Jan 27, 2008 11:09am
Bubba and Jesse Jackson, Part III
EmailAnother thing, as former President Bill Clinton must surely know, the Rev. Al Sharpton ran in South Carolina — and came in third. (LINK)
Sharpton garnered 10% of the vote, behind John Edwards (45%) and John Kerry (30%).
Jesse Jackson’s victories there can surely be attributed at least in part to Jackson’s being FROM South Carolina.
But then again, if the point is to get the media and the political world talking about race … I guess he succeeded, at least with me, this morning.
– jpt
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Yeah, this was just another example of race-baiting from the Clintons.
Hopefully the Obama campaign won’t take a bite this time, but I do also hope the media will hold the Clintons accountable for this shameful behavior.
Posted by: Mike | January 27, 2008, 11:15 am 11:15 am
Black, white, Christian , Mormon, leftist, conservative……when will the profiling stop? Our political heros can not stop the finger pointing and name calling because they believe their audience thinks and acts this way. Lets show them we are better then their vision of American voters. Be sure the Clintons will self destruct!
Posted by: White Dog | January 27, 2008, 11:25 am 11:25 am
its ashame to think that an ex-president would stoop to this level. many voters will hold the Clintons responsible during future elections.
Posted by: kevin | January 27, 2008, 11:47 am 11:47 am
I voted for Hilary in Florida early voting. Had I waited and witnessed the full gutter-depth to which Bill Clinton is sinking, my vote would have been for Obama.
After 7 shameful years we need change and all the democratic candidates are offering it.
Whatever hope Hillary was offering has been overshadowed. Bill Clinton has soured hope.
Posted by: Rick | January 27, 2008, 12:05 pm 12:05 pm
Tapper said:
“if the point is to get the media and the political world talking about race … I guess he succeeded, at least with me, this morning.”
Exactemundo. That is *exactly* why Clinton’s saying what he’s saying. He doesn’t care if he gets lambasted by the press, pundits or even fellow Democrats; all he wants is to inject issues into the campaign coverage.
That way, Obama is kept on the defensive. That way, Obama’s message is obscured.
All Bill is constantly doing is keeping Obama off-message.
The Jesse Jackson-thing once again: now people are constantly reading the names ‘Barack Obama’ and ‘Jesse Jackson’ in one sentence. Thanks to you and your colleagues, Jake.
You’re being excellent campaign aides :)
Posted by: Kaj | January 27, 2008, 12:12 pm 12:12 pm
The belief in the Democratic candidates offering change is a fantasy……the ability to create change from the White House is difficult. Look at the price our President has paid in both reputation and popularity.
Takes guts and the strength to manipulate the Congress. Neither Clinton nor Obama have it.
Posted by: White Dog | January 27, 2008, 12:13 pm 12:13 pm
Please, please keep this momentum going for Obama. It is wonderful to watch that man speaking. There is something very noble about him and, sadly, that makes the Clintons look a bit out of tune by contrast. Hillary, I think you have been wonderful and as a woman, I admire you. But I feel that the nomination belongs to Mr Obama. I don’t know why. It just feels right that way. So go and help make the history happen with this man and you will be remembered better for it.
Posted by: Jane | January 27, 2008, 1:37 pm 1:37 pm
POLITICS! POLITICS! POLITICS! DON’T BELIEVE IN NATIONAL MEDIA, POLLSTERS, PUNDITS, POLITICAL ADS, POLITICIAN AND CELEBRITY ENDORSERS – IT’S YOU VOTERS WHO WILL DECIDE NOT THEM! THINK HARD CHOOSE WISELY AND PRUDENTLY AND FOLLOW YOUR HEART WHO DO YOU THINK WILL BE THE BEST PERSON TO SERVE OUR COUNTRY AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATE OF AMERICA? AMERICA CANNOT AFFORD ANOTHER MISTAKE! God Bless America!
Posted by: Samson Lim | January 27, 2008, 1:43 pm 1:43 pm
Jack -
Thanks for being one of the few people smart enough to remember that Jesse Jackson was FROM SOUTH CAROLINA, and ran as a native son.
Not only that, his civil rights activism BEGAN in Greenville, SC, where as a student he fought to desegregate the local library.
Comparing Obama and Jackson is not only an attempt to isolate Obama as “the black candidate”, instead of the “Presidential candidate who happens to be black.” I think its also a deft effort to try to raise questions in the minds of Jewish voters, in New York in particular.
There are only two times in my life and career as a Democratic activist that I’ve been ashamed to be a Democrat. First, when we all learned that Bill Clinton looked America in the eye and lied through his teeth, and now this.
Posted by: Yellow Dog Democrat | January 27, 2008, 1:53 pm 1:53 pm
So much anger and racist hate in some of these posts. I’m ashamed of that part of American society.
One thing I know is those posts aren’t Obama supporters and probably not Edwards supporters. That leaves the Clintons who have always “played” the blacks and those entrinched yellow dog democrats.
Well, a big part of us are soooo ready to put the Clintons and that stuff behind and move ahead.
Thank you South Carolina for restoring our faith in the American spirit. Oh, by the way Clintons…just go away. Let America heal.
Posted by: A White Texan for Obama | January 27, 2008, 2:06 pm 2:06 pm
Can’t blame the Clintons for being apoplectic over the aerly success of Obama’s cult of personality. First, Bubba delivers 8 years of peace, prosperity, balanced budget and disappearing national debt. Then Hillary pays her dues for 7 years on the junior varsity, only to see freshman hotshot Barack jump the line for varsity status, setting in motion a completely predictable fracture of the team, and thereby nicely squandering what had been up to that point the Democrats’once-in-a-lifetime unobstructed path to the goal line. Kinda like Ralph Nader did in 2000 when he delivered the White House into the hands of a GOP adinistration whose policies have been utterly destructive of everything Nader claimed to stand for. Wonder what kind of a GOP president we’ll get this time. Wonder if Obama will feel even a twinge of embarrasment when, thanks to his premature career move, we end up with a Supreme Court fully capable of rolling back not only Roe v Wade, but also the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New Deal, and perhaps even the Emancipation Proclamation itself. Bubba is only the messenger from the real world.
Posted by: GMAC | January 27, 2008, 2:36 pm 2:36 pm
Thanks GMAC for expressing the sense of entitlement that pervades the Clinton camp. How dare that upstart from the hood try to deny us our rightful continuation of the Clinton-Bush dynasty!
Posted by: Mike | January 27, 2008, 2:57 pm 2:57 pm
Hey, but all the nay sayers like Craig Crawford say the Clintons ((dont)) race bait. It was just an accident that Bill Clinton would evoke Jesse Jackson…I mean thats not code…how could you guys even think that…shame on you
Posted by: Ghanja | January 27, 2008, 3:11 pm 3:11 pm
Obama needs vetted now. THe republican won’t treat himwith kid gloves’ they were tear him apart. better that the Demos and supporters see the truth now.
Posted by: Woodstock | January 27, 2008, 3:12 pm 3:12 pm
It is terrible to see here and at other online sites the large number of people who are seeing the Clintons and their ways for the first time after having supported them for so long.
It just goes to show how many people have voted in the past with their mind shut choosing style over substance.
And there is no indication that they are going to change anytime soon.
It’s scary!
Posted by: zqll | January 27, 2008, 3:42 pm 3:42 pm
South Carolina had no Democratic Presidential Primary in either 1984 Nor 1988. Clinton’s statement has caused most people to believe that Jesse Jackson won presidential primaries in South Carolina in those years. Actually there were no Democratic presidential primaries in South Carolina in either of those years. Jackson’s success in that state was in caucuses (Jackson was born in South Carolina).
Posted by: Coffee260 | January 27, 2008, 3:50 pm 3:50 pm
I hope the press plays this up all week like they did with Trent Lott and his praise of Strom Thurmond. The Clintons are no different than GW Bush and Karl Rove when it comes to cut throat politics. They could care less about the country – it’s all about their lust for power.
Posted by: brhseattle | January 27, 2008, 3:57 pm 3:57 pm
The media is stealing this election from the people with deliberate race issues against the Clintons. I’ll give you an example…
The reporter that questioned Bill Clinton, asked him a two part question…first, whether Obama could win because he was black..and THEN he asked what it meant that it took two people to defeat him. All the media coverage has deleted the first part of the question and attacked Bill for injecting “Jesse Jackson” into the response. Wake up people and tell the media to knock this crap off. They are doing a huge dis-service to our democracy.
Posted by: D.Campbell | January 27, 2008, 4:09 pm 4:09 pm
Why did Bill Clinton compare Obama’s win to Jesse Jackson’s in 1988 rather than, say, Edwards’ in 2004?
This is yet another example of Bill Clinton’s slithering euphemistic diversion into race politics. I have no time for the man anymore. None whatsoever. I congratulate the gentleman, Mr Obama, and thoroughly wish him all success.
Posted by: Richard Rote (California) | January 27, 2008, 4:10 pm 4:10 pm
Does anyone have the full interview, rather than just one question? I am interested in showing it to my political science students but it would be unfair to take it out of context.
Posted by: tony | January 27, 2008, 4:47 pm 4:47 pm
This presidential election is about the PAST vs. the FUTURE. We have had 20years of the ClintonandBush Dynasties (I would not be surprised if the Clintons and Bushes meet secretly to dole out their timelines of reign, watch if Hill wins, Jeb will be the next Republican president).
It’s time to look to the FUTURE and vote OBAMA.
Posted by: Ann B. | January 27, 2008, 5:40 pm 5:40 pm
It really seems to me the CLinton camp is determined to cast Obama as the black candidate use the race issue as a wedge. WHo is working for them? Karl Rove? These tactics don’t belong in the democratic party. For this reason I support Obama. He has tried to stay above the fray at least. What kind of former president behaves this way?
Posted by: Melissa | January 27, 2008, 5:54 pm 5:54 pm
Phew!! We can all relax. Hillary just said that Bill’s comments concerning Obama were due to Bill’s sleep deprivation and not because he is a conscienceless, conman as most of us suspected.
Posted by: Michael Lofrano | January 27, 2008, 6:05 pm 6:05 pm
What hypocrites these candidates are. They support separation of church and state but they go to a church to promote their political agenda from the pulpit. If a pastor get up and talks about politics they want to close the church down or take their tax exempt status from them. If a person or group wants to pray before a football game they are not aloud. If our courts want to hang the ten commandments in the court room they can’t. Hypocrites I say, it is ok for the politicians to as they please .
Posted by: thomas | January 27, 2008, 7:02 pm 7:02 pm
Is it still too early to rejoice in the downfall of the Clintons? Let’s jump the gun.
Posted by: @T | January 27, 2008, 7:15 pm 7:15 pm
By the end of the Primaries both Obama and hillary are going to be damage goods. If the Dems have a broker convention they could have one if Edwards keeps getting 15 to 25 % of the vote. I admire Edwards he is certainly a fighter. the Democrats would be smart to pick Edwards or someone not mention. But no one ever accused the Dems leadership as Smart.
Posted by: mark | January 27, 2008, 7:33 pm 7:33 pm
Don’t underestimate the Clintons. They don’t do ANYTHING that isn’t calculated as being to their advantage. Their strategy is to cause a rift in the Democratic Party on the way to the nomination. The plan is to make it impossible for Sen. Obama to turn down the offer to be Sen. Clinton’s running mate. He will have two choices: magnanomously accept the offer and possibly become the first African-American Vice President OR turn it down and be blamed for passing up the opportunity to unite the party — and be the fall guy should the Democratics lose in the general election.
Posted by: James Danley | January 27, 2008, 8:12 pm 8:12 pm
As a Canadian, watching from afar, this is frightening! The THOUGHT of such seemingly deceitful People in your White House is something that should propel EVERY AMERICAN to the polls! It appears they do not care at all about what is GOOD for the American People, throwing ANYONE in their way under the bus. Amazing. Good luck, America!
Posted by: susan | January 28, 2008, 8:38 am 8:38 am
I can only quote from the immortal Puck, who said, “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”
Posted by: chuck | January 28, 2008, 2:21 pm 2:21 pm
C’mon Jake, you can’t really try to sell us Al Sharpton as a serious candidate. He was no Jesse Jackson and you know it. Sharpton is to Jackson as Keyes is to Obama.
Obama 55%
Jesse 55%
Posted by: GEEVILL | January 28, 2008, 2:34 pm 2:34 pm
Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Bush. Is voting for Clinton really a vote for change? Or the same old oligarchy?
As an independent, I am considering Obama. If Clinton wins the nomination, I’m voting Republican. Even the Communist party is more conservative than Clinton.
Posted by: Think for Yourself | January 30, 2008, 10:14 am 10:14 am
There is only one man who can beat Barack Obama, and that man is not running as he has left politics to work with global climate change. Now Barack Obama is unbeatable. He deserves all the credit since he build his campaign from zero based on his merits, his message, and support of his grassroot volunteers. He is comparable to JFK in brining about fundamental changes and reaching out to republicans. Clinton family is wasting time, resources, and destroying the image of the democratic party. If Clinton were to be nominated by “Super Delegates” against the will of the majority of American voters, then I along with many more democrats will vote for Senator McCain or independent candidate. Thanks to Mr Clinton’s “extracurricular” activities, we were blessed with “president” Bush for eight years.
Posted by: Singh T. Junior | January 30, 2008, 10:18 am 10:18 am
It is refreshing to hear Obama as he fashions a new and refreshing approach and visionary thinking which he applies to the problems and solutions as he envisions it. I say many will be singing his praises if he is given the opportunity to bring his dream for America to fruition.
drb
Posted by: barry brown | February 2, 2008, 6:44 pm 6:44 pm