Watching MSNBC tonight, I saw Tim Russert, not exactly the bastion of reason, make a good and ominous point. Any analysis of the general election that predicts a win for the Democrats counts on a strong African American Turnout. Tonight that bridge was burned for Hillary Clinton.
To say that Geraldine Ferraro's comments were part of an overall strategy on the part of the Clintons would not be fair. However, to not have the perspective to see how damaging they are both in strategical and logical terms is myopia to the point of absolute delusion. The part of the base that is alienated by the comments will not come back in the general election. The comments reaffirm every fear that progressives have felt about politics in general, that ascendancy on any other basis than conventional wisdom is the result of some "affirmative action" set of rules and that voters have somehow been caught up in an illusion of possibility. Good luck selling that to Democrats at large.
I believe this is the tipping point that we who have watched the events of the election have been looking for. The Clinton campaign, wanting to look strong, cannot now disavow the comments and must let them play. They may help in Pennsylvania where the Governor has already put his foot in it by stating that his voters may not be ready to vote for a black man. But I sense that in the heart and soul of the Democratic party there is a realization that a line has been crossed. Superdelegates must realize that this is no way to win. It fractures the base that the nominee has to shore up. It is no longer about strategy, about punching and counter punching. It is now about dignity and reason and what the party stands for.
Even with the talk of "words" and "speeches" and the maligning of Obama for his rhetorical skills, I think most Democrats believe that he has earned his place in the fight. Now these comments by a woman who owes her entire position in the party to her gender, defending a woman who undeniably owes her position to both her gender and her marriage to the former president seem both illogical and insanely divisive.
There comes a time when you can't keep upping a losing hand. Leave aside the current delegate counts. Defending, or at least not absolutely disowning these comments paints the Clinton candidacy as insensitive, opportunistic, and divisively ambitious. My only hope is that it is not part of an overall strategy. Nonetheless, it signals the end of her campaign.