The Clintons... racist? C'mon.

Although I’m far from being a Clinton apologist, Hillary and Bill Clinton are getting unfairly slammed right now. Obama compared himself to MLK recently, setting himself up for a pretty tough comparison. Obama can inspire a crowd and his skills as an orator are undeniable. Obama’s record, however, is pretty sparse; even his supporters must allow for that. Hillary Clinton made a fair point: she said that MLK did more than give inspiring speeches. King led a movement, he actively worked with politicians like LBJ to transform ideas into law. On his own, MLK inspired Americans and ignited a movement; with LBJ, he created laws and immediate change. (Her full quote to the NY Times: "I would point to the fact that that Dr. King's dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when he was able to get through Congress something that President Kennedy was hopeful to do, the president before had not even tried, but it took a president to get it done.") MLK worked with LBJ (a civil rights hero in his own right) and got things done. It is also true that Obama hasn't passed much in the way of the sweeping reform that he's spoken of; however, this charge can be refuted based on many things. Semantics, though, should not be among them.

Some have turned Clinton's into a swipe at MLK. (Obama's reply: "Senator Clinton made an unfortunate remark, an ill-advised remark, about King and Lyndon Johnson. I didn't make the statement. I haven't remarked on it. And she, I think, offended some folks who felt that somehow diminished King's role in bringing about the Civil Rights Act. She is free to explain that.") I am very disappointed in Obama as he encourages this implication. Obama has not ran on race and I don't want to see him use race to injure Clinton. She refuted the comparison Obama made between himself and King, and Obama should be strong enough to answer it instead of merely dodge it under insinuating comments.

Bill Clinton’s “fairy tale” remark is another example of this. The “fairy tale” remark was in context of Obama’s anti-war record, not on Obama’s candidacy. Again, Clinton makes an excellent point – Obama made a wonderful speech against the Iraq War in 2002, but once the war had popular support, Obama yanked the text of that speech from his web site in 2003. During the Kerry campaign in 2004, Obama voiced doubt over his vote. Obama proceeded to vote to fund the war over the following years. Bill Clinton wasn’t saying that it was a “fairy tale” that a black man could be president, but only questioning his credentials as a staunchly anti-war candidate. It is a very valid point. People who want to be offended by him are choosing to be. (My boy Edwards is another one unfairly jumping on the knee-jerk bandwagon on this one. Watch it, Johnny; your response to the “emotional” episode in the NH campaign was another disappointment. These responses reek of desperation.)

It is a huge deal that a black man and a woman have won presidential primaries. Women haven’t even been able to vote for 100 years, and black Americans faced Jim Crow just sixty years ago. But it seems that Obama and Clinton are becoming reduced to being merely a black man and a woman, instead of the very worthy candidates they both are. Raise the fighting to the level of their credentials, their stances, and leave race and gender out of it.