Blog: Monday, Feb 4

In my many conversations this week regarding Obama vs. Hillary, no one seems to know or remember this, so I remind voters who may not have made up their minds yet that in 2004 Hillary made what people can't really deny was a racist joke. The gist of it is, at a fund-raising event Sen. Clinton gave a speech, which included the following: "… I love this quote. It's from Mahatma Gandhi. He ran a gas station down in St. Louis. A lot of wisdom came out of that gas station..." Huh? go to http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=200285 to read a thread about it. Go to http://mfile.akamai.com/5020/wma/rushlimb.download.akamai.com/5020/clips/04/01/010704_14_hillary.asx to hear the quote. Or, just google "Hillary racist joke." Yes, she has since apologized. But, her apologies only underscore why it was bad. I have been a democrat my whole life. I loved the Clinton era of the '90s. When the notion of Hillary as a presidential candidate first became a serious consideration, I was thoroughly excited, for a great many reasons. But, she alone dashed my hopes for her when she chose to joke about South Asians in this speech. This was not something uncovered from her youthful days as a naïve college student. It was not said as an aside, when she thought the microphone was off. It was not an impulsive response to a question, where she may have been caught off guard. It didn't even come from the mouth of a First Lady who may not need to be held as accountable. It came from a U.S. Senator who was eyeing the presidency. It was scrīpted. It was a conscious choice — which she thought would be funny, that she thought was acceptable, that she thought would be appropriate. This joke is many things, but most certainly it is not presidential. It may be just my opinion, but I think it was a plainly stupid thing to say. And I find it hard to understand why anyone would want to vote for someone for President, who could utter something so plainly stupid. Especially after 7 years of George W. Yes, I can forgive her. Certainly, there are worse things than Hillary as president. But at the moment I have the option of voting for an alternate candidate, who is rather brilliant. If you happen to live in a state holding a primary tomorrow, please vote, whatever your choice! —CT