D
Dr. Jai Maharaj
Guest
BET founder: Obama owes candidacy to his race
By Jim Morrill
ST. AUGUSTINE RECORD
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Charlotte, N.C. - Wading back into the Democratic
presidential race, billionaire businessman Bob Johnson said
Monday that Sen. Barack Obama would not be his party's
leading candidate if he were white.
Johnson's comments to the Charlotte Observer echoed those
of former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro.
She stepped down as an adviser to Sen. Hillary Clinton last
month after saying Obama wouldn't be where he is if he were
white.
"What I believe Geraldine Ferraro meant is that if you take
a freshman senator from Illinois called 'Jerry Smith' and
he says I'm going to run for president, would he start off
with 90 percent of the black vote?" Johnson said. "And the
answer is, probably not."
"Geraldine Ferraro said it right. The problem is, Geraldine
Ferraro is white. This campaign has such a hair-trigger on
anything racial it is almost impossible for anybody to say
anything."
Johnson, who made a fortune after founding Black
Entertainment Television and now owns the Charlotte
Bobcats, is a longtime friend of Clinton and her husband,
the former president.
It was during a January appearance for the New York senator
that he first stepped into controversy, referring to Obama
and "what he was doing in the neighborhood."
Many took that as a reference to Obama's acknowledged drug
use in his youth. But in a statement, Johnson said he'd
been "referring to Barack Obama's time spent as a community
organizer and nothing else. Any other suggestion is simply
irresponsible and incorrect."
On Monday, Johnson alluded to the incident.
"I make a joke about Obama doing drugs (and it's) 'Oh my
God, a black man tearing down another black man'," Johnson
said.
The Obama campaign dismissed Johnson's comments.
"This is just one in a long line of absurd comments by Bob
Johnson and other Clinton supporters who will say or do
anything to get the nomination," said spokesman Dan
Leistikow. "The American people are tired of this and are
ready to turn the page on these kind of attack politics."
Johnson disputed the notion that Obama has built a broad
coalition. Most of his support, he said, comes from African
Americans and white liberals but not white, working-class
Democrats.
"I don't think he has that common what I call 'I-want-to-
go-out-and-have-a-drink-with-you touch," Johnson said.
An Observer/WCNC Poll this month found Obama and Clinton
splitting the votes of white North Carolinians who say
they'll vote in the May 6 primary.
Obama led 59 percent to 7 percent among African Americans.
Johnson, who said Obama is likely to win the nomination,
says Obama has had the support of "the liberal media."
"They sort of dislike Hillary for her vote on the war. They
don't want to see Bill and Hillary in power again," he
said. "So Obama comes in and runs a smart campaign. But
that's not the Second Coming, in my opinion, of John F.
Kennedy, FDR or the world's greatest leaders."
More at:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/041508/nation_041508020.shtml
Jai Maharaj
http://tinyurl.com/24fq83
http://www.mantra.com/jai
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish
Om Shanti
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
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o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
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o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
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which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
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subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
By Jim Morrill
ST. AUGUSTINE RECORD
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Charlotte, N.C. - Wading back into the Democratic
presidential race, billionaire businessman Bob Johnson said
Monday that Sen. Barack Obama would not be his party's
leading candidate if he were white.
Johnson's comments to the Charlotte Observer echoed those
of former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro.
She stepped down as an adviser to Sen. Hillary Clinton last
month after saying Obama wouldn't be where he is if he were
white.
"What I believe Geraldine Ferraro meant is that if you take
a freshman senator from Illinois called 'Jerry Smith' and
he says I'm going to run for president, would he start off
with 90 percent of the black vote?" Johnson said. "And the
answer is, probably not."
"Geraldine Ferraro said it right. The problem is, Geraldine
Ferraro is white. This campaign has such a hair-trigger on
anything racial it is almost impossible for anybody to say
anything."
Johnson, who made a fortune after founding Black
Entertainment Television and now owns the Charlotte
Bobcats, is a longtime friend of Clinton and her husband,
the former president.
It was during a January appearance for the New York senator
that he first stepped into controversy, referring to Obama
and "what he was doing in the neighborhood."
Many took that as a reference to Obama's acknowledged drug
use in his youth. But in a statement, Johnson said he'd
been "referring to Barack Obama's time spent as a community
organizer and nothing else. Any other suggestion is simply
irresponsible and incorrect."
On Monday, Johnson alluded to the incident.
"I make a joke about Obama doing drugs (and it's) 'Oh my
God, a black man tearing down another black man'," Johnson
said.
The Obama campaign dismissed Johnson's comments.
"This is just one in a long line of absurd comments by Bob
Johnson and other Clinton supporters who will say or do
anything to get the nomination," said spokesman Dan
Leistikow. "The American people are tired of this and are
ready to turn the page on these kind of attack politics."
Johnson disputed the notion that Obama has built a broad
coalition. Most of his support, he said, comes from African
Americans and white liberals but not white, working-class
Democrats.
"I don't think he has that common what I call 'I-want-to-
go-out-and-have-a-drink-with-you touch," Johnson said.
An Observer/WCNC Poll this month found Obama and Clinton
splitting the votes of white North Carolinians who say
they'll vote in the May 6 primary.
Obama led 59 percent to 7 percent among African Americans.
Johnson, who said Obama is likely to win the nomination,
says Obama has had the support of "the liberal media."
"They sort of dislike Hillary for her vote on the war. They
don't want to see Bill and Hillary in power again," he
said. "So Obama comes in and runs a smart campaign. But
that's not the Second Coming, in my opinion, of John F.
Kennedy, FDR or the world's greatest leaders."
More at:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/041508/nation_041508020.shtml
Jai Maharaj
http://tinyurl.com/24fq83
http://www.mantra.com/jai
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish
Om Shanti
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
DISCLAIMER AND CONDITIONS
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.