seemed to lend weight to at least a few of the favorable comparisons
between Barack Obama and JFK: both (so the narrative goes) intelligent,
charismatic, and hardworking political operators. The sentiment was
expressed in some quarters that Sen. Obama seemed a natural heir to
the Kennedy legacy. People even credited Barack Obama with having
something of Bobby Kennedy's political style. Seeing either one of
them work a crowd (no matter what you thought about their politics),
you might think: "this guy has a way with people".
Then again, if you were Geraldine Ferraro, you might not think
anything of the sort. What you might think is that Barack Obama would
never merit such a comparison, much less such an endorsement, if he
weren't lucky enough to be black.
It's not that Ms. Ferraro is racist; far from it. Some of her friend's
best friends are black. Ms. Ferraro just understands, perhaps better
than most, that a white man with as much intelligence and political
skill as Mr. Obama could never, ever hope to secure the Democratic
nomination; only with absolutely no charisma would the white guy ever
get the nod. And even then, he'd have to be somewhat ethnic. Maybe
Greek. Then he'd have a shot. Ms. Ferraro, of course, would be happy
to share that ticket, if such a crazy thing had a chance in hell of
happening.
And what are we to think of the Hillary Clinton who in 2000 beat Rick
Lazio in the contest for Pat Moynihan's empty seat in the U.S. Senate?
By some accounts it was a close race and a hard-won victory (she got
55% of the vote) against an adversary who had spent more time as an
elected official than she. (This is also true of Senator Obama, talking
points about "experience" notwithstanding.) It was said in some quarters
that she came off quite well in the debates against Mr. Lazio. There were even
rumors that she had campaigned quite aggressively and skillfully in the
suburban and rural areas of New York State.
If you were Geraldine Ferraro, however, all this talk about hard work and
political skill would be just so much noise to you. In fact, as
politically incorrect as it might be, you couldn't help but conclude
that the Clinton victory never would have happened if she weren't
lucky enough not to have a penis.
Or not. Here is where Gerry starts to deviate from her own logic. You see,
Ms. Ferraro would probably tell you that
being a tough political streetfighter with deep pockets and name
recognition, is actually the victim here. She's worked very hard for
everything she's achieved independently since some guy she happened to have married
(what was his name? Will? Phil?) got some high-profile job or other in
Washington. The sexist media, on the other hand, has downplayed not
only the resounding success of her healthcare plan but also her many 3A.M.
foreign policy achievements -- in Bosnia and Kosovo, for example, not
to mention Northern Ireland -- choosing instead to sing the praises of some black
guy who was never part of a scandal-plagued, polarizing White House.
It's clear: America's media establishment hates white guys and women.
The bias is obvious and unmistakable: on the rare occasion in this
country when a white male manages to break through the glass ceiling
and become President, he often finds himself crippled by a storm of
anti-white-guy media coverage. In recent memory there was one white
President whose rationale for starting a war was endlessly questioned,
analyzed, second-guessed, and subjected to withering scrutiny to the
point where, if memory serves, he got so pissed off he choked on a
pretzel.* Shame on you, Judith Miller! (You're lucky you don't have a
penis.)
On sexism the media's record is just as shameful. Rather than focus on
the battle-hardened Senator Clinton's "experience"
while she was married to whatshisface, this country's media outlets
are fawning over a "black" man (no more black, according to some, than
the elusive and seldom-seen Mr. Clinton) who, with the invisible aid
of a vast right-wing reverse-racist sexist conspiracy, gave her a
thorough asswhipping in eleven straight primary contests and is ahead
in the delegate count. Shame on you, democratic process!
After careful study, the elegance and simplicity of Ferraro Logic
reveals itself thus: being an ethnic minority in a country with a
painful legacy of slavery and segregation is a breeze, there's
essentially no downside. Being a white man or a woman, on the other
hand, is really difficult; lacking both melanin and a penis, Senator
Clinton is really in a bad way. Sympathy is definitely in order;
perhaps some tears too, as I hear the senator has used up her yearly
quota. Some wit might be thoughtless enough to suggest that, while
there's nothing for the melanin problem, she could simply confiscate
her husband's penis, thereby forcing him to do his thinking with his brain. (I
couldn't possibly comment.)
In any case, this is less about the Clinton dynasty ("nasty" being the
operative syllable) than it is about our friend Geraldine. I applaud
Ms. Ferraro for her independence and her courage. So many of us are
silenced, in our daily lives, by the fear of looking like a complete
fool; to see someone who is undeterred by it is an inspiration.
* The chronology of the events in question does not jibe with reality.
The pretzel incident actually occurred before the start of the Iraq War.
Sense7 regrets the error, and fuck you if you can't take a joke.
