By Steve Rhodes
Mary Mitchell now: “Reid is under attack for saying privately in 2008 that then-Sen. Barack Obama would be a successful black presidential candidate because of his ‘light-skinned’ appearance and because he doesn’t speak with a ‘Negro dialect unless he wanted to have one.’ Frankly, a lot of African Americans must have yawned.”
Mary Mitchell then: “Geraldine Ferraro still doesn’t get it. On Wednesday, Ferraro was forced to resign from Sen. Hillary Clinton’s finance committee after remarks she made about Sen. Barack Obama were widely interpreted as being racist. Here’s what Ferraro 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.'”
Mitchell is right when she says that talking about race is not the same as racist talk. It’s just too bad she and her fellow Obamaphiles conveniently forgot that during the 2008 primaries. Crocodile tears are being cried on both sides of the political aisle.
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Speaking of James Clyburn . . .
Then: “Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, told The New York Times on Friday that he may end his neutrality in his state’s January 26 primary because of recent remarks by the Clintons, including the ‘fairy tale’ comment.”
Now: “What’s the big fuss about the word ‘Negro’?”
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President Obama considers the matter closed. Now is not the time for a national conversation on race.
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Rod Blagojevich says he is blacker than Obama. Stupid, yes, but maybe we should talk about what he meant by that. It cuts both ways.
And – stupid, yes – but not acceptable while it was acceptable to call Bill Clinton the first black president? Let’s explore our feelings on that.
And when Obama was asked if Clinton was the first black president and responded that he’d have to see him dance first to see if that was true – should we talk about that?
Big Mac’s Big Lie
“There are some who will forgive McGwire,” our very own George Ofman writes. “I just can’t. And I won’t forgive Sammy when he offers a mea culpa. It’s simply taken too long, like Pete Rose, who adamantly refused to tell the truth about gambling on baseball. He lied and lied and lied again until finally, years and years after the fact, he admitted it. And you know what? He’s still not in the Hall of Fame, nor should he be allowed in, just like McGwire and Sosa, Bonds and A-Rod and others who have come clean or you simply know jacked up their muscles in order to jack up their stats.
“Call me a hard ass but I just hate liars, don’t you?”
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The two biggest points about McGwire’s admission that stick in my craw:
1. He’s only doing it now because he has to clear up the matter to proceed as the new hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. It’s not like he had a sudden pang of conscience or just found Jesus.
2. His excuse for not telling the truth to Congress in 2005: “We worked behind the scenes with Congressman (Tom) Davis and (Henry) Waxman to try to get immunity . . . I wanted to talk about this. I wanted to get this off my chest. I wanted to move on, but unfortunately immunity was not granted.”
So it was Congress’s fault. He would have only told the truth if there were no potential consequences attached. Mark McGwire is a large, macho male and an amazing athlete regardless of what drugs he ingested. But he’s certainly not a man.
Who Hoffman Knew
“When David Hoffman’s politically connected grandfather arranged a job for him in the offices of a U.S. senator in 1990, Hoffman was a reluctant job candidate,” the Tribune reports.
“At his grandfather’s insistence, Hoffman eventually met with the senator, influential Oklahoma Democrat David Boren.”
Hoffman just couldn’t turn his grandfather down, you see. He insisted.
“Hoffman told Boren he did not want a job based on the connections of his grandfather, a wealthy businessman who had worked in Franklin Roosevelt’s administration. ‘It was the first time in my experience that I had someone saying, No, I don’t want help. I want to do this on my own,’ recalled Boren, now president of the University of Oklahoma.”
Please ignore how I got my foot in your door!
“Boren persuaded Hoffman to take the job as an intern for a one-month trial, and the 23-year-old stayed three years.”
Hoffman was reluctant, but Boren persuaded him.
“Hoffman, who made a name for himself going after those with City Hall clout, said he got the job on his own terms.
“‘No question, I got the interview because of my grandfather,’ Hoffman said. ‘But I told Boren don’t hire me because of my grandfather. Do it on merits’.”
And ignore all those other folks whose merits were equally as impressive but who just couldn’t seem to get the interview.
The Kirk Dillard Show
“Jim Ryan has a friend, a close associate, his largest contributor, sitting in a federal holding cell for pay-to-play schemes,” Republican gubernatorial candidate Kirk Dillard said Monday.
So does the President of the United States, whom Dillard cut a campaign commercial for. And you know what? The president’s pal knows Ryan’s pal!
Ethics Schmethics
“Nearly three years after Congress approved sweeping ethics rules to ‘drain the swamp,’ as incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it, no member of Congress has been punished for wrongdoing,” USA Today reports.
“In that time, allegations of sexual misconduct and financial impropriety have been lodged against lawmakers. The most serious rebuke in the past year: a ‘letter of qualified admonition’ to Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., after the Senate ethics panel concluded he misled lawmakers and inappropriately offered to raise campaign funds for then-governor Rod Blagojevich as Burris sought the Senate appointment. ‘Three years later, it’s the same old, same old,’ said Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.”
Richie’s White House
“Rich Daley’s a very, very dear friend of mine,” Rahm Emanuel tells Lynn Sweet. “[H]e is a great mayor . . . I want him to continue being mayor.”
So no interest in draining this swamp, either.
Cop Shop
“Off-duty officer fatally shoots neighbor’s dog.”
Says dog had a gun.
Chicago A to Z
One man’s primer.
Stimulus Stats Saved Or Created
“[I]nstead of counting only created and saved jobs, [the White House] will count any person who works on a project funded with stimulus money – even if that person was never in danger of losing his or her job,” ProPublica reports.
Me & Metallica
One man’s coolest moment ever.
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The Beachwood Tip Line: St. Anger.
Posted on January 12, 2010