The comment from Ferraro accused the media of being sexist as she said it has been hard on co-Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton and more favorable to co-Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama. Ferraro said the reason that Obama is in the position he is right now is that he is a black man.
Ferraro is a former representative from New York. She was also a nominee to be vice-president back in 1984. In a sense that Ferraro was a former VP-nominee could be an underlying reason for the comment directed towards Obama.
“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept,” Ferraro said. She said that many have gotten caught up in the craze and the excitement of the energy that the Obama campaign has brought forth.
David Axelrod, the top strategist for Obama’s campaign had demanded that Clinton take Ferraro out from the campaign’s finance committee. He said that Ferraro’s comment and the recent picture released of Obama in what looked to be a Muslim garb was a serious pattern that needed to be addressed.
“When you wink and nod at offensive strategists, you’re really sending a signal to your supporters that anything goes,” Axel rod explains.
Clinton was quick to respond by saying that she did not agree with what Ferraro said.
“It is regrettable that any of our supporters on both sides, because we’ve both had the experience, say things that kind of veer off into the personal,” Clinton said to The Associated Press. Clinton then added that everybody needs to stay focused on the important things: the issues they stand on.
The comment from Ferraro is the latest from those in the Clinton campaign to make comments about Obama due to his ethnicity.