Comments on: Keith Olbermann Is My Hero http://www.1001words.com/2008/03/keith-olbermann-is-my-hero.html We live in an age of forgetting. Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:45:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Jason http://www.1001words.com/2008/03/keith-olbermann-is-my-hero.html#comment-907 Jason Sat, 15 Mar 2008 01:26:22 +0000 http://www.1001words.com/2008/03/keith-olbermann-is-my-hero.html#comment-907 Meghan, thanks for the comment. You should watch the Olbermann video if you can, his overview of the situation is better than mine. I'll try to address your points on Ferraro though. I agree that it sucks when someone's comments are taken out of context and repeated ad nauseum without that context by campaigns or media pundits. Several times in the campaign, all of the candidates have taken another candidate's remarks and misrepresented them. It will happen many more times to come. That's not what happened here though. To start, this wasn't a slip of a tongue she made that were taken out of context. The comments (first?) appeared over a week ago in an interview with a newspaper: http://www.dailybreeze.com/lifeandculture/ci_8489268 They got picked up in the media a few days later. Ferraro went on several news talk shows to repeat and defend her comments. Then she woke up the next day and defended them again, along with making some silly claims like she was being called a racist by the Obama campaign (she wasn't) and attacked for her comments because she is white. It was this vigorous defense and repetition of her comments more than anything that made it clear they weren't being taken out of context, and that she wasn't making an odd point that the country was making progress. It was clear to to me from her words and her tone that she believed Obama's *only* reason for his success was the color of his skin, and that his success was undeserved. Race is part of Obama's appeal (and a turn-off for others, something Ferraro doesn't get when she said he's "lucky" to be black). But Obama is doing well for many other reasons too, including his charisma, intelligence, oratory, and campaigning skills. She doesn't seem to get the other parts of his appeal when she repeatedly made those comments. You might want to read this, from someone who also gave Ferraro the benefit of the doubt at first: http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/capital/2008/03/13/the-ferraro-fallacy Meghan, thanks for the comment. You should watch the Olbermann video if you can, his overview of the situation is better than mine. I’ll try to address your points on Ferraro though.

I agree that it sucks when someone’s comments are taken out of context and repeated ad nauseum without that context by campaigns or media pundits. Several times in the campaign, all of the candidates have taken another candidate’s remarks and misrepresented them. It will happen many more times to come.

That’s not what happened here though. To start, this wasn’t a slip of a tongue she made that were taken out of context. The comments (first?) appeared over a week ago in an interview with a newspaper:
http://www.dailybreeze.com/lifeandculture/ci_8489268

They got picked up in the media a few days later. Ferraro went on several news talk shows to repeat and defend her comments.
Then she woke up the next day and defended them again, along with making some silly claims like she was being called a racist by the Obama campaign (she wasn’t) and attacked for her comments because she is white.

It was this vigorous defense and repetition of her comments more than anything that made it clear they weren’t being taken out of context, and that she wasn’t making an odd point that the country was making progress. It was clear to to me from her words and her tone that she believed Obama’s *only* reason for his success was the color of his skin, and that his success was undeserved.

Race is part of Obama’s appeal (and a turn-off for others, something Ferraro doesn’t get when she said he’s “lucky” to be black). But Obama is doing well for many other reasons too, including his charisma, intelligence, oratory, and campaigning skills. She doesn’t seem to get the other parts of his appeal when she repeatedly made those comments.

You might want to read this, from someone who also gave Ferraro the benefit of the doubt at first:
http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/capital/2008/03/13/the-ferraro-fallacy

]]> By: meghan http://www.1001words.com/2008/03/keith-olbermann-is-my-hero.html#comment-905 meghan Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:34:06 +0000 http://www.1001words.com/2008/03/keith-olbermann-is-my-hero.html#comment-905 hey man. okay, for some reason the keith olbermann video isn't working for me, but i'm gonna comment anyway. ahem, this is not me standing up for Clinton. I do realize how sneaky and under-handed politicians are, so i won't defend. but i think there's some grayness to the situation. I don't think the Ferraro statement was as awful as it was made out to be. When I first heard it, my thought was, "there's no way context can help make that better. " But, then I heard the context and it actually makes more sense. Still an unwise thing to say - and certainly not a lucid way to express her concept - but not racist. I think she was trying to express that the country is trying to move forward in acceptance. (she mentioned she wouldn'ta been on the Mondale ticket if she was a man.)... not on anyone's "side" here, but i think it really sucks when someone tries to express something, maybe stumbles a bit while doing so, and then ends up being evil on the evening news. How many news networks reported *all* of what she said, so that her point was actually made? this is why i should never be in politics. i'd probably do myself in just writing comments to blogs. all that said,....jason, you are my political-knowledge superior by far, so, i realize that this comment may be completely nonsensical in light of that. okay... i guess i should get back to work now. bye! hey man. okay, for some reason the keith olbermann video isn’t working for me, but i’m gonna comment anyway. ahem, this is not me standing up for Clinton. I do realize how sneaky and under-handed politicians are, so i won’t defend. but i think there’s some grayness to the situation.

I don’t think the Ferraro statement was as awful as it was made out to be. When I first heard it, my thought was, “there’s no way context can help make that better. ”

But, then I heard the context and it actually makes more sense. Still an unwise thing to say - and certainly not a lucid way to express her concept - but not racist. I think she was trying to express that the country is trying to move forward in acceptance. (she mentioned she wouldn’ta been on the Mondale ticket if she was a man.)… not on anyone’s “side” here, but i think it really sucks when someone tries to express something, maybe stumbles a bit while doing so, and then ends up being evil on the evening news. How many news networks reported *all* of what she said, so that her point was actually made? this is why i should never be in politics. i’d probably do myself in just writing comments to blogs. all that said,….jason, you are my political-knowledge superior by far, so, i realize that this comment may be completely nonsensical in light of that. okay… i guess i should get back to work now. bye!

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