NYT/AP: Analysis: Will Race Matter to Dems?
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 14, 2008
NEW YORK (AP) -- Barack Obama accuses Hillary Rodham Clinton of making an ''unfortunate'' remark about Martin Luther King Jr. She retorts that King's a hero to her -- and no one should be thinking Obama is a new MLK. Racial politics, quietly simmering for months, have burst into the open in the Democratic nomination fight between the woman who would be the first female president and the man who would be the first black. Will it make a difference to voters, black or white?...
***
Both sides are now trying -- in public statements -- to calm the furor before it gets out of control. Clinton sent out a statement Monday night saying there had been ''a lot of discussion and back and forth, much of which I know does not reflect what is in our hearts.'' ''I believe we must seek common ground,'' she said, and she added that ''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.'' Likewise, Obama, who had criticized her comment over the weekend, said Monday while campaigning in Nevada that it was time to stop ''so much tit-for-tat, back-and-forth.'' He said he sometimes disagrees with Clinton but he added, ''I think that Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have historically and consistently been on the right side of civil rights issues. ... I think that they care about the African American community and they care about all Americans and they want to see equal rights and equal justice in this country.''...
***
...the situation is especially vexing for Bill Clinton -- so popular among black voters he was once nicknamed the first black president. Many in politics believe Hillary Clinton's popularity among black voters is derived almost entirely from their favorable view of her husband....
***
The new focus on race -- and its impact on the electorate -- will not be known until the South Carolina primary Jan. 26, when blacks are expected to make up more than 50 percent of the Democratic electorate. A CBS News-New York Times poll released Sunday showed Obama leading Clinton among blacks 49 percent to 34 percent. And a survey by The Washington Post and ABC News showed blacks now support Obama over Clinton by 60 percent to 32 percent; Clinton led in that category 52 percent to 39 percent a month ago.
Donna Brazile, a prominent Democratic strategist who criticized Bill Clinton for his ''fairy tale'' remark last week, said the controversy reflected the vastly different roles Obama and Hillary Clinton play in the contest. ''Obama represents reconciliation, while Hillary represents equal rights, civil rights and human rights for all,'' Brazile said. ''You have a champion who's been on the front line and you have someone like Obama who has successfully navigated American politics without using race as an issue.'' ''I am calling on them both to let the moment pass,'' she said. ''Instead of attacking each other, let's attack the problems we face as Americans, like poverty and the 47 million Americans without health care.''
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Democrats-Race.html
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
