Obama's appeal is that he can transcend the issue of race. In order to do so, he will always need the high ground. To maintain this he will need to forgive Ferraro on the issue of race alone, and then strongly repudiate the suggestion that he has any hand up or needs to be defended as a victim.
We've all seen the game before. Black man suggests any element of race. Talking heads determine that an effective rebuttal is merely using the phrase 'race card' without even investigating merit. White people determine they are not racist, and feel victimized. Argument lost.
Obama needs to have the cooler head, and influence cooler heads. He does NOT need to play the victim the way the Clinton campaign does when it's back is against the wall. Not only because it's offensive, but because it is simply not presidential.
Just remember folks, this is not about Geraldine Ferraro. It's about the presidency.
A President should put people at ease. I consider this a window to do so. Run with it President Obama.
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Update: Howard Fineman on MSNBC just said that the Clinton campaign wants this to happen to bring the Obama camp in with a race bait. He needs to pull a 180 on her.