Philadelphia Tribune - Index

Philadelphia Tribune - Sunday, September 07 2008 - Index

Page 4-A Sunday, September 7, 2008
Editorial
Democrats should
kick Lieberman out
Sen. Joe Lieberman might
ot be welcomed in the
emocratic caucus much
onger.
It was ironic to see
ieberman, who was the
emocratic vice presidential
andidate in 2000, standing on
tage at the Republic National
onvention, throwing verbal
ombs at Democratic presidenial
candidate Barack Obama.
As a result, Senate
ajority Leader Harry Reid,
-Nev., indicated, hours
efore GOP presidential
opeful John McCain delivred
his acceptance speech,
hat Lieberman might be
icked out of the Democratic
aucus when the Senate
onvenes in 2009.
“Lieberman went too far
hen he distorted Senator
bama’s record,” said Reid
pokesman Jim Manley. “From
Reid’s perspective, (Lieberman)
has every right to give a partisan
speech to whomever he
wants. But he doesn’t have the
right to distort Senator
Obama’s record like that. The
Democratic caucus will likely
revisit Lieberman’s situation
after the November elections.”
Actually, Lieberman should
have been booted out a long
time ago.
A Democrat for decades,
Lieberman emerged from a
tough Connecticut senatorial
battle in 2006 with a healthy
grudge against his former
party.
He had to run as an independent
— where he won —
after being beaten in the
Democratic primary by antiwar
candidate Ned Lamont.
Since that time Lieberman,
whose presence in the
Democratic caucus gives them
a 51-49 majority, has gradually
inched toward the
Republicans on many foreign
policy issues, especially those
involving the Middle East
and/or Arabs.
The veteran senator still
votes liberal on domestic and
social issues, but he is as fierce
a hawk as Vice President Dick
Cheney when it comes to Iraq,
Iran, Afghanistan, Lebanon,
Pakistan and the Palestinian
territories.
When his Jewish heritage is
compromised in the smallest
fashion, Lieberman becomes a
Republican in drag.
With the Democrats expected
to do very well with the 22
seats up for election in the
Senate in November, losing
Lieberman would probably be
more of a plus. The Democratic
majority will hold and then
some.
When’s a lady not a lady?
When she is a candidate
I’m in trouble already. On a
national television talk show I
referred to Alaska Gov. Sarah
Palin, Sen. John McCain’s
choice to be his running mate,
as a nice “young lady” who’s
probably not the best choice.
That night I received three emails
accusing me of sexism —
not for opposing McCain’s
choice of Palin but for calling
her a “young lady.”
America, we’re in sad shape
if a lady who happens to be
young cannot be called a
“young lady.”
After all, I did not use “lady”
in a diminutive version of her
distinguished titles, like “lady
governor” or “lady moose
hunter” or “former lady mayor
of a teeny town in Alaska.”
Nor has anyone, as far as I
know, objected when I have
called, say, Sen. Barack
Obama, McCain’s Democratic
opponent, a “young man” or a
“young guy.” He’s 47. Palin is
44. I have more than a decade
on each of them. To me, they’re
kids.
Nevertheless, after a primary
election season that was
marred by such male chauvinist
piggyness as the “Hillary
Clinton Nutcracker” sold in
novelty shops, the Thought
Police are on as full alert as the
Louisiana National Guard
before Hurricane Gustav.
Three days after McCain
named Palin, a Google search
of the words “Sarah Palin sexism”
brought 54,000 hits.
Leading the headlines: “Sarah
Palin Sexism Watch #1,”
“Sarah Palin Sexism Alert” and
“Laura Bush, ‘thrilled’ by Palin
pick, warns of sexism.”
At least I didn’t call Palin
“good looking,” even though
she is. That faux pas to feminists
goes to that master gaffemaker,
Sen. Joe Biden. Back
when he was Obama’s opponent
instead of his running
mate, you may recall, the
Delaware senator virtually
grounded his own presidential
campaign on the day of its
birth by complimenting Obama
as “clean” and “articulate.”
In case you didn’t know,
such faint praise strikes the
ears of many African
Americans, including yours
truly, as more than a wee bit
condescending. Nevertheless,
on an umbrage scale of 1 to 10,
I give it a zero-point-five. After
all, Biden surely meant no
offense. In a society that has
long been separated by race,
we should not be surprised
that various peoples have widely
different views of racial etiquette.
When someone commits a
breach of racial etiquette out of
ignorance, not malice, it should
be viewed as what diversity
counselors call a “teachable
moment,” not a racial “gotcha.”
Still, Biden has not been living
in a cave for the past 40
years, so I am as surprised as
anyone else that he did not
know better than to describe
his female opponent for vice
president as “good-looking,”
even though she is. Truth is
not necessarily a defense
against the Thought Police.
As sexists go, I’m pretty
third-rate. I don’t always catch
it in myself, but I’m quite prepared
to see it in others. For
example, it took barely more
than a nanosecond after
McCain had announced his
pick of Palin to be his running
mate than commentators
asked whether a Vice President
Palin would have the time to
care for her five kids, including
a baby with Down syndrome.
When CNN anchor John
Roberts raised that question,
congressional correspondent
Dana Bash responded delicately,
“My guess is that ... the line
inside the McCain campaign
would be, if (the candidate)
were a man ... would you ask
the same question?” Answer:
Hardly.
And no sooner did her 17year-old
daughter’s 5-monthold
pregnancy make international
news than skeptics
asked whether Palin would be
able to handle the extra burden.
Why should we presume
that a working mom must bear
more of her family’s burden
than her able-bodied husband
does? Because society has conditioned
us to think that way.
At least that’s what my wife
tells me.
On the other hand, some
sexism charges strike me as
bum raps. The liberal media
watchdog site Media Matters
for America has condemned
commentators who say that
Biden will have to crank down
his tone in debates to avoid the
appearance of bullying Palin or
condescending to her. In fact,
he will have to do just that, if
history is our guide.
Democratic veep candidate
Geraldine Ferraro turned the
tables on then-Vice President
George H.W. Bush in 1984
when she accused him of thinly
veiled condescension.
Hillary Clinton sealed her
first Senate election victory
when her Republican opponent,
Rep. Rick Lazio, waved
a paper pledge to shun
unregulated campaign contributions
in her face and
demanded that she sign it.
He looked to many eyes like a
husband who was angry
about a credit card bill. Such
images are not helpful to a
growing political career.
E-mail Clarence Page at
cpage@)tribune.com, or
write to him c/o Tribune
Media Services, 2225
Kenmore Ave., Suite 114,
Buffalo, NY 14207.
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Kennedy ignored pain
to state faith in Obama
Four years before he was
elected president, John F.
Kennedy wrote a best-selling
book titled, “Profiles in
Courage,” describing eight U.S.
senators who displayed unusual
political courage by going
against public opinion or
crossing political lines for a
greater good.
If Kennedy were still alive
and updating the Pulitzer
Prize-winning biography, he
could legitimately add the
name of his youngest brother,
Edward M. Kennedy, to the list.
When it counted most for
Barack Obama, Ted Kennedy
displayed courage.
Both Obama and Hillary
Clinton has been seeking his
endorsement, and Kennedy,
who had so many friends in the
Democratic primary, declined
to line up behind a candidate.
But as the contest became a
two-person race between
Obama and Hillary Clinton, the
Clintons urged Kennedy to
either endorse Hillary or
remain neutral.
Kennedy, who had worked
closely with President Clinton
on health care and other key
legislation, decided to do neither.
A week before the 22state
Feb. 5 “Super Tuesday,”
Kennedy and his niece Caroline
– the daughter of John F.
Kennedy – formally endorsed
Obama at a rally at American
University in Washington, D.C.
“What counts in our leadership
is not the length of years
in Washington,” the senior senator
from Massachusetts
declared. “…With Barack
Obama, we will turn the page
on the old politics of misrepresentation
and distortion. With
Barack Obama, we will close
the book on the old politics of
race against race, gender
against gender, ethnic group
against ethnic group and
straight against gay.”
His dismissed suggestions
that Obama is too inexperienced
to serve as president,
noting that a similar charge
The Democrats went into
their convention plagued by
press questions about how
Hillary and her female supporters
would behave, whether Bill
Clinton would behave and support
the ticket and whether
Barack Obama could define
change in policy terms and fire
up the Democratic Party.
By all accounts, the political
questions were resolved in the
strong embrace of the ticket by
the Clintons, the lack of conflict
and the stupendously historic
scene in Invesco Field where
Obama did his thing.
Democrats came out of their
convention unified, motivated
and primed for a fight.
But rather than give Barack
Obama and the Democratic
convention its due, some members
of the press panned
Obama’s speech, and while it
would be understandable by
right-wing journalists, some of
those who appeared reluctant to
give him his due are regarded as
“objective.”
Indeed, Frank Rich of The
New York Times noticed this in
a recent op-ed piece (“Obama
Outwits the Bloviators,” 8/31)
when he asserted the “astonishing
… disconnect” of the major
media to the point that “it has
become a major part of this
year’s story.”
An example of what he meant
was the assertion by David
Broder, known as the dean of
American political journalism,
that there was “no theme
music” in Obama’s speech, that
the basis of his attack on John
McCain was “standard
Democratic fare,” that Obama
“picked a bad night [to] be ordinary.”
He justified this view because
“we know so little about Obama
and therefore, whether he really
means to challenge partisan
had been leveled against
Kennedy’s older brother when
he ran for president in 1960.
The Clintons were quick to
point out that Obama had not
won over all of the Kennedy
clan. Former Maryland Lt. Gov.
Kathleeen Kennedy Townsend,
the daughter of Robert K.
Kennedy; her brother Bobby
and her sister Kerry were
Hillary supporters. But their
mother, Ethel Kennedy, said
Obama was like her late husband
and referred to him as
“our next president.”
In an interview, she said, “I
think he feels it,” referring to
Obama’s interest in social justice.
“He feels it just like Bobby did. He
has the passion in his heart. He’s
not selling you. It’s just him.”
Introducing Ted Kennedy,
Caroline Kennedy said, “I’d
never had someone inspire me
the way people tell me my
father inspired them, but I do
now: Barack Obama.”
Ted Kennedy, who is suffering
from one of the most serious
forms of brain cancer,
ignored his doctor’s advice and
flew to Denver to voice his support
for Obama.
“It’s so wonderful to be here,”
he told a wildly enthusiastic
audience. “Nothing, nothing
was going to keep me away
from this special gathering
tonight.”
And nothing was going to
keep from connecting Obama
to the Kennedys.
“We are told that Barack
Obama believes too much in an
America of high purpose and
bold endeavor,” Kennedy said.
“But when John Kennedy
thought of going to the moon,
he didn’t say, it’s too far, we
can’t get there, we shouldn’t
gridlock” in Washington. It
seems when Barack Obama has
fulfilled one set of questions created
by the opinion-makers,
they set up another group of
worrisome hurdles he has to
overcome.
Another Washington Post
opinion writer, Michael Gerson,
observed in the same edition
(Aug. 30) that “in substance,
Barack Obama’s convention
speech could have been given
by Al Gore,” that “in tone,
Obama’s big speech was small,
partisan, often defensive and
occasionally snide.” He continued,
writing that some of the
attacks against McCain were
“unfair” and that in summary it
was “aggressively, unexceptional”
and “unmemorable.”
In my view Obama delivered
an admirable speech at the convention.
For those who keep
saying they don’t know him, he
re-introduced himself and his
values not only to the 84,000
people in the stadium, but to
the 40 million watching on television.
He moved on to answer
the criticism of those who he
had not been specific enough by
defining change in terms of specific
references to a set of policies,
such as health care, education,
energy, the war in Iraq,
the economy and others. And
for those who said he had not
been tough enough, he repeatedly
challenged McCain on specific
points of disagreement,
profoundly suggesting that he
didn’t get it, he did not understand
the importance of this
moment for the American people.
even try. Our people answered
his call and rose to the challenge
– and today an American
flag still marks the surface of
the moon.”
John F. Kennedy said in his
inaugural address on Jan. 20,
1961: “Let the word go forth
from this time and place, to
friend and foe alike, that the
torch has been passed to a new
generation of Americans, born
in this century, tempered by
war, disciplined by a hard and
bitter peace, proud of our
ancient heritage, and unwilling
to witness or permit the slow
undoing of these human rights
to which this nation has always
been committed, and to which
we are committed today at
home and around the world.”
In Denver, Ted Kennedy
passed the torch to Obama,
saying: “And this November,
the torch will be passed again
to a new generation of
Americans.”
It’s remarkable that Kennedy
appeared at the convention at
all. After undergoing an operation
for brain cancer, he flew to
Denver by chartered plane,
checked into the University of
Colorado Hospital on Sunday,
the day before his scheduled
speech. There, he had a painful
encounter with kidney stones.
Still in pain, he was determined
to address delegates
Monday night. He left his hospital
bed, was driven to the
Pepsi Center, and then traveled
backstage on a golf cart.
Kennedy walked unassisted to
the stage, gave a rousing 10minute
speech, and returned
to his hospital bed. It was the
most courageous performances
I have ever witnessed. I can’t
think of a more deserving profile
in courage. — (NNPA)
George E. Curry, former editorin-chief
of Emerge magazine
and the NNPA News Service, is
a keynote speaker, moderator,
and media coach. He can be
reached through his Web site,
www.georgecurry.com.
They keep raising the bar
as Obama clears hurdles
These and other examples
may be perceived to be merely
differences of opinion by various
journalists on an event. But
remember Obama’s magnificent
tour to the Middle East and
Europe and the way in which
his outstanding performance
was virtually suppressed by the
media in a withering array of
non-questions about the political
value of celebrity.
This was the event that said
to many African Americans that
if Obama had been white, this
event would have been regarded
as a resounding success, rather
than a feat of guarded significance.
But the cause may be
more than just race.
What this may mean is that
Barack Obama has a formidable
challenge from the mainstream
media, whose advertising
contracts reflect both the
dominance of the Republican
capitalist structure as well as
the Anglo culture they represent.
They may also be resentful
that his campaign constructed
a media strategy that released
him from their control by creating
a corridor around them
through the Internet. Indeed,
some of the resistance to giving
his achievements the credit they
deserve may be based on this.
In any case, many highly
regarded journalists have been
consistently wrong about
Obama’s impact on this election,
and perhaps the final error
will be when he wins the presidency
itself. — (NNPA)
Ron Walters is the
Distinguished Leadership
Scholar and professor of government
and politics at the
University of Maryland College
Park. His latest book is “The
Price of Racial Reconciliation”
(U. of Michigan Press.)