Bill Manzi.com

Geraldine Ferraro resigned from her honorary position with the Clinton campaign after a furor over remarks dealing with Obama’s race. Those comments from MSNBC:

“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.”

Ferraro has come under withering attack from the Obama campaign, as well as others claiming these remarks are “racist”. Obama himself remarked:

“I think they were wrong-headed,” he said at a Chicago news conference. “The notion that it is a great advantage to me to be an African American named Barack Obama and pursue the presidency, I think, is not a view that has been commonly shared by the general public.”

Ferraro wrote a resignation letter to Clinton:

“Dear Hillary, I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what’s at stake in this campaign. The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you. I won’t let that happen. Thank you for everything you’ve done and continue to do to make this a better world for my children and grandchildren. You have my deep admiration and respect, Gerry.”

Ferraro is not backing off, and has indicated that her severance from the Clinton campaign is at least in part designed to allow her to speak freely on this issue. She has defended herself vociferously against the charge of racism, and indicates that her viewpoint is merely expressing the obvious, to wit Obama’s success has at least in part been attributable to race. She also acknowleged that her own selection as Walter Mondale’s running mate was gender based.

I was talking about historic candidacies and what I started off by saying (was that) if you go back to 1984 and look at my historic candidacy, which I had just talked about all these things, in 1984 if my name was Gerard Ferraro instead of Geraldine Ferraro, I would have never been chosen as a vice presidential candidate,” Ferraro said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “It had nothing to do with my qualification.”

Well, what about it? Is the criticism of Ferraro justified? Has the Clinton campaign once again interjected the “race card” into this campaign? Or is this criticism Obama spin, or just a PC world run amok? Is there any truth to Ferraro’s comments? I have attached a clip from the Hardball Show with Chris Matthews, in which this debate gets pretty tough.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/23598793#23598793

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned today, just days after being discovered as utilizing the services of a high priced call girl ring. It is a stunning fall from power for Spitzer, and marks the end of a politician who had made some very powerful enemies. Despite the fact that this was self inflicted and indicative of a mindset of arrogance and hubris I cannot help but feel some sympathy for the wife and family of the Governor.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/23593185#23593185

NBC News is projecting that Senator Barack Obama will win tonights Mississippi primary. While the Obama win was expected it appears that some real racial polarization is taking place, with Obama winning 90 percent of the African American vote but only about a third of the white vote. Obama had been showing some positive trends demographically in the last few contests, and this fissure that appears to be developing cannot be considered helpful for the prospects of a Democratic victory in November.

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, the scourge of Wall Street, has been found to be arranging visits from prostitutes via a federal wiretap that was investigating the prostitution ring. From the New York Times:

ALBANY – Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who gained national prominence relentlessly pursuing Wall Street wrongdoing, has been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a law enforcement official and a person briefed on the investigation. The wiretap captured a man identified as Client 9 on a telephone call confirming plans to have a woman travel from New York to Washington, where he had reserved a hotel room, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Manhattan. The person briefed on the case and the law enforcement official identified Mr. Spitzer as Client 9.

Spitzer made a brief appearance at which he acknowleged error, and left without commenting on his political future.

Mr. Spitzer, a first term Democrat, today made a brief public appearance during which he apologized for his behavior, and described it as a “private matter.” He did not address his political future.

“I have acted in a way that violates my obligation to my family and violates my or any sense of right or wrong,” said Mr. Spitzer, who appeared with his wife Silda at his Manhattan office. “I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public to whom I promised better.”

“I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family.”

Spitzer was embroiled in a major controversy (scandal) right after his election, as he was found to be improperly using state police resources to dig up dirt on Republican Senate Leader Richard Bruno. Even State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, condemned his actions in the Bruno case. From the Times:

Calls for new inquiries have accumulated in the week since Mr. Cuomo’s office issued its report finding that the governor’s staff had misused the State Police to collect information about Mr. Bruno, the Senate majority leader, in an effort to plant a negative article about him in the news media. The report concluded that no laws had been broken, and Mr. Spitzer, a Democrat, has maintained that he was misled by his staff and knew nothing about the effort to discredit Mr. Bruno, the state’s top Republican.

Spitzer has long been a target of the Wall Street Journal editorial page for his hard hitting attacks on major corporate icons during his tenure as New York’s Attorney General. The Wall Street Journal editorial page tommorow will not be a pretty sight for fans of Eliot Spitzer. Spitzers take no prisoner style has even alienated key members of New Yorks Democratic establishment, and with blood in the water Spitzer is not likely to find many friends on either side of the aisle. This must be a day of great satisfaction for Richard Bruno, Senate Majority Leader.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/23562560#23562560