Posted on 05/25/2008 9:11:27 AM PDT by blam
Obama has lost women 'with sexist campaign'
Phillip Sherwell in New York
Last Updated: 12:15AM BST 25/05/2008
Geraldine Ferraro, the only woman to run on a major party presidential ticket and a supporter of Hillary Clinton, has accused Barack Obama of conducting a "terribly sexist" campaign.
Miss Ferraro, the losing Democratic candidate for vice-president in 1984, said that she might abandon her lifelong party loyalties and vote for the Republican John McCain if Mr Obama is confirmed as the nominee.
"Should I ratify how the Obama campaign has been run by voting for him? I am going to have to think very hard about that," she said.
Some other partisan female Clinton supporters have already insisted that they will either vote for Mr McCain or write the former First Lady's name on the ballot in November, in retaliation for her allegedly sexist treatment by the media and fellow Democrats.
With just three primaries to come in early June, Mr Obama has in effect sewn up the Democratic nomination after the long, close and often bitter battle with Mrs Clinton. But to beat Mr McCain he must now win back legions of disappointed Clinton supporters.
Mr Obama has built his success on strong backing from blacks, urban liberals and the young, but he has struggled to win the support of female, white working-class and rural voters. If he cannot woo those crucial voting blocs, he faces defeat in key swing states that will determine the presidency.
Mrs Clinton's husband, Bill, is reported to be among prominent supporters now pushing for her to be Mr Obama's running mate on a "unity ticket". But that seems less likely this weekend after she was forced to apologise for raising the assassination of Robert Kennedy in June 1968 as a reason she should continue her campaign beyond May.
The remark provoked controversy as it seemed to highlight fears about the safety of her rival, who has faced death threats in his campaign to become the first black president. Mrs Clinton insisted that she meant no offence and was merely trying to illustrate how electoral contests change, but the comment has created another rift between the camps.
Some of Mrs Clinton's female supporters, many of whom were convinced that she was going to be the first female president, have emerged as the most vocal Democratic dissenters. Although several female commentators last week rejected the suggestion that sexism had played a role in her defeat, that view is taking hold in some circles.
"I've been flooded with calls from women saying they'll vote for McCain rather than Obama," said Miss Ferraro, 72, a New York lawyer who has made a number of controversial comments during the campaign. "I think this is a problem for Obama."
One new group is recruiting female Clinton supporters in swing states to campaign against Mr Obama in the autumn. Another, WomenCount, raised more than $200,000 (£100,000) in four days to buy full-page newspaper advertisements entitled "Not so fast" – a blast at the widespread media assertion that the contest is over.
As the controversy grew, Mrs Clinton also claimed for the first time last week that she had encountered "sexist" treatment during the campaign, and her husband spoke of "gender bias".
Mrs Clinton blamed the media rather than the Obama campaign, saying: "It's been deeply offensive to millions of women."
She rejected allegations that her campaign had played the race card, arguing: "The manifestation of some of the sexism that has gone on in this campaign is somehow more respectable…There should be equal rejection of the sexism and the racism. It seems as though the press at least is not as bothered by the incredible vitriol that has been engendered by the comments from people who are nothing but misogynists."
When The Sunday Telegraph interviewed Miss Ferraro last year, she pledged her readiness to go into battle for her friend Mrs Clinton against Republican "dirty tricks". But now she's leading the backlash by women infuriated by the allegedly sexist treatment of their heroine.
She goes much further than most in singling out Mr Obama for blame, listing examples which she believes back up her claim that he was "terribly sexist":
* His response to Mrs Clinton's reminiscences about learning to shoot as a girl at her grandfather's summer cabin in Pennsylvania. Miss Ferraro said: "He walked up and down the stage with his microphone like a stand-up comic and ridiculed her as an Annie Oakley," she said, quoting his reference to the legendary female sharpshooter. "Would he have ridiculed a man by comparing him to John Wayne? Of course not."
* His apparently dismissive description of Mrs Clinton as "likeable enough" during a televised debate before the New Hampshire primaries.
* His role in an earlier debate in Philadelphia when several of the male candidates running at the time were said to have ganged up on her, prompting Mrs Clinton to complain about the "boy's club" of US politics.
* His "failure", Miss Ferraro claims, to speak out against other sexist acts such as lewd T-shirts, the men who shouted "Iron my shirt!" at Mrs Clinton and jibes about her "cackle". Mr Obama also apologised to a female reporter he called "sweetie" in an aside that received widespread coverage.
Miss Ferraro saved her greatest ire for the media, however, where male pundits have regularly attacked Mrs Clinton.
One compared her to the obsessive Glenn Close character in Fatal Attraction.
"Obama wouldn't have been successful in pursuing the sexist line if the media had not picked it up," she said. "The fact that she's been so brutally handled by the media has driven me nuts. People try and dismiss this as sour grapes from sore losers, but that's nonsense."
Miss Ferraro provoked outrage earlier this year when she said in a interview that Mr Obama "would not be in this position" if he were white.
The Obama campaign accused her of racism, while Miss Ferraro countered by saying that her critics were playing the "race card".
Mr Obama's aides have dismissed accusations of sexism by the campaign, and several women media commentators have responded to the "sexist" allegations by insisting that Mrs Clinton's downfall is due to a badly-run campaign.
Some argued that sexist remarks about her had helped her win votes and donations from women. Most notably, Mrs Clinton won the New Hampshire primary – a result that kept her candidacy alive – following a surge of female support after the "likeable enough" comment and after she cried during a meeting with women in a coffee shop.
My thought exactly.
the university feminist got her ph.d. with daddy’s or hubbie’s $,
and then went on to cheat men out of faculty positions because of “sexism”.
they’re all parasites.
Gawd what a bunch of breathless drama queens! (Am I sexist yet?!)
If a Rep. woman was running for President,you’d really see some gender bias.
Actually, the original title says "women".. plural.
Mrs. Ferraro will spout off, then in the privacy of the voting booth, she will painfully and decidedly, pull the lever for what ever yellow dog is the Democrat candidate.
Oh, and by the way, what is this thing with Ferraro and all those fakey “arms akimbo” photographs. Seems like that’s her trademark. It does not exude authority, rather she looks like “Granny Grumble” trying to look authoratative dressed up in her little “power suit”. (In green, one looks like “Kermit the Frog” - someone should tell her. Kermit even holds his little froggy arms akimbo.)
Not only did the Obama jihadis aim to kneecap Geraldine, but mounted a tremendous (and coordinated) phone, mail, email and FAX campaign to get her fired and declared PNG from every talk show, media outlet, consultancy etc.
This coordinated faux “racism outrage” tactic is usually reserved for conservatives, or rich folks who can be shook down for payola.
Surprise Geraldine! Only right wing talk shows on Fox News even gave her a chance to respond.
Mrs. Clinton’s supporters are now complaining about the Hillary nutcrackers sold at every airport shop. Boo hoo. If Golda Meir, a woman of not only proclaimed but actual toughness, heard about Golda nutcrackers, she would have bought them by the case and given them away as party favors.— Peggy Noonan.
Oh, yes he would!!!!! I think Mrs. Clinton is becoming a bit of a whiner.
If my liberal lawyer, daughter-in-law is any indication, you are correct. First she was a huge Hillary backer. Now she says she will reluctantly vote for Obama. Because of the abortion issue. However her lib hubby is definitely voting for McCain.
Must be Mrs. Ferraro’s “power” stance.....I’m sure some body language expert has told her to stand that way....
Golda Meir and Margaret Thatcher were real women, tough but real. I this Mrs. Clinton is just mean.
Is it just me, or is that suit too big for her. It looks like she borrowed daddy’s suit (except for the color).
I think she missed to most obvious one, when he talked about understanding when Hillary ‘periodically was feeling a bit down’—or something to that effect. But to be fair he’s been similarly snide making insinuations about McCain’s age. The fact is that he’s a callow snot who will get any stereotypical dig in that he can, all the while crying racism three times a week.
Boy, talk about sore loserism. She want to play in the big leagues, well....she got it. Hillary, given her baggage, has received no worse treatment than any presidential candidate. If fact, her fate has been much milder than the treatment she has dished out to Clinton opponants over the years. So, cry me a river - you lost Hill, get over it.
And I thought Michelle had left him! An obvious typo. When there's html code embedded in an article's title, you really need to manually type it in (to prevent those weird characters that we sometimes see in posters' titles--and titles of course are not checked in the "preview" process), as opposed to copy & paste. I assume that's what happened here.
Yeah....it looks a little large....but, I envy her that....as I age.
I am certainly impressed by that photo of Ms. Ferraro proudly posing in front of a photo of a 48 star US flag.
The sexism thing is obviously intended to be this week’s talking point for the Hillary campaign.
This is the irony of all ironies. The Democratic party, the champions of the war against evil Republican, conservative, White-male traits of “sexism” and “racism” are accusing their fellow Democrats of being sexist and racist.
It just doesn’t get any better than this.
Two months ago.
48, 57...who's counting?
LOL. The exact count is really unimportant, it's how you feel about it that counts.
Democrats are so emotional.
They're supporting Hillary in the hopes of getting another bush in the White House.
:’)
Obama has lost women ‘with sexist campaign’
telegraph.co.uk | 25/05/2008 | Phillip Sherwell
Posted on 05/24/2008 7:08:00 PM PDT by neverdem
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2020909/posts
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