Larry King: Hillary Supporter Carole Simpson fears Obama is unelectable because of his race

While watching Larry King last night, I was astonished to hear yet another Hillary supporter discuss fears regarding Obama's lack of electability in the general against McCain.

I'm a Obama fan who has managed to keep quiet regarding the "Popular Vote" argument.  I've listened to the "Big State" argument without saying too much.  I've been told numerous times that a "Caucus" shouldn't count since only activist go to those anyway. I've never been to a "Caucus" so I admit I may be too inexperienced to know enough about those one way or the other.

However, tonight on the Larry King show a Hillary Supporter (Carole Simpson) offered me and other Americans yet another option to use in deciding how to vote:  The Facts

There is just one small problem.  Her facts are based on Fear & Racism.

Transcript Below -    

Larry King Show 05/09/08

CAROLE SIMPSON: I was going to make a comment about the white voters statement that is attributed to Hillary, but I decided I have a better point to make and I want to make it right now. And that is facts are facts, as Lanny talked about with the tracking polls and Hillary's comparison to McCain's numbers, if they were running against each other in a general election.

Do you know what my big fear is, is that Barack Obama is going to win the nomination and during the general election all of those white people that came out to vote for him in the primaries are going to get in that booth and are not going to vote for him, just like Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, when he was running for the governor of California. All the polls said that he was going to win and he lost by a large margin because people said what was politically correct.

KING: Yes. What are you saying that America will not elect...

KING: You're saying America will not elect a black man?

Is that what you're saying?

CAROLE SIMPSON: I am fearful of that. I am fearful that "God damn America" is going to pop into their heads as soon as they get into the polling booth.

I am so offended that it is acceptable for a Democratic presidential candidates supporter to go on national television and suggest that white voters across this country will not vote for Obama because of his race.  

I can only say that I would be equally offended if an Obama supporter were to suggest on national television that Hillary is unelectable because men will go into the voting booth and refuse to vote for a woman.

The "Big Tent" feels much smaller when we base our facts on fear.  Let's do all we can to stop this trend.

•  Tip Jar/Flames

  by blueocean on Sat May 10, 2008 at 03:12:38 AM PDT

  •  Doubly hurtful

    If this charge came from a GOP politician, it would be dismissed as unsurprising. But the Democrats are supposed to be the party of tolerance and inclusion. Sad.

    by plum on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:10:25 AM PDT

    •  The Super Delegates have to end this now

      Wonder if they know about this latest attempt to make Obama unelectable.  

      If you say something often enough and loud enough it becomes the conventional wisdom.  This constant talk about race hurts Obama.  With WV and Kentucky coming up it doubly hurts and will keep the talk on race.

      Didn't the party leaders say that they didn't care if Hillary stayed in as long as she didn't hurt the Dems chances in the fall.  Guess what Super Delegates.  she's hurting the party.

      by Kitty on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:52:47 AM PDT

      •  Yes but they

        are scared about pissing off her supporters if they come out en masse before the voting stops.  That's the key problem.  People like Ellen Malcolm in today's Washington Post are making the case that she should be able to stay in until the votes are counted and that they would be royally pissed if the "boys" pushed her out before then -- that's the context that the supers are living in right now.

        by novaseeker on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:57:44 AM PDT

        •  enough with the fucking gender card!!!

          don't they see the point is that she's trying to damage obama not that she's campaigning??

          victimology is so sickening, at this point.

          by ye ye ye on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:05:29 AM PDT

          •  Yes they do

            but with people like Malcolm writing what she's writing, they have a problem.  It's not like Emily's List is a small matter.

            Look, I want them to come out and decide as well, I support Obama, but I understand the predicament people like Malcolm are putting them in.

            by novaseeker on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:27:55 AM PDT

  •  And from her Bio on Answers.com Her own words

    regarding a Black in White America documentary she was a principle leader of:

    She told Marc Gunther of the Detroit Free Press that it was "unbelievable...the most exciting project that I've been involved in, in my years in broadcasting."

    Unfortunately, some critics were not as enthusiastic about the final product. The documentary series was canceled, but Simpson was happy to know that at least one person learned that racism still existed, even in the lives of successful black men and women. "He [Arledge] was astounded to find that we still confront that kind of thing," Simpson told Gunther, "that the badge of color is always there, no matter how high you go, no matter how much you accomplish. There is always someone who will remind you that you're not quite the same as everybody else."
    o from Answers.com

    by blueocean on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:34:52 AM PDT

•  Wow a concern troll

  on the Larry King show ...

  "Concern trolls: They're not just for the internet anymore"

  by Gator1980 on Sat May 10, 2008 at 03:28:03 AM PDT

  •  I see it coming . . .

    recognizing that Carole Simpson is black, the Repugs are going to trot out black person after black person to say the same thing.  It is sad, but I had the same feeling after John Edwards dropped out and I leaned ever so slightly toward HRC.  But what made me a committed Obama supporter and donor was learning who he was.  Prejudice is ignorance.  Educate folks on who Barack Obama is and these concern trolls will evaporate

    by pikkel on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:06:30 AM PDT

    •  Who is she?

      I've never heard of her before.

      by Kitty on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:54:18 AM PDT

      •  She's an ex-newsie

        used to work for ABC News.

        by novaseeker on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:58:54 AM PDT

      •  This is just part of her bio on Answers.com

        And it is part of what makes it so hard to believe she said what she said.

        Life's Work

        Carole Simpson's career has been filled with many groundbreaking moments. She was the first black woman television reporter in the city of Chicago, and, as the first woman of color to have anchor duties on a major network, Simpson was instrumental in forcing her network to make policy changes in employee relations, hiring, and pay equity. Throughout her career, Simpson has remained committed to reporting such social issues as racism, violence against women and children, and teenage pregnancy. She has also covered such major news stories as the Nelson Mandela's release from prison in South Africa, the Senate impeachment trial of President Clinton, China's Tiananmen Square massacre, and the Oklahoma City bombing. Her dedication to fighting racism and sexism have garnered her many awards and the respect of her colleagues.

        by blueocean on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:00:17 AM PDT

  •  It's a pity that Simpson would allow herself to

    succumb to and promote the Clintons' race baiting. Actually, she should be ashamed of herself, but I suspect that like the Clintons, she has no shame.

    by rontun on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:25:07 AM PDT

  •  yep, glad i didn't watch. n/t

    by ladygreenslippers on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:29:08 AM PDT

•  I agree

  but it would be helpful in stopping that trend if we didn't have a standard bearer for our party supporting that argument, and, indeed, encouraging the party leaders to give her the nod simply and only based on that consideration.  I look to our party leaders to set an example, a direction, to illustrate what the party stands for, and where we can go as a nation if we pull together.  Not to do the opposite.  Leadership is important in a president.  I'd prefer leadership to move us forward, to challenge us to do and be better, frankly.  That's why Clinton's campaign has left me so flat is that it feels it does just the opposite.

  by American in Kathmandu on Sat May 10, 2008 at 03:28:51 AM PDT

•  There is no denying that it is true for a certain

  number of people. The gamble the Dem party is about to take depends on how big that number is, and if all the new voters Obama is bringing in, combined with already existing "normal" people - I don't know what the term would be, rational people, adults?, are enough to overwhelm it. (I believe they are.) You may say "Live on Hope, and die of starvation," but what is the alternative at this point? Sometimes you just have to take a leap.

  by melvin on Sat May 10, 2008 at 03:29:53 AM PDT

  •  but is that kind of voter

    any more likely to trust a woman as president, particularly a woman with the negative honesty rating as Hillary Clinton? No.

    This might be a persuasive (if morally reprehensible) argument for a white male candidate to make. I don't think it's plausible for Hillary to make it.

    by elmo on Sat May 10, 2008 at 03:56:00 AM PDT

    •  I guess I agree with Noonan on this.

      It may be valid, but it sounds incredibly vulgar coming from the candidate herself.

      It suggests not just an intellectual emptiness on the part of her candidacy but a kind of amoral, might is right philosophy as well. A moral bankruptcy.

      She has become an embarrassment herself, never mind her husband.

      That's another thing. She obviously can't keep him under contro, and that alone is very good reason to keep the two of them out of the White House.

      by melvin on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:18:58 AM PDT

  •  i think

    that it is actually more likely for people to vote for a black MAN than any woman.  so the argument can be thrown the other way.

    look, if race or gender are going to be the reason that someone loses, so be it.  but if we never put anyone up there, it will have the same effect anyway.

    by Jambro on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:25:40 AM PDT

•  The Clinton campaign continues it disgusting

  process. I'm beginning to feel that I'd rather have McCain than Hillary Clinton.

  by LEP on Sat May 10, 2008 at 03:30:12 AM PDT

  •  skin color

    You cannot deny someone to run for office based on skin color. That's NOT democraty, that's racism. Obama MUST get the same change a white person have. That's democraty and America will prove that in November if they are ready or NOT.

    by Marjan on Sat May 10, 2008 at 03:32:19 AM PDT

•  The America is Racist argument is fallacious and

  insulting to most americans. Not only will that argument not fly, it won't even run. It will cause a backlash in the form of a voting surge for Obama from all the people who are sick and tired of hearing pundits, who know nothing about real american life, accuse them of being racist ignorant rubes.

  by notquitedelilah on Sat May 10, 2008 at 03:33:07 AM PDT

  •  I'm so new to politics

    I knew the Repub's are willing to eat their own whenever they need a snack.

    I just didn't know that Dems would use these kinds of things against each other.

    I know this is the first woman and AA but have Dems been brutal to each other in previous presidential elections?

    Is this normal for Dems?

    by blueocean on Sat May 10, 2008 at 03:47:14 AM PDT

    •  Not really, no

      It's happened for two reasons I think.

      The first is that two core demographics are pitted against each other for the first time: AAs and white women over 50.  Identity politics is playing a big role in the most ardent supporters of both Obama and Hillary.   A related division is the generational gap in general, with older voters siding with Hillary and younger ones with Obama.  These are hard hurdles to overcome when the electorate is split along identification lines.

      The second is that one of the candidates will say anything to win -- including things that exacerbate and pour salt into the wounds of the identity based divisions I just mentioned.  At this point, Hillary is playing up the identity divisions, because it's all she has left to play up, and she will say anything to get elected.

      by novaseeker on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:47:57 AM PDT

      •  i am convinced shes gunning for 2012

        by ye ye ye on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:08:36 AM PDT

        •  Maybe that or

          she's just living in her own world right now.  I mean, the Clintons are not accustomed to losing, the last time they lost anything was 1980.  I think they still believe they have a houdini-type way to win this primary season, even though it's irrational to think that.

          by novaseeker on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:31:32 AM PDT

      •  Only the Clintons decided this would be pitting

        two aggrieved groups against one another (and heaven help those of us who belong to both).  Unfortunately, many people bought into it; and certain feminists, who were supposed to know better, continued to pound home that 'blacks got the vote before women' exasperated the situation.  

        This entire thing could have been about unity, putting character before identity politics. It didn't have to be this way at all. That's the sad part.

        by ObamaLovingExDemocrat on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:43:53 AM PDT

        •  Yes, it's true

          If you scroll back to December, Hillary had a large lead, even among AAs.  I think when Obama became a "realistic" candidate after winning Iowa, his support among AAs started to surge.  I'd bet that Penn and company saw this in their internal polling before even NH, but certainly before SC, and that the campaign decided that Hillary had lost the AA vote, so that the best way to proceed would be to play divide and conquer, and go for the voting segment who would be most skeptical of a black candidate.  I think that Bills' supposed "gaffe" in SC was anything but -- I think it was the first salvo in a campaign designed to marginalize Obama as a black candidate and appeal directly to the most black-skeptical part of the democratic electorate.  

          So I think the divisions were always there, but the Clintons deliberately chose to manipulate them -- and then Obama didn't help himself with the Rev Wright situation and his "bittergate" comments either -- but in terms of actively fomenting division and trying to profit from it politically, that's pretty much the fault of the Clinton camp.

          by novaseeker on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:50:00 AM PDT

      •  Actually there is history of this

        Those who have studied women's history and the history of feminism know that we have seen this kind of shamefulness before.  White women campaigned hard for a very very long time for the right to vote.  They were upper class or middle class white women - Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others.  

        When it looked like the ruling white men were going to give the vote to black men first, these women freaked out and began a scorched earth, incredibly racist campaign to prevent this from happening.  Their appeals and arguments were disgusting.

        Having studied this history, I had hoped that white women had come a whole lot farther down the road than to resort to this crap AGAIN.  

        Apparently not.  This time around, however, it is shocking to see AA women carrying the message.  

        by kbee214 on Sat May 10, 2008 at 06:13:04 AM PDT

•  Don't tell Paul Krugman!

  All the negativity is from the Obama camp!

  by plum on Sat May 10, 2008 at 03:39:19 AM PDT

•  The Clintons took the gloves off that argument

  An argument the right wing would have made, but never this overtly.  That is was the Clintons and the surrogates who make it -- this has changed the face of the Democratic party if the party allows Hillary to continue.  

  Millions of people have shown that Obama is electable.  It is Hillary who can only get the racist vote, and not the vote of AA's.  

  I'm so thoroughly disgusted with the CLintons and their surrogates.  

  If this nomination is lost on that overt kind of racism from the Clintons, we're doomed as a country.

  by 57andFemale on Sat May 10, 2008 at 03:39:33 AM PDT

•  Revolting, and stupid, too

  What about all the misogynists who will get in the voting booth and balk at pulling the lever for a woman?

  The Clintons have the class of low-end trailer park trash, and they think we're all dumber than a sack of hammers.  

  by Subterranean on Sat May 10, 2008 at 03:48:59 AM PDT

•  Dean - Pelosi - Reid

  THERE BETTER BE SOME CLOSED DOORS MEETINGS ASAP!

  by totallynext on Sat May 10, 2008 at 03:59:09 AM PDT

•  Vote for me "I'm White"

  is what she is really saying.  This is offensive to its core.  White people, like myself, have voted for Barack Obama.  He would not be winning if we were not.

  She is a scumbag!!!!

  by LauraThorne on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:03:20 AM PDT

•  Wow - Just Wow

  Fear, White against Black all in about 3 seconds.

  What is her email address to send some response (respectful of course) to her.

  Newsflash - there are a whole lot more people who have turnout for this election, which are new.

  Obama will bring more and more citizens in to vote - that would off set any idiot like her above.

  Lets be clear - this is not by mistake - but an effort by the Clinton campaign - these people were on National Television as Clinton representatives - and they have the same bullshit statements about fear and black men.  They should be exposed again and again.

  by totallynext on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:04:19 AM PDT

  •  I was very upset over her comments but thought

    Hey, I'm an Obama supporter.  Maybe I'm overreacting.  I see Teacherken has a great diary up right now that discuss this same trend with the Clintons.

    This is so sad for Dems.

    by blueocean on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:12:37 AM PDT

•  Carole Simpson is IGNORANT

  she has this slave mentality that Black are not acceptable to White folks.  I think that mentality was fostered by the Chicago Housing Authority in which she dwell in before going to Northwestern.  I consider that a hold over to apartheid.

  by cwholcomb on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:12:10 AM PDT

•  Voters who won't vote for

  a person because of his race also won't vote for Hillary because these racist voters are the kind that only vote for Republicans.

  by catspaw on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:16:49 AM PDT

  •  More people won't vote for

    a woman.  Facts, facts, facts.  Bothersome things.

    by reef the dog on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:12:11 AM PDT

    •  And more people shouldn't vote for THAT woman

      if Hillary Clinton's campaign had been run with dignity, rsepect towards fellow democrats, and a refusal to engage in identity politics or force others to engage in identity politics -- if Hillary Clinton had been 'clean' -- I could see an argument for 'people won't vote for a woman because she's a woman'.

      But the way the Clintons have run this campaign have turned off droves of people in ways which have nothing to do with her gender.  So yes, some people are not going to vote for a woman because she's a woman. But I believe (and I hope) that there are people looking at Hillary Clinton who are not voting for her because of disapproval for her campaign tactics.

      by ObamaLovingExDemocrat on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:48:17 AM PDT

      •  Those who won't vote for a woman

        would probably be outvoted by those who so passionately want a female president.

        by ybruti on Sat May 10, 2008 at 06:26:20 AM PDT

•  Simpson is a Handkerchief Head - has been so

  since the beginning of this campaign. They use Handkerchief Heads,because it seems more valid coming from a Black mouth.

  Absolutely disgusting.

  by rikyrah on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:33:11 AM PDT

  •  YES!!!!!

    and yes, it is absolutely disgusting.  What's in it for them, though?

    by ObamaLovingExDemocrat on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:37:29 AM PDT

  •  Lets not call people disgusting names

    Shall we?

    by kbee214 on Sat May 10, 2008 at 06:34:15 AM PDT

•  Worries about "electibility" .,,

  from a Clinton supporter is just laughable. I mean really with the negative way most people think of her.

  by irate on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:46:26 AM PDT

•  for Carole its a generational problem

  I am beginning to realize WHY there are 'Black" people who still fear the BLACK CANDIDATE on the simple basis that a black candidate cannot win.

  Carole is older then I am and I was born in that border time when things were changing fast in our nation re Racial issues.   Carole was born before that.  Carole struggled to get where she was in spite of her 'color' and she has it burned into her being that we are basically a racially DIVIDED nation and always will be.  

  for Carole it is hard to believe we have gotten past the racial divide....  for Carole a Black man cannot ever win ...  carole doesnt realize SHE is partly to blame for the situation she thinks is insurmountable :)

  Carole, quit trying to figure out if he can win or not and JUST GO VOTE FOR HIM....  if enough of you skeptics just vote for Obama he WILL WIN and you will finally be able to put the racial divides you were brought up under to rest.

  by KnotIookin on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:51:53 AM PDT

•  umm...where the hell has she been

  the last 16 months??

  damn concern troll...HE DIDN"T EVEN SAY "GD AMERICA"

  by ye ye ye on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:02:04 AM PDT

•  Isn't Carole Simpson of AA descent?

  WTF?

  Talk about accepting ones "lot" in life!

  by Glinda on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:11:05 AM PDT

•  Seriously: MORE WILL VOTE GAINST A WOMAN

  than a Black man.  That is just a fact, Hillary.  It's sexist and wrong, but there ya go.

  Is Obama making that argument?  No, because it flies in the fact of his inclusiveness campaign.

  Hillary, on the other hand, is more than happy to make racist comments in her "Divisiveness 'o8" campaign.

  by reef the dog on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:14:41 AM PDT

  •  I know could you imagine

    if Obama said something like: "all of these hard working breadwinners, the people who are working hard for their families, American men, they are voting for me, ...".  Could you imagine the uproar if he said that?

    by novaseeker on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:33:12 AM PDT

  •  Yup If It Was Claire McCaskill I Would Be Proud

    To Vote For Her. Heck I Was Supporting Hillary Rodham Clinton Before IA, Baracks Speeck Change My Mind About What Was Possible. And In Full Disclosure I Am A Black Man.

    Hillary Had The Black Vote Before IA But Baracks Win In IA Is What Tip The Scale In His Favor To A Lot OF People In The AA Community.

    This Race Baiting Must End It Only Hurts Our Nominee Barack Obama And Our Chances In November.

    by DFutureIsNow on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:26:09 AM PDT

•  I saw that last night..

  I've heard about older African Americans saying this but had not heard anyone state it publicly..

  Her logic dictates that No Non-White would be electable.. very sad that people of her generation can't move on.. What's the difference between her and Rev Wright when it come to Static Ideology on Race,, Not much..

  by Blue Texas on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:23:18 AM PDT

  •  Wright is scarier?

    and Simpson appears to accept the status quo more than fighting it?  I don't know.

    by ObamaLovingExDemocrat on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:50:16 AM PDT

•  funny logic...

  i mean... if people won't vote for a black man then why is he beating her?  and why isn't john edwards the leader of this race..

  by soros on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:27:29 AM PDT

•  With the World in AWE

  of the possibility that America REALLY has moved past racial prejudice, Clinton pulls THIS!

  As a Canadian neighbor, I am so saddened for your Country and all the heroes that went before to crush these barriers...

  The Clintons are a disgrace.

  by Paladine on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:35:28 AM PDT

  •  Thank you Paladine... I'm feeling quite saddened

    too.  I'm also pretty angry.  I wish we had someone in the party who would step up and put a stop to this.  

    I don't mind that Hillary stays in the race.  I just want race out of the race.

    by blueocean on Sat May 10, 2008 at 05:41:20 AM PDT

  •  If You Believe

    That this election is evidence that America has moved past racial prejudice, I've got 2 bridges and an entire subway line to sell you.

    This idea is IMO one of the most dangerous risks to Barack Obama's campaign in the general election.  Racism is not a one-off; it is at the heart of America, proven by the fact that Barack Obama couldn't be a Black person who worshipped under a pastor who resented white racism and still keep the loyalty of many of the supporters who previously talked about him as if he was the second coming (including a number of his supporters here on DailyKOS).  It is far better to accept that it WILL be a factor, and fight, than to pretend it won't, and find yourself where those of us who worked tirelessly for Tom Bradley did the morning he was supposed to be celebrating being the first California governor.

    by shanikka on Sat May 10, 2008 at 06:09:00 AM PDT

•  it's like saying i'm afraid he's going to be ...

  ...poisoned while i'm slipping arsenic into his food...if he's unelectable, it's because Hilary and her supporters intend to make it so...

  by jg82567 on Sat May 10, 2008 at 06:02:19 AM PDT

•  A Person

  Expressing concern about the possibility of the Bradley effect writ large on the entire nation in the general election should not dismissed so readily (even though when I wrote about the possibility several months ago that's exactly what happened even though I am an Obama supporter despite my concerns about him.)  It should be the subject of strategizing, planning, and hard work on the part of the campaign to do what it can to minimize the impact.

  It is far too easy, without any serious thought at all, to dismiss the idea -- but that's because it's been so easy to dismiss the idea of race and racism playing a major role in the election (and even easier to blame it being an issue not on the electorate, but on a single person and her supporters as if she alone had the power to prevent what has been 400 years of institutionalized, subconscious anti-Black racism in America from playing that role) and virtually everyone has fallen into that trap because it is easy and makes them feel good to think that race really doesn't matter or affect people's votes if only the "right Black candidate" comes along.  But I do hope the campaign itself doesn't dismiss the idea of the Bradley effect so quickly, because it can be combatted with hard work and common sense.  But not with kumbaya idealism and pretending that race would not have mattered -- and won't matter in the general -- for any voter who wasn't under the thrall of an "evil woman" named Hillary Clinton.

  by shanikka on Sat May 10, 2008 at 06:06:11 AM PDT

  •  It shouldn't be dismissed as a concern

    But it SHOULD be dismissed as a criteria for picking a Nominee.

    by Darkmoth on Sat May 10, 2008 at 06:27:20 AM PDT

    •  I Agree with You Completely

      On that issue.  It cannot be the basis for choosing, practically, morally or otherwise.  But nonetheless, denying reality is setting up Barack Obama for failure -- and a belief that America has, in any way, "overcome racism" even if Barack Obama carries every state in the Union in November (and I hope he does) is indeed denying reality.  In a highly dangerous way.

      by shanikka on Sat May 10, 2008 at 06:38:46 AM PDT

•  Two Words: Race Baiting

  by DFutureIsNow on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:20:47 AM PDT

•  Thats What I Call Bitter People Acting Bitterly

  by DFutureIsNow on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:22:21 AM PDT

•  Write the DNC and Demand Censure of Clinton

  If you are as outraged by the race-baiting being used by Clinton and her surrogates to destroy Barack Obama's chances of winning the 2008 election, I suggest you write to the Democratic National Committee and demand that she and her surrogates be censured, if not expelled.

  Our "hardworking" non-white Democratic voters have been slandered. Indeed, all Democratic voters are slandered by this putative appeal to racism.

  Non-white voters form the loyal backbone of our party.  We cannot allow the Clinton's to insult them and destroy our party's unity.

  Clinton's race-baiting comments are no different from those of segregationist George Wallace.  Clinton and her surrogates cannot be allowed to foment racist voting in the name of the Democratic Party.

  We must "Censure and Move-On" without the baggage of Clinton and her campaign.

  Go to

  http://www.democrats.org

  and write a comment to the DNC at the "community" page.

  by Justina on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:45:04 AM PDT

•  On the other hand

  Some people will go into the booth and George W. Bush will pop into their heads--and they'll pull the lever for Obama as fast as they can!

  by purplepenlady on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:46:34 AM PDT

•  At One Time, Her old ABC Network

  Had the against the grain guts to put Max Robinson on the air as a major network, black anchorman. Of course, he shared the show with two white guys.

  Carole Simpson anchored their evening weekend broadcast for some time. And to think I respected her.

  Then of course, I went looking, and found...

  ...an interview.

  Suggesting she's had more issues than were at the surface.

  Carole Simpson retired from ABC News in 2006 to become Leader in Residence at Emerson College’s School of Communication in Boston, where she is a full-time faculty member teaching courses in public affairs reporting, political communication, and broadcast journalism. Simpson is (was) also a commentator for National Public Radio’s "News and Notes" program. At ABC News, Simpson was the anchor of the weekend editions of "World News Tonight" from 1988-2003 and a senior national correspondent. She was the first African American woman to anchor a major network evening news broadcast. Simpson received a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from the University of Michigan.

  " Someday I probably will be quite happy to discuss this publicly, because, as I say, I don't want to see women end up where I was. For a year and a half I felt terrible and did not know what was wrong. Everybody says you're fine, your blood pressure's fine, your heart is fine, your brain is fine, this is fine, and you feel so bad. But more attention must be paid to stress in our society. Everything we do is stressful. When I get in my car at night to go home, you know, I'm thinking, I've got my doors locked, and I still look over my shoulder. I worry about crime, and I worry about what's going to happen to my thirteen-year-old black male.

  My husband and I are just, "If we can just get him to eighteen." He walks out and he's wearing baggy pants like every gang hoodlum member. His white friends can wear it at school and he doesn't see why he can't wear it, and doesn't realize that as a young black male�they don't know he's Carole Simpson's son and that he goes to private school and that he's had European vacations. He's just another black boy that may be threatening to someone.

  So life is filled with worries, but the exercise and taking time to smell the flowers, to take time and enjoy this wonderful vacation we're going to have�and we're doing it up first class, we're going first class, and we're staying in the finest resorts. It's like, of course I'm not going to feel guilty about that. I used to feel guilty about that. People are starving. Why am I going first class and staying in a luxury hotel? But I've gotten over that now. If I can afford this, I'm doing this for me. I have to do this for me, and that's not being selfish, because I wasn't selfish enough all through my life.

  Moorhus: It's a problem women have always had, right? "What do we deserve?"

  Simpson: [Laughter.] "

  by kravitz on Sat May 10, 2008 at 10:26:52 AM PDT