Krugman: The (Republican) press played the race card, not the Clintons

Krugman (http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/on-race-cards-and-all-that/):

I’m starting to get emails from angry people who tell me that I’m ignoring all the terrible race-baiting the Clintons have done. I think I’ll just outsource my response to Clive Crook — who is, by the way, an Obama supporter.

"Some commentators accused Bill of playing the race card when he called Obama’s account of his position on the Iraq war a “fairy tale”. How so? What did that have to do with race? And does Hillary’s comment about King, the only instance Morris bothers to offer, even qualify? She merely said that getting the job done required a can-do president as well as an inspiring and visionary champion. And so it did. I cannot see that this subtracts anything from King’s stature, or that it was intended to. Whatever its merits, this is the Clintons’ old theme, not a sinister new one: if elected, she would hit the ground running, whereas the inexperienced Obama would be out of his depth. It took a hyper-sensitive press to turn that comment into a racial slur.
…."

I think the press played the race card, not the Clintons.

It really makes me sad to see so many people get played by the media on this. If you prefer Obama, fine — but the evil, race-card-playing Clinton campaign is no more real than Al Gore’s claim that he invented the Internet.

And to Obama supporters, just remember: these people are not your friends. After they take down Hillary Clinton, if they can, your man will be next.

Your point would be better served by using a source less biased towards Hillary than Krugman.

And that is when Bill Clinton, in response to a completely race-neutral question, brushed off Obama's win in SC with a comparison to Jesse Jackson. That was using race in a big way.

Had Hillary won South Carolina, could anyone have been expected to brush off her win there with a comparison to a 20-year-old Jackson campaign? The answer is no, and the only reason is that Obama is black and she is not.

a female analogy that would have worked. That wasn't racial on Bill Clinton's part, it was campaign analysis based on specific factors - in this case, race.

No problem.

Jackson won 11 or 13 primaries and was the only candidate, along with Dukakis, who did not withdraw before the convention.

Hillary is toast - we'll be discussing this for many years to come.

Sad.

And to Obama supporters, just remember: these people are not your friends. After they take down Hillary Clinton, if they can, your man will be next.

Truer words were never spoken.

Pretending that Obama supporters cheer the media on, or that they are "our friends." On what does he base this gross stereotype? A few nutcases on a message board or the preponderance of Democrats (including Obama supporters) who denounced the David Shuster comment ... and who know damned well the media's ways?

who see racist comment whenever someone does not swoon over Obama.

Today it's the press. Whatever.

over again by the msm. People need to wake up.

At the time I was supporting Edwards and as of now I have no dog in the fight. But I am very good at perceiving bull shit and spin and that is exactly what our right wing msm is doing. If you are going to beat these people, you are going to have to learn to think outside the box. It's all about molding perception with our msm.

Thanks for your post.

The Clintons PLANNED this like it was 1995 and The American People have *evolved* enough to have it blow up in their faces. Thank-God for those little tidbits of justice.

BTW I wonder what this Krugman is getting in the form of "Clintonian Sweet Whispers?" :shrug: