Quote Of The Day

"The residue of our racial heritage is seeping into the presidential debate. Listen to these dangerous words: Sen. Joe Biden noted that Obama was the first 'mainstream' African-American candidate 'who is articulate and bright and clean.' Clinton supporter and former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey noted Obama's personal history in the Washington Post, singling out his full name: Barack 'Hussein' Obama. Bill Shaheen, a national co-chairman of Clinton's campaign, warned that Republicans would go after Obama for his admission of youthful drug use. 'It'll be, 'When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?'' Former President Bill Clinton suggested to PBS's Charlie Rose that Obama supporters were willing to 'roll the dice' on an inexperienced candidate. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says of the presidential campaign: 'It's not a TV-crazed race, you know, you can't just buy your way through that race....You can't shuck and jive at a press conference.' Their words raised hackles. Apologies followed. We like this Obama guy, they said. We meant no harm, they said. We were misunderstood, they said. They may have meant one thing. But many will hear something else. Obama is 'the other.' He is dangerous. He is hustling, criminal, back-alley black man. Racial code words are not new to American politics. The Rev. Jesse Jackson joked about 'Hymietown.' George H.W. Bush trotted out Willie Horton. A campaign ad starred a Playboy-esque blond bombshell beckoning to Senate candidate Harold Ford. George Allen had his 'macaca' moment. This campaign must be different. Hillary Clinton's stunning New Hampshire upset last week came courtesy of her overactive tear ducts, the pundits say. Obama had just beat Clinton --badly -- in Iowa. She is tired, defeated, maybe afraid. At a New Hampshire coffee shop, a woman asked if she was OK. Clinton teared up, her voice quavered: 'I have so many opportunities from this country, I just don't want to see us fall backward,' she replied. 'This is very personal for me -- it's not just political, it's not just public.' Listen to the words. 'I just don't want to see us fall backward.' Backward to what? To that black man. That black man who beat Hillary. That black man who made the white woman cry. White New Hampshire voters came to her rescue. Poor Hillary. Don't worry -- we will protect you. We will save you. Our racial wounds are deep, their impact subliminal. Words have consequences. In these sensitive times, they can activate our most unconscious fears and tap the deepest recesses of our ugly history. Every black man in America knows it. Especially Barack Obama. Listen to the words." — Laura Washington, liberal commentator, on the Democratic presidential race