The latest claim against Barack Obama, was by Hillary surrogate Robert Johnson, the former owner and founder of BET, who stated that while the Clintons were working for Civil Rights, Barack was doing other things:
"I am frankly insulted that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues when Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood that I won't say what he was doing but he said it in his book."
Johnson stated, later, that Barack was doing community work. Yet, the correct interpretation focuses on Barack's use of cocaine.
This comments is not racial, though it does rely on some conception that white people would not vote for a black person that used drugs. Further, what makes this comment so severe is that it is the second attempt by someone from the Clinton campaign to raise the drug issue in connection with race. The first attempt by William Shaheen, the former Clinton Campaign Co-Chair, resigned when he suggested that Barack would have problems in a national campaign against a Republican because of his drug use. In regards to a potential campaign, William Shaheen stated:
“It’ll be: ‘When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?’ There are so many openings for Republican dirty tricks. It’s hard to overcome.”
After the comments, Clinton apologized for the remarks, though she did not apologize after Robert Johnson's comments. She also did not apologize for Andrew Cuomo's "Shuck and jive" comments when referring to Obama.
It seems that there is a pattern that Clinton surrogates use race as a divisive issue because they need to split the black vote, which has moved toward Barack Obama since the end of 2007. Of course, this issue backfired on the Clinton campaign and, hence, the truce. When Barack Obama refused to make the campaign about race and transcended the issue, which would have been detrimental to his campaign, the Clinton campaign needed to capitulate on the tactic.
What is disturbing in this campaign is the implicit argument by sign in the person/ act relationship. What do these incidents say about the character of Clinton that allows her surrogates, which serve as a reflection of herself, to attack her opponent on racial grounds? It certainly does not suggest a united party. It certainly does not reflect political prudence. Further, and even worse, it shows that Clinton will attack a portion of her base for political gain. This is a similar to President Clinton's support from the gay and lesbian community but refusal to fight the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and his comments in the 2004 Presidential Election to Senator John Kerry to attack gays to gain some support in the Red States.
As of now, Clinton wants to avoid the use of race in the campaign. Fine. Yet, will she be true to her word? On Meet the Press this Sunday she stated would not use gender in the race though, in her speeches, she discusses "raising the glass ceiling," which refers to gender. (Again, what does political hypocrisy say about the candidate. While I disagree with former Governor Huckabee's positions on the constitution he is up front about where he stands.)
The debate tonight will be interesting.
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