Crazy Like a Fox?

At first glance, it might seem that Geraldine Ferraro, a longtime Hillary Clinton supporter and a member of her campaign finance committee, has gone mad. Yesterday she said:

If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.

Coming from anyone but Bill O'Reilly, one would naturally expect a statement like that to be followed by an apology within 24 hours. But today, Ferraro stubbornly refused to back down, responding to her critics with the following:

Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world, you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up. Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?

What the heck is going on here? Is Ferraro nuts? Are these the initial symptoms of encroaching senility?

Some have suggested this is actually part of a cynical strategy.

The next Democratic primary is in Pennsylvania on April 22nd. James Carville once quipped that Pennsylvania is Pittsburgh on the west, Philadelphia on the east, and Alabama in the middle. Unfortunately for Democrats, the Alabama in the middle is white, redneck, racist Alabama.

It may seem absurd to many Americans, but a common refrain among rednecks is that minorities get all the breaks in this country. That the system is biased against whites. That a black man is "very lucky to be who he is," to quote Ferraro. A considerable number of whites really believe this. Mind-boggling perhaps to anyone who knows anything about black history, but true nonetheless. Many whites sincerely believe they are the persecuted minority.

Does anyone still remember the South Carolina primary? It was six weeks ago. Yes, I realize that time in the Democratic primaries is now measured in dog years. Six weeks seems like a lifetime ago. A lot has changed since then. For starters, we don't see much of Bill Clinton any more. Does anyone remember why that is? Does anyone remember the embarrassing racist comments he made during the South Carolina primary?

Is it hopelessly cynical of me to wonder if Ferraro is deliberately playing a similar race card now? That her comments are carefully chosen to resonate with Pennsylvania's "Alabama in the middle?" That the timing is suspiciously coincident with Obama's big win in Mississippi, where he garnered 90% among blacks but only 30% among whites? Am I seeing racist conspiracies where none exist?

Time will tell. April 22nd is six weeks away, another lifetime in dog years. No doubt a lot will happen before then. We'll have a much clearer picture of the Clinton strategy for Pennsylvania.

And perhaps we'll know whether Geraldine Ferraro is crazy or cunning.

Update (3/11/2008): Maybe Ferraro is just a bigot, pure and simple. During the presidential primaries in 1988 she said, "If Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race."

Update (3/11/2008): Here's more evidence that Ferraro's remarks were not just extemporaneous misstatements. Almost two weeks ago, on February 26, 2008, Ferraro gave an interview to conservative talk show host John Gibson. Gibson posed the scenario of Barack Obama arriving at the Democratic convention with more pledged delegates, but Hillary Clinton receiving the nomination because of super-delegate votes. He asked if that would cause a civil war within the Democratic party. Her reply included the following:

If Barack Obama were a white man, would we be talking about this as a potential real problem for Hillary? If he were a woman of any color, would he be in this position? Absolutely not.

Update (3/12/2008): In a post today, blogger dnA writes:

The aim here is to evoke racial resentment on the part of white voters over issues like Affirmative Action, and cast Obama as a talentless hack who excels only because our country is held victim by political correctness. The hope is that this will drive a permanent wedge between Obama and white voters that will sway Superdelegates to ultimately go with Hillary at the convention. At worst, Obama will be so damaged in the general that he can never be a threat to their ambitions again.

Update (3/12/2008): Ferraro just resigned from Clinton's campaign finance committee. Clinton spokesperson Howard Wolfson said:

We were completely unaware of Mrs. Ferraro's remarks before she made them. We did not in any way enourage them.

Apparently, they were also completely unaware that she had made essentially the same remarks two weeks ago and twenty years ago.

Update (3/12/2008): On tonight's broadcast of Countdown, Keith Olbermann made some scathing comments on this whole affair that are well worth watching.