Reuters - Clinton supporter defends Obama race remarks

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Clinton supporter defends Obama race remarks

Wednesday, Mar 12, 2008 2:37PM UTC

By Donna Smith

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The only woman ever to be on a major party's U.S. presidential ticket on Wednesday stood by her comment that Sen. Barack Obama is ahead in the Democratic race for the White House because he is black.

Geraldine Ferraro, a Democrat who ran for vice president in 1984, said his campaign's reaction had backfired and divided the party. Ferraro is supporting Obama's Democratic rival, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, for the November election.

"My comments have been taken so out of context and have been spun by the Obama campaign as racist that it's doing precisely what they don't want done -- it's going to the Democratic Party and dividing us even more," Ferraro told ABC's "Good Morning America" in an interview.

She ignited a flap by telling a California newspaper that "if Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position."

"And if he was a woman 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," Ferraro said.

Ferraro told ABC she was "absolutely not" sorry for what she said.

"I believe that," she added.

She said she had fought discrimination for 40 years.

"My concern has been over how I've been treated as well and hurt, absolutely hurt by how they have taken this thing and spun it to imply that in any way, any way I am racist," she said.

'SLICE AND DICE'

When asked about Ferraro's remarks, Obama told ABC that being an "African American man named Barack Obama" was not the quickest path to becoming U.S. president. If nominated and then elected, Obama would be the first black U.S. president.

"Anybody who knows the history of this country I think would not take too seriously the notion that this has been a huge advantage, but I don't think it's disadvantaged either," Obama said.

On NBC's "Today" show, Obama said: "Part of what Geraldine Ferraro is doing, and I respect the fact that she was a trailblazer, is to participate in the kind of slice and dice politics that's about race and about gender and about this and that and that's what Americans are tired of because they recognize that when we divide ourselves in that way, we can't solve problems."

Ferraro, a former U.S. representative from New York, and her presidential running mate Walter Mondale lost in 1984 in a landslide to Republican Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, the current president's father.

Obama won a Mississippi nominating contest on Tuesday with heavy support from black voters and extended his lead over Clinton in pledged delegates to the August nominating convention.

The Illinois senator also won on Saturday in Wyoming.

Clinton, who would be the first woman U.S. president, said on Tuesday she disagreed with Ferraro's comments and called them "regrettable," but the Obama camp accused her of a double standard for refusing to rebuke Ferraro and remove her from her finance position with the campaign.

An Obama foreign policy adviser resigned last week after telling a British newspaper Clinton was "a monster."

(Editing by Howard Goller)