Race Rises Up in Democrats United States`
Presidential Campaign
By: Tommy Elder, Jr.
In a
contest where history glares into every crack- race rises dramatically in the Democratic Party`s
Presidential Nominating Process in the United States in the 2008 contest. Patrick Healy and Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times chronicle the tale of 1984 Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Geraldine A. Ferraro leaving the Clinton Presidential Campaign due to an insensitive remark about race. She asserted that- `If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position` as a leading presidential contender.``
Speaking of the incident- Senator Obama said- `I don`t want to deny the role of race and gender in our society.` `They`re there and they`re powerful. But I don`t think it`s productive.`
As an amplification of the apparent role of race and gender in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Nominating process- in the Democratic Primary in Mississippi- New York Senator Hillary Clinton garnered eight percent of the African American Vote. On the other side of the ledger- Illinois Senator Barack Obama snared only twenty-six per cent of the white vote according to Exit Pollings generated by Edison/Mitofsky for the Associated Press and television networks.
While addressing the current dynamics in the contest for the Democratic Presidential Nomination in 2008- Civil Rights Leader Reverend Al Sharpton said- `When you hear the lack of total denunciation of Ferraro, when you hear (Pennsylvania Governor Ed) Rendell saying there are whites who will never vote for a black, one has to wonder if the Clinton Campaign has a Pennsylvania strategy to appeal to voters on race.` He continued- `I would hope Mrs. Clinton would make it clear that she is not doing that.`