Hillary Clinton: Whites Like Me Better

There's a nice dustup on the Drudge Retort this morning over Hillary Clinton's explicitly racial justification for her continued candidacy:

"I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on," Hillary Clinton said in an interview with USA Today. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article "that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me. There's a pattern emerging here."

The argument that Democrats should nominate the candidate who does best with [insert race here] is not only politically disastrous for the party, it's offensive.

Barack Obama and his surrogates could have argued at any time that his candidacy is more viable because he's supported by black voters, historically one of the most solidly Democratic blocs. If he did so, he'd be making his campaign about race, and he's shown thus far the wisdom to avoid that.

The fact that Clinton lacks this wisdom, and is playing the race card in a moment of desperation in the hopes she can divide and conquer, strikes me as a pretty strong reason she doesn't deserve the nomination.

I can't think of a Democratic candidate for president who has fallen so far in my esteem during the course of a campaign. Last fall, I was close to supporting Clinton because of her vast public policy knowledge and her tenacity. I knew she'd fight hard for the Democratic agenda and would be a far more formidable foe for the Republicans than they realized. Obama, though inspirational, seemed like a babe in the woods. I wanted to see the inauguration of the first female president 78 years after suffrage.

But she's run a terrible, cynical and divisive race for president.

Politics · 2008/05/08 · 6 COMMENTS · Link

Comments

"The argument that Democrats should nominate the candidate who does best with [insert race here] is not only politically disastrous for the party, ..."

Well, the Republicans seem to have done VERY well with it! See "Southern Strategy".

And it's not "[insert race here]".

#1 · Seth Finkelstein · 2008/05/08

Couldn't have said it better myself.

#2 · Rafe · 2008/05/08

Rogers misdirects, ""The argument that Democrats should nominate the candidate who does best with [insert race here] is not only politically disastrous for the party, ..."

Seth takes the ball left, "Well, the Republicans seem to have done VERY well with it! See "Southern Strategy".

1. The "Southern Strategy" is a media invention to shift responsibility for conservative Democrat defections during the civil rights debate. The fact that the Republican minority was PROMOTING THE CIVIL RIGHT legislation whips right past the heuristica attention of yellow-dog-democrats!

2. This is DEMOCRATIC debate over race and gender -- NOT REPUBLICAN!

3. What do you think you Democratic hypocrites benefit from telling yoursleve's such gigantic lies? Barack Hussein Obama is hiding behind his race, and your Clinton surrogate is just plain pussying-out!

4. So, Democrats frantically point-the-boney-political-finger at Republicans ....

... and the yellow-dog-sychophants pant to agree ...

#3 · tadowe · 2008/05/14

Tadowe: Hush. Let them cut their own electoral throats. Again. Perhaps by 2012 they'll have found a candidate smart enough to beat "Moron Bush" and his alleged clone, McCain.

And pass the popcorn, please. It's always funnier when the sideshow geek thinks people are laughing WITH them.

#4 · Michael Z. Williamson · 2008/05/15

Michael says"Tadowe: Hush. Let them cut their own electoral throats. Again. Perhaps by 2012 they'll have found a candidate smart enough to beat "Moron Bush" and his alleged clone, McCain."

Sorry to disappoint, but I won't be taking your directions. I find it impossible to remain silent when blatant lies are told to others, or even to their unconscious selves. Indeed, I enjoy noticing the rank hypocrisy(s) issuing from the collective, party-uber-alles, stooges yammering to blame the "evil" Republicans for all their own faults they obsessively project on their perceived "enemy".

The morons even tacitly support terrorism, or wish to accommodate it, in their partisan zeal to muckrake the real "enemy": Republicans and the corruption of conservatism! I want to highlight that demonstration of stupidity and rank anti-patriotism over-and-over again, and so deservadly earned.

"And pass the popcorn, please. It's always funnier when the sideshow geek thinks people are laughing WITH them."

I sneer in disgust and revulsion ... you experience it as you please ...

#5 · tadowe · 2008/05/15

Well, since I'm not a "typical white person," I guess I'm not getting how Hillary is racist, but Obama isn't. But then, he'd probably just call me "sweetie" while asking me to hold my question long enough so he could avoid answering it.

#6 · KendraEH · 2008/05/20