Of Egg-Heads and African-Americans

"Your (white) audience is waiting, Mrs Clinton."

"Bill. Where is Bill? I want Bill."

"Er,....he's down in the pool. He went for.... a swim."


Just when we thought the Democratic primary couldn't get any more bizarre, Hillary and her supporters seem to be pulling out the race card again. In the wake of the Indiana and North Carolina primaries, Mrs Clinton (starting to remind us of Gloria Swanson in her portrayal of Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd.)is justifying her insistence on staying in the race by informing interviewers that she won the white vote in those two states. Therefore, she is the candidate who appeals to a wider range of voters.

I don't want to split hairs here, but can you imagine the firestorm that would ensue if John McCain (or any Republican) said that he was the candidate who could win the "white vote"?

As if that isn't enough, we have two Democratic operatives, John Begala (a Clinton toady) and Donna Brazile, an African-American, having an on-air spat when Begala stated that Democrats could never win elections with only "egg-heads" and African-Americans. (This was in the context of discussion about Obama's support from blacks and college educated whites.) Brazile responded by accusing Begala of engaging in divisive rhetoric.

Admittedly, Begala's analogy may have come across as a bit too flippant and colorful, but I would remind Ms Brazile that it was she who once referred to the Republican Party as having a "white boy mentality". Divisive? You make the call.

Still it is ironic to see the party that calls the Republicans racists tearing itself apart, largely over race. Unfortunately, race is a factor. Obama is pulling down about 90% of the black vote. While he also is getting white support among younger voters and educated folks, Hillary is correct when she says that she is getting most of the white (working class) vote. The polls show it. Maybe she shouldn't have said it and let it sit there as an open secret, but in stating it, blacks must now be wondering if they should reconsider their almost monolithic loyalty to the Democratic Party, a party that, for years, has tried to convince blacks that only they (the Dems)can protect them from a return to the days of Jim Crow.

So it seems that at least for a few more weeks, this spectacle will continue. Racial lines are being drawn-and that's within the Democratic Party, regardless of absurd claims about the evil Republican Attack Machine lurking in the shadows ready to tear Obama apart. Who needs the RAM when we have Jeremiah Wright and the Clintons?

Speaking of which, I think it is now Bill's turn to make some dumb comment to add fuel to the growing fire. C'mon, Bill. Your audience is waiting.