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Obama Damps Down Racial Controversy

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January 14, 2008 5:43 PM

ABC News' David Wright, Andy Fies, and Sunlen Miller Report: Sen. Barack Obama told ABC News Monday there is nothing in Sen. Hillary Clinton's record that would give him any cause for concern about her in terms of racial politics.

Asked how Obama interpreted two recent remarks by the Clintons that prompted an angry reaction from some in the Black community, Obama sought to damp down the racial dynamics of the controversy.

Many African Americans were offended when Hillary Clinton told an interviewer in New Hampshire, "Martin Luther King's dream became a reality when Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964." 

Some say she seemed to suggest that it took a white politician to fulfill a black man's dream.

"I don't think it was in any way a racial comment," Obama told ABC News.  "That's something that has played out in the press.  That's not my view."

But, he said, the comment was revealing about her political character.  "I do think it was indicative of the perspective that she brings, which is that what happens in Washington is more important than what happens outside of Washington," he said.

He said he believes the quote betrays a belief on her part, "that the intricacies of the legislative process were somehow more significant than when ordinary people rise up and march and go to jail and fight for justice." 

He called that a "fundamental difference" between them.

Former President Bill Clinton also offended some African Americans when, addressing Dartmouth College students, he referred to Obama's campaign as "the biggest fairy tale" he'd ever seen.

Did Obama feel dissed? He laughed and shook his head. 

But, again, Obama looked past the racial controversy.

Instead, Obama directed his response to the dispute over whether opposition to the Iraq War was consistent.  (Clinton has since reiterated that is what he meant when he invoked the "fairy tale" line.)

"Both he and Sen. Clinton have been spending a lot of time over the past month trying to run down my record," Obama said.  "What particularly distresses me is this notion that I wasn't against the war from the start.

"This is coming from a former president who suggests that he was and nobody can find any record of it," he said.

On Monday evening, Obama called a news conference to second these points, noting he is: "concerned about the tenor of the race in these past few days," and stressing that he, former Sen. John Edwards, and Clinton all share the same goals when it comes to civil rights and equal justice issues.

The controversy shows no signs of abating. Former President Bill Clinton will be on Al Sharpton's radio show for a full hour Tuesday afternoon.

January 14, 2008 in Bush, George W., Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (272)

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Thank you Barack for being a bigger person! The difference between you and Hillary is that people, regardless of race, color, creed, or gender, TRUST you!

Posted by: M Smith | Jan 14, 2008 6:30:04 PM

Go Barack! Finally, someone shows some class up in this primary!

Posted by: onceler | Jan 14, 2008 6:30:08 PM

He may not have been playing this game(politics) long but he sure knows when to lay down his cards.

Posted by: Dennis | Jan 14, 2008 6:31:49 PM

Oops he's doing it again. His surrogates create and exploit the issue and at the end the "savior" Obama talks and all is forgotten. LOL
Who is he think is fooling????
What a fake man!

Posted by: Barack is fake | Jan 14, 2008 6:34:09 PM

Once again The Huckster took time off his busy schedule to attend service and even preach a summon or two, a strong reminder that he is not disconnected from his faith based approach to Government. In Huckabee, the Christian conservatives and social moderates have found their leader, one who understands that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.

“The First Amendment requires that expressions of faith be neither prohibited nor preferred. We should not banish religion from the public square, but should guarantee access to all voices and views. We should share and debate our faith, but never seek to impose it. When discussing faith and politics, we should honor the "candid" in candidate - I have much more respect for an honest atheist than a disingenuous believer.” Said the Huckster regarding faith in politics.

Huckaboom adds “My faith is my life - it defines me. My faith doesn't influence my decisions, it drives them. For example, when it comes to the environment, I believe in being a good steward of the earth. I don't separate my faith from my personal and professional lives. Real faith makes us humble and mindful, not of the faults of others, but of our own. It makes us less judgmental, as we see others with the same frailties we have. Faith gives us strength in the face of injustice and motivates us to do our best for the least of us.”

Then he capped his views with one of his famous one line cliché’s “Our nation was birthed in a spirit of faith - not a prescriptive one telling us whether to believe, but one acknowledging that providence pervades our world.”

On the democratic front, we find ourselves in the middle of a lost campaign. While Clinton may have clawed her way out of an abyss in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, the shadows over her campaign are a reminder that the path she's forging is still in the deep woods. The questions surrounding the crocodile tears are systematically being answered.

On realizing that her top advisor had been busted and spend the day in jail for driving under the influence, (DWI) and reckless driving, 70mph in a 30mph zone, (residential), Billary shed a tear to mark the impending end of her campaign because the polls showed Obama winning by double digits.

As the liar she is, she did not disclose this information to the New Hampshire voters, nor did she publicly condemn Sid Blumenthal. Her lack of disciplinary action would have infuriated the mothers against drunk drivers, the majority of whom are baby boomers, her core voting block.

Billary is so full of it, she mistakenly thinks Americans are idiots too. On “Meet The Press Yesterday”, she unequivocally claimed that the Iraqis are changing their ways because of her remarks. “The Iraqis follow everything that I say” she ranted on while all along she has been ambivalent on the war, speaking against it yet voting in support of the President’s entire requests, from war authorization to additional funding. Now with success in sight, she unashamedly takes all the credit, while in fact she never had anything to do with the effort other than croak away her ambivalence; another pathetic show of idiocy.

That is truly the fairy tale. And it is driven by a refusal to admit real success because that success has been achieved under the leadership of President George W. Bush! Surely, when will she stop?

How can the most divisive and least popular politician be elected into office? With a lot of questions surrounding their horrid past with a blood trail rivaled only by the Nazis, the Clintons campaign based on deceit and disinformation is walking on very thin ice; when the people know the truth, will they be as sympathetic?

Posted by: Grapevine Daily | Jan 14, 2008 6:35:00 PM

Obama's campaign is full of it! If they think experience does not count in this election, wake up everyone. Even the corporate world looks for talented people who grow, get years of experience, and if they are lucky, they get promoted to run companies. Folks, we're talking about running this country with enormous domestic and global challenges. What we need is track record of experience, know how, and less oratorical abilities and not a complainer when words seem disagreeable for them.

Posted by: Normita | Jan 14, 2008 6:37:00 PM

I hope he means what he says. At this point, I've lost faith. I watched this practitioner of "the politics of hope" either participate in smearing the Clintons as racists himself or happily stand by while his surrogates did it.

It'll take a while before I can bring myself to vote for him with the enthusiasm I once had--back when I believed he was a different kind of politician. The past few days he has not been. And while I'm glad to see him climb back on his high horse, I'm not inclined to forget this episode.

Posted by: fed up | Jan 14, 2008 6:38:39 PM

Bill and Hillary will say anything to get elected. They have this sense of entitlement and arrogance. I am proud to say I only voted for Bill one time (once was enough).

Obama offers real change by building a broad new, more inclusive Democratic majority. As a result, he will get more done as President than Hillary ever could.

Bill and Hillary rule by divide and conquor...the Karl Rove playbook. It's sad and pathetic and I wont vote for her in the general election.

Posted by: Henry | Jan 14, 2008 6:39:49 PM

Another example of the true leadership we need. Once again, takes it to the level that all politics should achieve. A class act.

Posted by: Harris-Utah | Jan 14, 2008 6:41:08 PM

wow. what a pitch perfect response.

Posted by: manny | Jan 14, 2008 6:41:12 PM

Now Obama damps down racial controversy simply because he and his campaign know that it will backfire. They are seeing other African American leaders disagree with him and it will polarize the African American vote, it was silly to try to portrait Bill Clinton as racist. That was foolish and there many African Americans if not the vast majority of them that remember Bill Clinton and know he was a good President.

Posted by: Tina | Jan 14, 2008 6:42:32 PM

I would also like to know what kind of role model Obama thinks he is for our children?? I would ask more about his lack of voting when it counts? 130 present votes in a YEAR?????

I would also like to know what Obama is trying to tell women by this:
(isn't this just as bad as Hillary's comments, Yet the media doesn't confront him…. Maybe it is a fairytale?)

"PRESIDENTIAL hopeful Barack Obama claims to run a clean campaign, but someone in his camp took a swipe at Hillary Clinton through the candidate's theme song.

As Obama and his wife, Michelle, strolled triumphantly into his victory party in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 3, Jay-Z's "99 Problems" was blaring. In it, Jay raps, "I got 99 problems, but a bi*ch ain't one."

Some listeners took it as a not-so-sly reference to Hillary.

"We didn't know he used that," a shocked Clinton spokesperson said. "

I would also like to know what kind of role model that is for our children??

Posted by: Dan -w | Jan 14, 2008 6:51:45 PM

Im not a supporter or Mr Obama but in all fairness this man is a leader. He has handled the problem with class and dignity. Just that we differ on social issues I would have been voting for him.

He is a good man to be honest

Posted by: EE | Jan 14, 2008 6:53:38 PM

I was going to say something but then I forgot. Oh yeah...Obama already said it!

Posted by: Dave | Jan 14, 2008 6:54:12 PM

-PollM

You are drawing parallels where there aren't any. Those numbers were in place before this controversy began; they were already beginning to shift to Obama around the time of the Iowa caucuses and really pushed in his favor immediately after the caucus.

If you were being at all objective and looked at current polls, you would notice his % of margin in South Carolina has dropped from 20% or so to 5% in the past few days.

I am an Obama fan, but I can admit that this thing was bad for everyone. (I like his response, but it may, as someone else said, polarize some people)

Posted by: Ross | Jan 14, 2008 6:54:30 PM

I was not sure I would vote for Obama, if he let this dissolve into a racial issue. But now I know he has the leadership qualities for this nation.

Posted by: Absolutely sure | Jan 14, 2008 6:54:59 PM

Obama has done nothing but run a CLEAN race. The Clinton's are concerned about doing whatever it takes to win. She wants to be role model for women everywhere by breaking the "glass ceiling", how can you get behind that and support it?

Posted by: tired of it | Jan 14, 2008 6:55:44 PM

Congrats to Obama for attempting to bring this out of the gutter.

Posted by: Bob, DC | Jan 14, 2008 6:55:56 PM

Looks like Obama ended up being the bigger person here. Go Obama!

Posted by: Cat | Jan 14, 2008 6:57:24 PM

Can't you people hear, read???? Obama NEVER started the race issue!!!! It was the media ONCE AGAIN, just looking for a story.

Posted by: tired of it | Jan 14, 2008 6:59:58 PM

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