seems to be a weird sort of doublethink at work among the pro-Hillary faction, at least in this thread.

You remember how, in Orwell's original usage, doublethink refers to the ability to maintain two completely contradictory ideas in the mind at the same time? Well...

#1. Obama has only made this far BECAUSE HE IS BLACK.

#2. Obama doesn't have a chance to get elected BECAUSE HE IS BLACK.

And not only that. But Gerry has been trying to tell us BOTH OF THESE THINGS AT ONCE. And they're both true!! Despite the fact that they mean opposite things.

But we just won't listen!! So we deserve to lose, and that'll show us.

And by the way, we ought to be thanking her.

Hey, easy on "all the low brow whites in Appalachia". I think it's quite possible that, by not telling Ferrraro to shut up already, the Clinton campaign is underestimating working-class white voters in PA.

I'm optimistic that a lot of white working-class Democrats in PA think about their votes as much as anyone else. There's no reason to think racial chauvinism is more powerful with them than with any other demographic. And they may not be flattered at the impression of the Senator from New York and her Washington advisors that the best way to win the votes of supposed hicks from the sticks is to play on their (presumed) racial resentments. Oh, great, a bunch of New Yorkers looking down on them as a bunch of redneck Archie Bunkers. People in PA, WV etc. have always appreciated that. This is a high-risk strategy that -- I hope -- may backfire on the Clinton campaign.

Can't wait to hear Keith O do his special comment today -- any bets on how the Clinton team will react to it? Will they insist that he be fired for media bias? Shot at sunrise? Stay tuned!

Geraldine Ferraro, Vice Presidential Candidate/Racist

way to go with the legacy there, Gerrie! best of luck with Fox

Geez. I support Obama, but on some level the fact that he is such a great candidate right on the issues is enhanced by the historic aspect of his candidacy (i.e., being black). That said, Hillary would NEVER have been voted to the U.S. Senate if she hadn't been married to Bill Clinton. If she was male, she'd have been run out as a carpetbagger. Geraldine's comments were poorly thought out, but her stubbornness is to admit a mistake reminds me of Hillary. There's a certain sense of arrogance and entitlement in these comments. It's time for Hillary to go. He's ahead in elected delegates, popular vote, overall delegates, and won almost double the States. Tearing things down don't build anything up.

HRC wld not be where she is if not for the luck of Bill's blackness.

Bear with me if I twist the twisted logic.

If I understand your 'reasoning' it follows that

If Bill Clinton were not so black that he could overcome his whiteness to be called the first black president by a black woman and for the name to stick, he would not be where he is today.

And since at least some of Hillary's 35 years of experience comes from having married Bill the Black President --certainly the c-in-c red phone day one experience--Hillary wld not be where she is today if not for the advantages accrued by Bill's being a black male.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

I can't believe this moron was once a VP candidate for the democratic party.

From the desk of:

Geraldine Ferraro

I have decided to resign from the position that I have never held with the Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign.

I am deeply disappointed that Senator Obama has chosen to attack me in such a racist manner. However, should he become the nominee of our party, I am still willing to engage in fund raising for him, provided that he changes his ways, and promises to stop being a Black Man.

I can hear Hillary saying "Heck of a job, Gerrie! Thanks for helping me deliver Pennsylvania!". Ms Ferraro played the "race card" for whites who they think will be "affected" enough to want to vote for Hillary. While the Obama campaign is trying to run a campaign to try to bring the country together, the Clinton Campaign is using divisiveness to keep the country apart and fighting among one another. The two campaigns are as different as night and day.

I don't know if the link to Diane Sawyer's interview with Ferraro has been posted here.

In it she has a new spin. She says she was merely celebrating that fact that a black man is running for president, and Obama should be grateful. See for yourself.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Ferraro_Obama_spinning_me_as_racist_0312.html

What makes her a moron? That she is speaking her mind straight from her heart, calling it as she feels she sees it? That she is saying only what a great many people already think but are afraid of speaking aloud, lest they become labeled as racists. Or, how about her reactions to the Obama attacks? Do you not see that she as well as Hillary are being attacked for anything that comes out of her mouth? It is behavior like this, i.e. race-bating, that has only now begun dividing the candidates along racial lines.

Oh, excuse me! Why am I even responding to you. Anyone who writes what you just wrote must certainly be a moron.

Just a side comment here at 9PM:

Keith Olbermann is officially my hero.

Make of that what thou will.

How long before Clinton demands Olbermann be suspended or fired?

Given the events of the past 48 hours, it is now time for John Edwards and Al Gore each to announce their endorsement, of Barak Obama.
This latest affair has so alienated progressives and true liberals, that if Clinton were able to somehow capture the nomination in Denver, Ralph Nader would likely get more votes than he did in 2000, to John McCain's great benefit. Until Ferraro's faux paus, I was looking forward to a pitched contest all the way to the convention. But not now. Now there is a big problem and only Gore and Edwards can stop the conflagration by holding a joint news conference.

I'm sorry, I like Olbermann, but tonight he came off as an angry jerk.