Two huge editorials in the Seattle Times today.
The first is offically the Times. They're demanding an apology from Geraldine Ferraro.
The second is from a guest columnist. He's a former Clinton supporter who believes she and her campaign have crossed the line. He wants her to get out now.
More below the fold.
Is this a sign of things to come?
Is the beginning of a wave?
Did KO open the door for others to say what they feel about this mess?
Geraldine Ferraro's recent comments have touched off a firestorm, there's no question about that.
Today, I opened the paper to find this editorial. An otherwise conservative leaning paper took not one but two stands on this issue. (I'll get to the second one in a bit.)
Apologize, Ferraro
A country finally evolved enough to entertain the candidacy of the first African-American president or first female president ought to take the high road as often as possible.
Then I looked around the internet this morning and lo and behold, it's everywhere.
Salon.com
Geraldine Ferraro still needs to apologize
Such are the perils of tokenism. As she has forthrightly acknowledged, to her credit, her sudden elevation was attributable to her gender rather than to any innate quality of her own. She had no discernible qualifications to serve as president if anything happened to Mondale. And she had done nothing to earn her place on the ticket that had not been done by a couple of hundred other House members. Many if not most of them had done more.
Obviously the same cannot be said of Obama. He has run a masterful national campaign against a rival whose nomination was said to be inevitable when he began, and he has had to rely on his own powers of inspiration and persuasion to get this far. And the polls indicate that his story may have a far more uplifting conclusion than hers did.
Either way, she still owes him an apology.
Chicago Sun-Times
Ferraro fails to grasp why she's so wrong
Yes. On the campaign trail Tuesday, Clinton told the Associated Press that she did not agree with Ferraro.
"It is regrettable that any of our supporters -- on both sides, because we both have this experience -- say things that kind of veer off into the personal," she said. But Clinton missed the point.
The Arizona Republic
Ferraro's folly, Clinton's lie
This week, Hillary Clinton apologized for her husband and for Ferraro. But until she apologizes for the person at the top of this campaign, her gesture is incomplete.
So, this outrage is everywhere. It's all over our great country. Red states and blue.
But here's the piece I thought was most interesting. It's the first of what I predict will be many that I have seen. This man calls for Clinton to get out of the race - NOW. He's now an Obama supporter, but only a recent one - like this week recently. Up to now he's been a staunch defender of Clinton. But, she's lost him.
Sorry, Hillary: You've crossed the line
Sen. Clinton, I can no longer count myself in your ranks. I've decided that, barring some stunning revelation, Barack Obama has earned the Democratic nomination, fair and square. More importantly, I've decided that your campaign's tactics have crossed a line that should never be crossed. I no longer want to be associated with your effort to become the Democratic nominee.
One of your surrogates, Geraldine Ferraro, has said that Obama wouldn't be where he is in the Democratic contest if he were white. When combined with your rejection of Obama's qualifications to be commander in chief, and your husband's disrespect for Obama's effort, I see an ugly undercurrent.
and this...
Sen. Clinton, you still have time to salvage your dignity and your reputation. Geraldine Ferraro's resignation from her fundraising role is a start, but it's only a start. You should fully apologize to Sen. Obama for the stream of insults that has come from your campaign, and then you should step aside. If you do that, then I'll know my money and my time were well spent.
So, is it the first of many? Or is it an isolated piece? Is it really, finally the beginning of the end for the Clintons or are they so stubborn, so short-sighted that they are willing to take us all down with them? Or is it somewhere in between?
UPDATE 1
151 votes into my little unscientific poll, "mark the beginning of an even uglier chapter of these primaries" is far out in the lead.
This is seriously depressing. You know what we need?
A shot of hope. Where's the HOPE, people?