Obama's latest apologies to women
More apologies from Barack Obama to women ... this time because his campaign barred them from sitting behind the podium while wearing the hijab.
I guess staffers didn't want anyone to think Obama's followers include Muslims.
Obama called it "inexcusable," one of the women told the Detroit Free Press.
As he did when he spoke at War Memorial Auditorium here earlier this year, Obama likes to seat some of the audience on stage behind him. These people will be visible in TV broadcasts of the event, and I'm sure the campaign chooses them with some care. In Greensboro, the group behind Obama was racially diverse but mostly white while the general audience was predominantly black.
"Building a human backdrop to a political candidate, a set of faces to appear on television and in photographs, is always a delicate exercise in demographics and political correctness," Politico notes. "Advance staffers typically pick supporters out of a crowd to reflect the candidate’s message.
"When Obama won the North Carolina primary amid questions about his ability to connect with white voters, for instance, he stood in front of a group of middle-aged white women waving small American flags.
An effort to purposefully exclude certain kinds of people is a new twist, but I'll bet it won't happen again. Sure, Obama has had to repeatedly correct the misimpression apparently held by many people that he's Muslim, so some of his helpers may be overly concerned about the presence of Muslims at his campaign events. But this was a very bad move that backfired big time.
Obama probably avoided serious damage by personally apologizing to the offended women -- as he did to the Detroit TV reporter he called "sweetie."
There's no word on whether he used the term of endearment in his latest apologies, but I doubt it.
Comments (6)
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It's almost as if the public is OK with him doing offensive things over and over and over again, as long as he says he's sorry afterward. He's sort of like a wife-beater who always apologizes after he blackens his spouse's eyes; he's "sorry" but you know he's gonna do it again.
Posted on June 20, 2008 9:35 AM
The number of mis-steps made by Obama is staggering. I am all for a "new" leadership, but "new" does not excuse these types of mistakes. This is not the time in American History for an unproven entity in the White House.
A little off subject, but I am appalled that a "new" politician would flip flop on a promise to utilize public financing during his campaign. He says it is because the system is broken. Was it not broken when you pledged to utilize it? Do your supporters not have the money to run 527 ads? If they did not, you would not rely on them to finance your campaign.
Posted on June 20, 2008 10:14 AM
In fairness, Obama didn't personally insult these women.
The funding flip-flop is absolutely no surprise. It gives Obama the opportunity to vastly outspend McCain, and he wasn't going to pass it up.
Obama will be able to pay for big campaign organizations in states like North Carolina where he otherwise might not have a chance but now can be competitive thanks to a money advantage. That's how he neutralized Hillary's edge in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Posted on June 20, 2008 10:37 AM
He's such a schmuck.
Posted on June 20, 2008 11:36 AM
Sensei said:
He's such a schmuck.
Right! And even the Church Ladies in Johnston County have taken a stand against Obama.
http://www.churchsigngenerator.com/makesign5.pl?line1=Obama+Hates&line2=Muslin+Women%21&line3=Vote+Republican+and&line4=Stop+Devil+Obama&font=1
Posted on June 20, 2008 9:26 PM
Obama said that he needed the vastly greater money that he could get privately to defeat John McCain. Really? So, now our presidency goes to the person that can get the most money thrown his way? What happened to Obama's pledge to be a different sort of candidate? Wasn't Barack the Messiah going to enter the temple (of Washington politics), throw out those that were buying and selling (of influence) and overturn the tables and chairs of those that were selling their wares?
Posted on June 21, 2008 12:23 PM