The Obama campaign sent their national co-chair Jesse Jackson, Jr. to tear down Hillary Clinton on MSNBC the other night. He took it too far over the top. His comments on Hurricane Katrina seemed to indicate he was saying Hillary Clinton doesn't care about black people. It's one thing when Kanye West says that about George Bush, it's another when it's Obama's spokesperson saying it about Hillary Clinton. That is out of bounds.
Jackson's appearance on MSNBC and our analysis of why he was wrong to say it is in the video below:
What's even more interesting is what happened after we played this clip on the radio this morning. Calls poured in for nearly two hours -- and the results were frightening. It appeared that people have started to split up in different camps based on their identity. Obama supporters were accusing Hillary of not doing anything to help black folks. Hillary supporters accusing Obama of not being sensitive to gender issues.
Yes, there were definitely exceptions. A black female caller voiced strong support for John Edwards. But overall, the sense I got is that the race issue (and less so the gender issue, but that is also growing) is out of the bag. Once that genie is out of the bottle (to mix my metaphors here), it's hard to put it back in. For the first time, I think Democrats are on the verge of doing serious damage to one another. This thing could get real ugly, real soon.
They have got to reel this back in. It isn't going to help anybody. This negative campaigning definitely turns off voters, especially Democratic voters. It's one thing to attack someone's record (which I am actually in favor of), it's another to do these personal and identity based attacks. The candidates are only hurting themselves in the primaries and their opponent if he or she winds up in the general election.
One last thing, this particular strategy by Obama is short-sighted. Yes, it might help in South Carolina. But you could win that battle and lose the war because you turned off so many other voters by playing the race card in South Carolina. As a guy leaning toward Obama, I hope he reconsiders this terribly misguided strategy.
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Barack Obama's Campaign Plays the Race Card
Posted Jan 11th 2008 10:46AM by Cenk Uygur
Filed under: Young Turks, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Video, Race Relations
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 4)
1. Could it be that playing the gender card is okay, especially after the debate where those "nasty boys gained up on that poor defenseless woman" The gender card seemed to work just fine in N.H.
You can not have it both ways. Ahh, but that is what "triangulation" is all about. Also, did anyone see Dave Grandland's cartoon in the editorial section of yesterday's papers ?
I think it epitomizes the playing of the "gender" card.
M2D5 at 11:21AM on Jan 11th 2008
2. His comments SEEMED to indicate that Hillary doesn't care about black people? And out of this admitted ASSUMPTION, we have a blog accusing OBAMA of playing the race card? See, it's this kind of reporting that pisses me off nowadays. Either Jackson accused her of not caring or he didn't. But by not providing Jackson's EXACT comments, all this blog will result in is thousands of reading comprehension-challenged people taking this assumption as fact. Poorly done.
GG313 at 11:43AM on Jan 11th 2008
3. If you're accused of a crime and play the race card, it's an admittance of guilt . . .and if you are a politician, it's an admittance of weakness and low character. Those that continue to play the race card keep polarizing our society. My advice to Obama is dump Jackson, Sharpton and Kerry as his backers and run on his own merits . . .he may then get my vote.
rj at 12:14PM on Jan 11th 2008
4. Let's all just let the candidates speak for themselves. I'm just really sorry that anyone would send Jesse Jackson to anywhere for anything. He is so prejudice and does not think of the ramifications before he blabs on and on. I doubt that he has any respect among intelligent people. I am a white upper middle class grandmother, aged 69. I think Barack Obama is the best candidate for this time in history. Hillary has opened a great barrier that has been up forever!! But we still have too many men in all class ranges that are women haters. It is called misogeny and this is why there are battered women, inequal pay for women, divorced women with children who are homeless, etc. Having a woman President would just set up all women for more abuse. I will vote for Obama. He is the right person for this job at this time. He is intelligent, gentle, seeks change and was the first candidate to do so. I think that your showing of this Jesse video was not fair to any candidate!!!
Sincerely, Button
Button at 12:14PM on Jan 11th 2008
5. When, exactly, did Young Turks take on the job of babysitting Hillary Clinton? No matter who takes her to task on any issue, you guys act like you're protecting your baby sister against a bully. If Hillary is this weak in just running for the presidency, she'll never hold up to the job. Were you this upset with her when she planted questions, audience members, and false information to the press?
Carol at 12:12PM on Jan 11th 2008
6. It's all political tap dancing boss. They all do it.
Stay focused on the primaries, this is where candidates pass or fail the smell test.
Willet at 12:24PM on Jan 11th 2008
7. Here's the truth:
Anything an African American does in support of Barack Obama should NOT surprise white Americans.
Let's get real here: African Americans are the biggest racists on the planet.
We should be surprised ONLY if Jesse Jackson Jr. had NOT played the race card! We should be surprised if 85% of the eligible black voters in American DO NOT vote for Barack Obama in November.
With African Americans, there's nothing new under the sun.
Need proof? Just watch as the black celebrities get in line to support Obama. Oprah's already there for Barack. Now watch as Bill Cosby, Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Chris Rock, Will Smith and all the rest of Amreica's black elite show up on stage with Barack over the next nine months.
Will you REALLY be surprised when they do?
Paul at 12:44PM on Jan 11th 2008
8. interesting
WBC at 1:13PM on Jan 11th 2008
9. It amazes me that people don't know the difference between 'crying' and 'becoming emotional'..........big big difference......
I am undecided where my vote is going, however someone becoming 'emotional', sways me not one way or the other............I just see a normal human being..
Sherri at 1:23PM on Jan 11th 2008
10. Cenk I have to admit, I usually love your blogs. This one however is in league with FOX. Yes I said it. JJ Jr. did make insinuations, however he never made any actual accusations. You put words into his mouth, O'Reilly style. And that sucks, cause I know your better than that. You read into what Obama said about Hllary, yet still backed him. So why the preferential treatment? Why didn't JJ Jr. get the benefit of the doubt from you? Please Please I beg of you, don't do that again. One of the reasons I love your work is because despite your liberal leanings, you still comment on right and left mostly without too much bias. (Except for when Fox does something stupid)
And JJ Jr. did bring up the most valid point about the Hillary tear incident. It's not the fact that she teared up, but what she teared up about. Herself. Despite all the tragedy in this country and overseas, the only thing that made her get emotional was talking about herself. Where's Hillary's bleeding heart for Darfur or Sudan? Or the dozens of tortured bodies found DAILY in Iraq?
thorin at 5:23PM on Jan 11th 2008
11. http://evolutionfacts.blogspot.com
Jessie at 1:27PM on Jan 11th 2008
12. people need to open their eyes and minds, not just their ears and found the kind of person that Obama is, and this is the kind of person we DO NOT WANT AS PRESIDENT
Rose Marie at 1:31PM on Jan 11th 2008
13. What a joke, why didn't jackson lanbase the Mayor of New Orleans. He is the one that failed those people. he is the one taht ordered then to the stadium without having anything there for them. New orleans should not be rebuilt. It is below sea level, the levys aren't going to stand up for the long run. The Democrats have been the biggest supporter of Blacks. If they aren't, why do so many blacks vote democratic. Bill Cosby has it right. It is time for the blacks to stop crying ang blaming their failures on whites. Blacks have equal access to education where I live. I believe their are over 100 predominately black colleges. Get an education, get a job and support your selves and your families. None of my ancestors had slaves, and none of them prevented them from getting an education. Jackson and Sharpton want you all to believe that whites are holding you back. Get real, your holding yourselves back.
paul last at 1:39PM on Jan 11th 2008
14. Here's this reent excerpt from the Houston Chronicle:
"PLYMOUTH, N.H. — In this college town at the edge of the White Mountains, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee was trying to pump up Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign workers.
But in her effort to promote Clinton, Jackson Lee, an African-American lawmaker from Houston, is opposing Clinton's chief rival, Barack Obama, who is trying to become the nation's first president of African ancestry.
Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political science analyst at the University of Southern California, points to 'a pull between ethnic identity and gender identity' among black women looking at presidential choices." [end of excerpt]
______________
Great! So not only will people elect the next leader of the most powerful nation in the history of humanity based on the color of their skin, but they'll also base their decision on nothing more than the genitalia between the candidate's legs!
Wow! More proof of how complex the human mind really is!
Paul at 1:47PM on Jan 11th 2008
15. Here's this from the Houston Chronicle:
PLYMOUTH, N.H. — In this college town at the edge of the White Mountains, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee was trying to pump up Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign workers.
But in her effort to promote Clinton, Jackson Lee, an African-American lawmaker from Houston, is opposing Clinton's chief rival, Barack Obama, who is trying to become the nation's first president of African ancestry.
Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political science analyst at the University of Southern California, points to "a pull between ethnic identity and gender identity" among black women looking at presidential choices. [end of excerpt]
___________
Great! So now people will elect the next leader of the most powerful nation humanity has ever known based on little more than the color of the candidate's skin and/or the genitalia between the candidate's legs!
Wow! Clearly, the human brain ranks as the most sophisticated creation in the universe!
Paul at 2:02PM on Jan 11th 2008