Was Geraldine Ferraro's Comment Racist?

Geraldine Ferraro is taking a lot of heat because of what she said about Barack Obama.

If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) 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.

I think the criticism is unfair. I don’t know about her gender comments, but race has certainly been a positive for Obama in this campaign, in large part because he is a candidate that transcends race. Barack Obama is a presidential candidate that happens to be black, not a black presidential candidate as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were before him. Because of his charisma and broad appeal to all races he is the first black candidate with a real shot at winning the White House. That makes people (both Democrats and Republicans, whites and blacks) feel good about America because it shows just how far we have come in the struggle for equality and civil rights.

What Ferraro was saying is that if Obama had exactly the same experience, the same charisma and oratory excellence; he would not now be the favorite for the Democratic nomination. I think that’s clearly true. It is not a knock on Obama. He has a point when he said that being an African-American named Barack Obama would hardly seem to be an asset for a presidential run. But his race has been an asset for him. Early in his political career it was his race combined with his charisma that lead to national attention. It was his race that allowed him to stand out from other state legislators. His race is part of why his candidacy inspires so many and (as Michelle Obama put it) makes them proud of America.

I am proud that race is so much less of an issue than it would have been 10 or 20 years ago. There are even arguments that Barack Obama’s election would ultimately be in the conservative interest. I think Barack Obama is inspiring. But I am not going to vote for him. That’s because I think race shouldn’t matter and I disagree with Obama on a whole host of issues. I like Barack Obama. He is the candidate I would most like to have a beer with. I just disagree with him.