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Bubba & Jesse Jackson, Part II
January 27, 2008 8:43 AM
You can watch Clinton's out-of-nowhere mention of Jesse Jackson, when asked about Obama by ABC News' David Wright, HERE courtesy of Talking Points Memo.
Some other Democrats who won the South Carolina primary, whom Bill Clinton curiously didn't mention:
John Edwards, beating John Kerry, in 2004.
Al Gore, beating Bill Bradley, in 2000.
Bill Clinton, beating Paul Tsongas, in 1992.
Dick Morris may have a spotty record as a pundit, but he knows the Clintons pretty well. Two weeks ago he wrote in his blog that the "race for the Democratic presidential nomination will be about race. The essential Clinton argument will be that Obama cannot win because he is black. The attack will be cloaked in seemingly innocuous rhetoric and code words will abound, but the fact will remain that the Clintons will be telling Democrats: Don’t take a chance on an African American nominee."
Bill Clinton is a brilliant man whose words are carefully chosen and who's often thinking ten moves ahead on the political chess board.
A son of the South, Clinton may have a strong record on civil rights issues as the NAACP sees it, but he is no stranger to racial code, having introduced "Sister Souljah moment" into the political lexicon by chastising a little-known female rapper who'd made some idiotic comments as well as her host at a Rainbow Coalition Conference, none other than Jesse Jackson.
Clinton's "Machiavellian maneuver," Jackson said at the time was intended "purely to appeal to conservative whites by containing Jackson and isolating Jackson."
Interestingly, the one group of Americans that was there for Clinton during his impeachment were African-Americans.
''People would say, 'Take care of the President, take care of my man,' '' civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia,(who is endorsing Hillary Clinton this year) said in 1998. ''They don't want to see him resign. They don't want to see him impeached. They just want us to leave him alone because there's this deep feeling in the black community that this President has been there for us.''
- jpt
January 27, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (17)
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1988 Jackson won SC with 55% over Al Gore's 19%
2008- Obama won with 55%.
Shame on Bill Clinton for once again uttering the truth. Jackson also won Michigan, Illinois, Mississippi, and quite a few other states. The same thing is happenning in 2008. He is right.
Posted by: geevill | Jan 28, 2008 2:18:33 PM
So Sen. Clinton's husband decides to give back to the African-American community by introducing the questions of race and electability of Sen. Obama instead of fighting him on his positions on the issues? It's payback time, and it looks like Sen. Clinton's husband is going to leave a big IOU on the table!
Posted by: chuck | Jan 28, 2008 2:18:06 PM
So, since Hillary is female, let's compare her to Geraldine Ferraro in 1984.
There is something profoundly insincere and patronizing about the Clintons' public affection for African-Americans, and it is starting to show.
Posted by: Anon | Jan 28, 2008 1:32:44 PM
The Clintons and everyone else from their Me Generation are still fighting the same tacky fights they've fought since 1968.
It is time for America to move past the selfishness of this generation, the on that can't work on real problems.
It's not just Clinton--it is also Bush. We have had 16 years of crap. The last thing needed is 4 or 8 more years of it.
Personally, I want to see McCain vs. Obama so that issues can be discussed in a civil, dignified, AMERICAN fashion.
Posted by: jim | Jan 27, 2008 9:44:58 PM
I'm ashamed and yet not surprised at the Clintons. They have always believed that they should do whatever to win and would make up for their insensitvity later (Bush's strategy too).
Bill Clinton chose Jesse Jackson for a reason and there is NOT ONE Hillary supporter who thinks that was an accident.
Hillary & Bill started with, "He can't govern because he's inexperienced." They turned to, "He can't win because he's Black." They now are saying "Iowa is strange and South Carolina is racist." Those states are the ones that should be angry and insulted, not Obama.
The Clintons have steadily moved downward on the moral ladder in an attempt to win. I hope now that it may hurt them, they cease their descent.
Posted by: TheTruthHurts | Jan 27, 2008 6:03:26 PM
Yeah! Jesse Jackson won in 84 and 88, Bill Clinton in 92, and Obama in 08. Only black people win South Carolina!
Posted by: Sumo somo | Jan 27, 2008 5:13:10 PM
the only other good example for what clinton was trying to say would be edwards. to say that he or gore won in SC would not prove the point Clinton was trying to make that a win in SC doesn't transform into a Presidential nomination. if he had cited himself or gore, it would have proved the opposite point that he was trying to make.
Posted by: jrterrier | Jan 27, 2008 3:39:58 PM
wait, what? who ever said anything about Al Franken?!? did i miss the latest scoop??
There is no more reason to assume that Al Franken will somehow gain political prominence if Obama wins the general, than to assume that if Hillary wins Laura Ingraham will ride her coat tail to the white house.
Why on earth would Al Franken be the thing that comes to your mind the moment you imagine an Obama administration?
*oh dear*
-curious
Posted by: washingtonian | Jan 27, 2008 3:21:58 PM
today is the first time i,ve read comments on this site,well my comment is simple white politicians know all about pimping black people are will always be the biggest whoresthey have.
every election they come running to the
black community with a dollar bill and a
sack ful of lies.bill clinton ain,t black and never will be john lewis,jesse jackson and andy young what they really are is foolish.white pimp them and they pimp us.win obama for our
sake including those i mentioned black in the country white in washington no wonder we ain,t gotten anywhere.
Posted by: charles g. | Jan 27, 2008 3:19:41 PM
I can live with Obama as President but I will not live with Al Franken as Senator!
If he is able to ride in on Obamas coattails thats a price this Republican will not pay!
Ill take Hiilary over Franken any day!
Posted by: Jeff | Jan 27, 2008 2:56:14 PM
I can live with Obama as President but I will not live with Al Franken as Senator!
If he is able to ride in on Obamas coattails thats a price this Republican will not pay!
Ill take Hiilary over Franken any day!
Posted by: Jeff | Jan 27, 2008 2:56:12 PM
Im not surprised at Clintons Southern strategy I am surprised that the MSM is making him pay a price for it.
And maybe a hefty price.
Wow!
Posted by: Jeff | Jan 27, 2008 2:53:49 PM
Bill and Hillary Clinton Ideas for America: Black against White, Latino against Black, White against Latino. I want to know what Charity Hillary "gave" the Hsu money to!!! was it the one that is running the Bill Clinton presidental library? It is now being reported that Bil and Hillary was passing out money to Blacks to vote for them so called "street money"
Posted by: Steve | Jan 27, 2008 11:23:46 AM
I'm fascinated by the fear that some have in having a biracial president. What's the fear?
Haven't you noticed the demographics of the world? Most are not white. Welcome to the future. Race will not be a prominent factor as we move into an even more global Earth.
Besides, when all is said and done, your knees are all going to bow and your tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father. And in His Kingdom, there is no black or white, Jew or Gentile, male or female.
Posted by: Kim | Jan 27, 2008 10:33:11 AM
Obama wins, he loses the white Hillary vote. If Hillary wins she loses the black vote. In other words, which one of the repub candidates will be our next president.
Posted by: Mike | Jan 27, 2008 10:09:42 AM
"South Carolina was a empty win."
no spin accounts for leading by 5-8% in the polls and then winning by 28% across just about every demographic except for seniors.
Obama whipped Hillary's butt, and while the African American vote helped, the stats indicate he would have won without.
People turning this into a race issue - pfft... do people arleady forget he won Iowa, with little to no black people, and came so close in NH and Nevada after being so far behind?
Posted by: Goon | Jan 27, 2008 9:58:39 AM
Obama's win beens,the whole world is watching us !
If we allow the Illuminist too create CHAOS in the US,like in the rest of the world,we will lose Mother Earth.
Think !
Posted by: Oginga | Jan 27, 2008 9:04:31 AM
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