The clip above has an interesting ending. The last person I’d suspect to encapsulate
what’s happening right now is Patrick J. Buchanan. It’s not lightly that I offer
his assessment on the situation he makes regarding women supporters of Clinton (not including myself in the group to which Buchanan refers). Chris Matthews touched on it with his fighting woman’s rant last
night, referring to Clinton. Something has happened with Clinton supporters recently. I’ve got the emails to
prove it.
Geraldine Ferraro is wrong when she says Barack Obama is “lucky.”
He’s run a magnificent campaign. He’s an accomplished politician who has many
supporters, which he’s earned. He deserves respect. Her subsequent comment that
she’s getting attacked because she is “white” is not helpful either.
As for Keith Olbermann, he’s taken sides. His Edward R. Murrow sign off no
longer represents the journalism standards of Olbermann’s hero. But Keith Olbermann
is not “racist,” which some commenters have said. Those comments have
been deleted along with others. Anyone making further comments to this point will be banned.
The video above partially explains what’s happening, which no one in the Obama
campaign or in the world of his supporters understands. I’m not talking about
myself personally, but about the emails and comments coming in. Clinton supporters are
infuriated at the race comments and charges coming from the Obama camp and his
supporters, while they feel wounded over comments made by Ferraro and others. Clinton supporters feel a double standard happening, which is made worse with
Obama’s rhetoric using “hoodwink,” as well as shameful op-eds like
the one yesterday in the Times, both of which are being ignored compared to Ferraro. But Olbermann is evidently going to make matters
worse tomorrow night, in order to benefit Obama, as he’s promised a “special
comment” on the Clinton campaign. This is a huge error in judgment on his
part, but there’s nothing that can be done. It will stoke an already burning
inferno of rage felt by many Clinton supporters, which will flow over on to
people’s feelings about Obama.
The sexism and misogyny in this campaign has been ugly and widespread. Paul Lukasiak has a post on it over at Lambert’s place.
However, the charges
of racism towards Clinton and her supporters are now being met with blind rage, while Ferraro’s comments are made out of frustration over the coverage Clinton has received over time, starting with Jesse Jackson Jr. stoking those fires, as well as the threats to African American lawmakers for supporting Clinton. Obama’s campaign is furious over Ferraro (and others), but most especially about the resignations of key figures, especially Samantha Power, from his campaign who exhibited hateful language towards Clinton, and have been made to pay for it with their positions.
Where this Democratic firestorm will end no one knows, but it’s white heat today is likely going to be further ignited by Keith Olbermann’s “special comment” tomorrow. I’d say turn off the set and don’t watch it, but the emotional engagement is too high for that to work. I don’t know what can calm this situation down at this point. It certainly isn’t cable TV.
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