Who's Playing The Race Card?

By Keith Boykin
Monday, January 14 2008, 10:59AM
in politics

Barack Obama and Ludacris

Is it just me, or is race suddenly becoming an issue in the presidential campaign that it wasn't before Barack Obama won Iowa?

Last week, former Bush political strategist Karl Rove described Obama's unfortunate "you're likable enough" remark to Hillary Clinton at the New Hampshire presidential debate as "trash talking" that he said "was an unattractive carryover from his days playing pickup basketball at Harvard."

Meanwhile, Clinton supporter and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo told a reporter, "You can't shuck and jive at a press conference," during a discussion about Barack Obama. "All those moves you can make with the press don't work when you're in someone's living room," he said.

Over the weekend, BET founder and Clinton supporter Bob Johnson attacked Barack Obama for his past drug use, a subject the Clinton campaign said they didn't want to bring up when another supporter raised it a few weeks ago.

Johnson said he was insulted by the Obama campaign's complaints that the Clintons had been playing the "race card" before New Hampshire when Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said that it took President Lyndon Johnson to fulfill Dr. Martin Luther King's dream and former President Bill Clinton said Obama's Iraq storyline was a "fairy tale."

"As an African-American, I am frankly insulted that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues since Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood –­ and I won’t say what he was doing, but he said it in the book –­ when they have been involved,” said Johnson.

Quite frankly, I'm surprised that Bob Johnson would be more insulted by Barack Obama's inspiring campaign than by the degrading, sexist and homophobic booty-shaking videos he ran on his network for 20 years. And if I recall correctly, our last two presidents each have a little history with illegal substances. Why is this an issue?

Then today the right-wing New York Post reported that Obama and his wife Michelle entered into his Iowa victory party on January 3 as Jay-Z's rap song "99 Problems" was blaring. In the song, Jay-Z reportedly says, "I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one."

Before Iowa, Barack Obama was the magical black guy who transcends race. Now he's becoming the drug using, rap-singing, basketball-playing black guy who likes to beat up on white women as he shucks and jives his way to the White House.

What's going on here?

Comments (24)

Ostend Street
January 14 2008, 11:28AM

I am not surprised at the remarks, but I am surprised that they weren't made sooner. Hey, we live in America and racism is as homemade as apple-pie and unfornately, it is so embedded in our lifestyles that even we as black folk ignore the subtle signs that are always there.

emylpmis
January 14 2008, 12:03PM

I must agree. I think white America realized that the Obama campaign isn’t a joke. The possibility of a black president frightens many white Americans, and some black folk as well.

Floridaboy8703
January 14 2008, 1:19PM

I love politics!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(sarcasm)

bubba
January 14 2008, 1:23PM

Is there really a Black person alive who didn't think this would happen at some point? Inevitably Clinton was assessed on the basis of her gender after her crying jag in New Hampshire. Obama is still outside of the old guard establishment, so his ascent is sure to dredge up an old picture of him with gold teeth or a joint in his hand. When Kucinich started to make sense, he was barred from debates altogether, so Obama still has a chance if he can stop sitting out these skirmishes and assert himself.

gs
January 14 2008, 2:54PM

Y'all not gonna believe this. THis dude actually told his congregation that "Negroes are running after that half white boy and abandoning Clinton. Obama got a white momma". Check out this link -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgtIqeV-6mk

taylor Siluwé[TypeKey Profile Page]
January 14 2008, 4:23PM

The Clintons are pulling out all the stops now. Hillary's academy award calibre teary moment has dredged up the image of the big black man going after the helpless white woman.

Hillary is hardly helpless, and with Bill going on the radio the other day on the Steve Harvery morning show to toot her horn, its clear the Clintons are pulling no punches to get the black vote.

I for one think its a shame that any of us would vote for Clinton over Obama when we know there are those out there who will vote against Obama just because he's black. We've got to counter that oh-so American latent racist bull. Vote for Obama -- and yes, just because he's black.

A black face in the White House is the only real change there is.

T. Zac
January 14 2008, 5:24PM

This does not surprise me at all. The thing is it is not going to work. This is not to say that Obama will win the Dem. Nom. but these tactics will not work to discredit him.

The Clintons should be careful who they let endorse them. The former CEO of BET? This man has less credibility with Black Americans than anyone.

hephaestion
January 14 2008, 6:42PM

I'm not suprised they are BOTH playing the race card.

Kyon Saucier
January 14 2008, 7:17PM

What's going on here?

What's going on is that there is a good chance Obama may become the Democratic Presidential Candidate and if he does then there is a very strong chance that he will win. I have a belief that certain folkz are not happy with that, be they his competition or not, and they are using racism, racial discord, and subtle racism to derail him. Happens all the time all over the world. Happens all the time here.

I mean I hate to say this but lets be real here. There are still a very large amount of people in this nation who'd rather have a WHITE WOMAN for president than a BLACK MAN.

Garland
January 14 2008, 7:48PM

Taylor, I disagree with you. The idea of putting just ANY black person in the White House is as misguided as a white person not voting for a black candidate because of race. Both actions are racist when you get down to it. Would you still preach the same rhetoric if it was Clarence Thomas going against Hilary on the Democratic ticket? We don't need just ANY black man in the White House, we need a human being that's competent to run our government and bridge the inequality between the races.

How are the Clintons playing the race card? Not once did they mention or insinuate that race is the factor behind Obama's "so-called" bad behaviors. Are they supposed to just roll over and let Barack's campaign continue to throw mud? No one said Obama and Edwards were being sexist when they tag teamed Hilary, so why are we pulling this card now?

cmoney
January 14 2008, 8:26PM

I just lost what little respect I had for Hillary Clinton. She has decided to play the race card and use a Southern strategy against Barack Obama. Then she lied about it and tried to say Obama injected race into the campaign!! Nobody speaks less about race than Obama!

Basically, this b#$@% will do anything, say anything and stomp on both her own legacy and her husband's civil rights legacy to obtain power. I was surprised, but I am even more surprised that I was surprised that the Clintons would stoop this low. If she becomes the Democratic nominee, this might be the year I vote Republican--and that's saying something because I hate Republicans. I just don't think I can ever support Hilary Clinton after this stunt.

DB
January 14 2008, 8:49PM

Kyon stated how I have felt, America may be ready for a White Female president but not a Black one.

elg
January 14 2008, 9:24PM

Hillary Clinton said, in so many words, that Dr. King led a moral crusade, but crusades have to be written and signed into law. Dr. King and his civil rights movement greatly influenced the legislative process but it took the Congress, both the House and the Senate, to write and pass the civil rights laws and President Lyndon B. Johnson to sign them into law. What part of her reasoning is racist?

And Obama's admitted cocaine use is fair game. The Republicans, who see politics as a blood sport, will definitely use it against him if he becomes the Democratic nominee. I can see the "swift boat" type attack add now: an Obama look alike stumbling about and a voice-over saying 'do you want an ex-cocaine/crack user (since powder cocaine and crack cocaine are supposedly the "same" drug) to be your next president'.

Liquid Fonts
January 15 2008, 12:43AM

Obama may have benefited from his blackness in his political career up to this point and maybe not but being black doesn't make him an automatic representative of working class or poor Americans.In his recent speech Obama paints a picture of himself as being raised basically no different than the working poor when he stated he doesn't come from privilege. But Privilege defined by whom? He adds that in order for him to make it in life he had to go into substantial debt to obtain an education.

Well Obama if you were raised Middle Class then you probably qualified for less aid. Many working class people value their education and go into the same amt of financial debt as middle class students but because they have less resources to stay competitive with more affluent students whose parents are not overly burdened by losing a kid to college and can afford not to work during the semester, it costs less affluent students MORE in the long run. The bottom doesn't end at the middle. I'm more than happy to support Obama but first he needs to fully acknowledge his privilege in the same way his financial aid office did when they sent him those tuition bills.

Dean
January 15 2008, 12:57AM

I've followed this closely and on both sides it's a tempest in a teapot. That is both sides are making a mountain out of a molehill. Frankly, from what I see, both sides through authorized or unauthorized spokespersons (Eg, Andrew Cuomo for Clinton and Bob Johnson for Obama) have played the race card.

It's sickening for two reasons. 1. The more they focus on that, the more likely neither one of them will win against the Republicans in the Fall. That is, such play is a demolition derby and it's demolishing both campaings. And 2. It takes the focus off of real issues. For example the fact that both Obama and Clinton espouse immigration policies that hurt Black men and women.

They go for the Hispanic vote and take Blacks for granted on the immigration issue. That is, while Blacks worry about a war or words between the Clinton camp and the Obama camp, they both are espousing selling out hundreds of thousands of jobs that would go to Blacks so that they can woo Hispanics/Mexicans. Ain't that a shame!

Andy in Seattle
January 15 2008, 1:36AM

Before we all get too far ahead of ourselves and pointing fingers at this coalescing circular-firing-squad, stop and ask yourselves:

1) Whom does this benefit?
2) Whom do the Republicans want to run against, since their own slate of candidates is so weak?

If the GOP can't win with their weak, spinning-like-a-top...Rich White Men, can't run on the horrible mess they've made, they can only find the weaker or more polarizing candidate.

I'd personally vote for any Democrat running right now to stop the hemorrhaging Republic from bleeding into Empire, and I'll enthusiastically work for Hillary Rodham Clinton if she is the nominee. But I honestly fear Hillary is more unpredictable in facing the electorate, presents numerous swift-boatable targets from her and Bill's past (two targets for the price of one). I do believe she is the one the Republicans pray they face in November.

They've done this before, over and over again--instead of RFK or McCarthy, we got Humphrey. Instead of Muskie--who'd have probably beat Nixon in 72--we got McGovern. Instead of Hart, we got Mondale. Instead of Cuomo we got Dukakis. Clinton squeaked in the first time only because of Perot.

We haven't had a truly revolutionary candidate in decades. Either the GOP manipulates the process, or the DNC chickens out and tries the old Republican-lite losing strategy--or both.

There's just too much at stake. The need for hope and change is all the greater when the danger is so intense.

Jared
January 15 2008, 9:30AM

I'm not at all surprised that it happened, just that it took so long. Racism and fear of black men is as strong as ever, and, over the next month of voting, it will become more obvious and in your face.

I had no respect for Hillary to begin with and now I have none, and, will not vote at all if she is the candidate. At this point, I would rather have another Republican in office, as I know they don't like any blacks other than the ilk of Rice and Thomas. And, I was also shocked at Obama coming out on this issue, I didn't know that he had ever even said he was a black man.

And, just what did the Clintons do that so many blacks seem to feel they have to show them all this "love?"

DDurrellMays
January 16 2008, 9:42AM

"The Magic Negro"--every time I hear that, I smile. I watched the Nevada debates last night and I was simply mystified. If we could put Hilary's confidence, Obama's swagger, and John Edward's passion and conviction into a blender and pour us a democratic presidential candidate, they'd be one of the best president's we've had EVER.

CFB
January 16 2008, 7:24PM

I did hear about this but I hadn't paid much attention until reading the entry on this blog. Quite honestly, there are quite a few other issues that will rear their ugly head to the surface, it's just a wait and see game at this point.

Randy
January 16 2008, 11:26PM

Who doesn't think this is the tip of the berg. NO people have ceded control peacefully. In the swamp of racial politics even our so called "friends" will get dirty. Lastly, Jared asked "what did the Clintons do that so many blacks seem to feel they have to show..." They "featured" us. And unfortunately that is ENOUGH for our people. Slavery truly brainwashed the "coloreds."

Steve
January 21 2008, 8:06AM

I don't know that anyone is specifically playing the race card. In a race between two minorities (an African-American and a woman) it is inevitable that issues of race and gender will surface. One party (or the other) may feel some kind of slight, even when one is not intended (or, for that matter, made.)

I like Obama. But I like Hillary, too. As far as I'm concerned, this primary race is about whether the ticket is going to be Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama, and I'm quite thrilled with that. Either way, we ALL win.

KB
January 22 2008, 4:20AM

Contrary to what several people have said here, recent polls show that more Americans claim to be ready for a Black male president, than a female.

In addition, more white respondents report they are ready for a Black president than Black people.

When considering racism in America, sometimes you have to look in the mirror.

edvince
February 3 2008, 7:16AM

Like stocks and bonds, race issues in US are all about economics. It sells.

therealist
March 22 2008, 5:56PM

this is america, it was gonna come down to race at SOME point. hilary or mccain will somehow steal the election at the end of the day.

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