I'm sorry, but the notion of her saying that the Dem race is sexist after the race bomb she threw into the stream this spring gets my goat. It is also prompting this post, which I make with trepidation on the fear that some may find it offensive. [So it might get taken down--feel free to comment that I should remove it.]
At the risk of wading where no white male should go, I'd like to observe that yes, there are, unfortunately, racists and misogynists in the U.S. today, and that many vote with race or gender as a principal (negative) motivating factor. And it's not right in either case, although the dynamics may differ, given that women are not, technically speaking, a "minority". There is a kernel of truth in what Ms. Ferraro said (namely, that Sen. Obama has been helped by his race, to some degree), but it seems to me that one reasonable way to look at the situation is as follows:
1. In case you had not noticed, Sen. Obama is black. That, generally speaking, has not been a plus in national Presidential politics (especially for someone with his name). His race is a factor for many who vote. It is a positive factor for most African Americans, who have a measure of pride in having a wonderfully gifted African American candidate, and as a result that constituency has supported him in great numbers. That does not trouble me. On the other hand, there are many (unfortunately) who apparently have voted against him on account of his race. That troubles me. So the question is, has race been a net plus or a net negative for him?
2. In case you had not noticed, Sen. Clinton is a woman. That, generally speaking, has not been a plus in national Presidential politics. Her name, too, carries some baggage. Her gender is a factor for many who vote. It is a positive factor for many women, who have a measure of pride in having a wonderfully gifted female candidate, and as a result that constituency has supported her in great numbers. That does not trouble me. On the other hand, there are many (unfortunately) who have voted against her because she is a woman. That troubles me. So the question is, has gender been a net plus or a net negative for her?
That's the germ of sense in what Ms. Ferraro said: Obama's race certainly has shaped what his voters have looked like, demographically. (I say 'germ' because I think she actually was trying to get at a slightly different point, but I think that notion that, for some, his race is a positive for him, has truth.)
Whether or not either factor (race or gender), on a net basis, has been helpful or hurtful is the thing that no one has any clue of how to analyze or answer effectively.
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Actually, when you think of it there are all sorts of things that influence voters, many of them in so subtle a way that the voter him/herself is not even aware of it. I am thinking of height (tall is good); physical appearance (handsome is a definite plus); speaking voice (strident is bad, conversational is good; accents are bad unless they match one's own). In point of fact, the closer a candidate matches the voter personally, the better it would seem. We like the guy we can have a beer with and shy away from the obviously intelligent candidate. No "elite egg head" for us! Is that not a strange attitude? I am not sure this goes with your blog, but it popped up in my mind. Geraldine ought to know better, but clearly she doesn't. So it does not answer your question I suppose. Oh, well.
I found it hilarious (maybe disturbing is a better word?) that Ferraro insisted that Obama's race helped him in his run for the Democratic nomination.
A black man with an African last name running for president of the USA - could anyone seriously contemplating whether or not these things would be an advantage or a disadvantage think this was anything other than (to steal a phrase) audacious? Unless blacks were in the majority and whites in the minority, there's no way those two elements could be viewed as anything except liabilities.
I don't think there is anything inherently wrong in voting for Obama because he is black, or Clinton because she is a woman.
But frankly, I put more thought into for whom I am voting. Using what I would think of as a caricature for making that sort of decision is akin to voting on one issue alone. I care about the person and what he or she stands for, speaks about, has a voting record on (specifically here I am thinking about the vote to authorize GWB to enter into the Iraq war), etc.
I hope I do get to vote for a woman president one day, one who is the very best candidate in the field.
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