All along the Obama-maniacs have used racism as their trump card.  Any criticism of him was racist, pure as simple. 

So according to this piece at the NY Daily News, that is also why Hillary won't quit:  Racism and bigotry.  So be happy all you non Obama-maniacs, according to this, the secret is out and the only reason you do not like him is because you are a racist bigot.

 Ugly truth why Hillary Clinton won't quit (emphasis mine)

While the case for Hillary Clinton to stay in the race is shakier than ever, one ugly reason for staying in could be found Tuesday amid the ruddy, sun-kissed Hoosiers who cheered her on to victory at the Indianapolis Speedway.

With Clinton posing alongside pioneering Indy speedster Sarah Fisher,

...a young white girl...

there were almost no African-Americans to be seen. Many in the white, working-class crowd were simply not ready to back Barack Obama - for reasons that are disturbing.

"I'm kind of still up in the air between McCain and Hillary," said Jason Jenkins, 32, who cited information from a hoax e-mail as a reason to spurn Obama.

"I'll be honest with you. Barack scares the hell out of me,"he said. "He swore on the Koran."

So they single out one crank who believed that idiotic email.  So if whites don't trust him for his alleged Muslim faith and his skin color, how does he attract any at all?

Obama did manage to pull in many white voters, but still encountered similar sentiments from a man who refused to shake his hand at a diner in Greenwood, Ind.

"I can't stand him," the man said. "He's a Muslim. He's not even pro-American as far as I'm concerned."

Such feelings leave Clinton and the Democratic Party in a tough spot. With the largest number of remaining delegates now being party insiders, they have to decide if Obama can overcome enough of that antipathy - essentially deciding if enough working-class whites will back away from the black candidate, whether because of the false Muslim rumors, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright flap or old-fashioned racism.

No wonder the middle class is bitter.  Not only are politicians out of touch and elite, but the act of pointing out their elitism, in Obama's case at least, makes you a racist.

According to the LA Times, if you call Obama an elitist, you are really calling him an uppity Ni***r:

LA Times op-ed reveals new racist code word: “Elitist”

A new breakthrough towards the left’s unified field theory of how all criticism of Obama is essentially racist. The last great advance came from Harvard prof Orlando Patterson, scanning Hillary’s pedestrian 3 a.m. ad on Obama’s inexperience and finding the lost sequel to “Birth of a Nation.” Now comes David Shipler, thesaurus in hand, following a trail of synonyms that leads straight to the darkest heart of racist AmeriKKKa:

[W]hen his opponents branded him an elitist and an outsider, his race made it easier to drive a wedge between him and the white, rural voters he has courted. As an African American, he was supposedly looking down from a place he didn’t belong and looking in from a distance he could not cross.

This could not happen as dramatically were it not for embedded racial attitudes. “Elitist” is another word for “arrogant,” which is another word for “uppity,” that old calumny applied to blacks who stood up for themselves…

Furthermore, casting Obama as “out of touch” plays harmoniously with the traditional notion of blacks as “others” at the edge of the mainstream, separate from the whole.

If you take this tool seriously, there’s quite literally no good-faith way to accuse a member of a minority group of being snobbish or condescending.

Which meets the standard many claim, (Wright perhaps) which implies that blacks cannot be racist, because only whites can.

His recent comments about how middle class America is a bunch of bitter gun crazed religious bigots is revealing, even as it is not a shock.

Unshockingly we discover an upper class politician is out of touch with the people he claims to represent.  Unsurprisingly we discover that the liberal elitism we have all remarked on in the past is just as ingrained in Obama as any other liberal. 

For all his claims to be just a middle class guy who did well, his success, like so many others who claim to have that connection, has left him out of touch.  His claim to being a 2nd Amendment scholar has left his no idea why Americans love guns. 

Most revealing is that his roots in his church have left him clueless about how many people rely on their faith as an integral foundation in their lives.

Maybe that is the most revealing aspect, and one of the sources of the greater points of hypocrisy.

Obama's church and his mentoring by Rev J Wright have left Obama with a very cynical view of religion.

Obama's church and Wright himself are apparently more concerned with the Afrocentric message of despair than a message of hope in which most American's see their faith.  Faith in God and in their church to many middle class people gives them a solid foundation of hope and love they can cling to when life does send the twists and turns.

Obama's by contrast preaches despair and anger and ignores the positives.  Obama's religion, for all his comments about bitterness, is rooted in encouraging bitterness.

I find it interesting that his own church uses bitterness as a core value, and he himself has defended that bitterness as understandable, and now in another attempt at relativism he extends that bitterness, but with negative implications.

Is this just more liberal elitism, or is this a new twist?

Mark Steyn nails victim based politics:

Well, we will have Hillary Clinton to kick around some more, at least for another few weeks. The Mummy (as my radio pal Hugh Hewitt calls her) kicked open the sarcophagus door and, despite the rotting bandages dating back to Iowa, began staggering around terrorizing folks all over again. "She is a monster," Obama advisor Samantha Power told a reporter from The Scotsman — and not a monster in a cute Loch Ness blurry long-distance kind of way but something far more repulsive and in your face. "You just look at her and think, 'Ergh,'" continued Ms. Power, warming to her theme perhaps more than is advisable even in an interview with an overseas newspaper.

The New York Times took a different line. The only monster is you — yes, you, the American people. Surveying the Hillary-Barack death match, Maureen Dowd wrote: "People will have to choose which of America's sins are greater, and which stain will have to be removed first. Is misogyny worse than racism, or is racism worse than misogyny?"

Do even Democrats really talk like this? Apparently so. As Ali Gallagher, a white female (sorry, this identity-politics labeling is contagious) from Texas, told The Washington Post: "A friend of mine, a black man, said to me, 'My ancestors came to this country in chains; I'm voting for Barack.' I told him, 'Well, my sisters came here in chains and on their periods; I'm voting for Hillary.'"

My personal vote for quote of the week.

When everybody's a victim, nobody's a victim. Poor Ms. Gallagher can't appreciate the distinction between purely metaphorical chains and real ones, or even how offensive it might be to assume blithely that there's no difference whatsoever. But, if her sisters really came here in chains, it must have been Bondage Night at the Mayflower's Swingers' Club. On the other hand, Barack's ancestors didn't come here in chains either: his mother was a white Kansan, so was presumably undergoing menstrual hell with the Gallagher gals, and his dad was a black man a long way away in colonial Kenya. Indeed, Senator Obama would be the first son of a British subject to serve as President since those slaveholding types elected in the early days of the republic. As some aggrieved black activist sniffed snootily on TV, Barack isn't really an "African-American" — unless by "African-American," you mean somebody whose parentage is half-American and half-African, and let's face it, no-one would come up with so cockamamie a definition as that.

To me the title really details the critical point of the issue.  The story starts with Obama's church.  The leader Rev Wright is a fire and brimstone pulpit pounder, but not the usual sort.  Imagine if Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Louis Farrakhan all rolled into one with a touch of Michael Moore tossed in.  The only sermons I have heard have all been directed not at soul saving, but at creating a culture of distrust and division between blacks and whites.

His social philosophy is summed up by what he calls Black Liberation Theology.  Essentially, it is blame everyone and ensure your status as victim is assured.

Obama has been under fire a while on his association with a guy who blames the US for 911, Aids, Drugs and a whole laundry list of other problems, as well as a healthy pro Palestinian belief.

Rolling Stone did a lengthy assessment of the man and the preacher last year.

Wright takes the pulpit here one Sunday and solemnly, sonorously declares that he will recite ten essential facts about the United States. "Fact number one: We've got more black men in prison than there are in college," he intones. "Fact number two: Racism is how this country was founded and how this country is still run!" There is thumping applause; Wright has a cadence and power that make Obama sound like John Kerry. Now the reverend begins to preach. "We are deeply involved in the importing of drugs, the exporting of guns and the training of professional KILLERS. . . . We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God. . . . We conducted radiation experiments on our own people. . . . We care nothing about human life if the ends justify the means!" The crowd whoops and amens as Wright builds to his climax: "And. And. And! GAWD! Has GOT! To be SICK! OF THIS SHIT!"

After stating something everyone knew, Geraldine Ferraro was skewered as a racist, and has quit from Hillary's campaign.

Breaking: Ferraro steps down

Geraldine Ferraro has stepped down from her role as a member of Hillary Clinton's finance committee.

In a letter to Clinton obtained by CNN's Suzanne Malveaux — who spoke with the former vice presidential candidate shortly after she sent it to Clinton — Ferraro said she is stepping down so, "I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what is at stake in this campaign."

In a phone conversation with Malveaux, Ferraro said she was not asked to step down by Senator Clinton or her campaign

Ferraro said thousands of people are part of the finance committee, saying it is not a staff position, but a voluntary one for those who raise money for the campaign. She also said she has raised $125,000 for Senator Clinton.

When asked if she had any regrets about what she said, Ferraro replied, "absolutely not."

"I am who I am and I will continue to speak up," she said. She added that she thought it was a shame that the Obama campaign was trying to block her First Amendment rights, and that she felt that was no way to conduct a campaign.

Her role on Hillary's campaign was a minor one, but obviously Hillary is happy to have a separation, as she is trying to blunt any suggestions she is racist or abides racism.

When asked how she felt about Hillary Clinton distancing herself from her remarks, Ferraro replied, "I am perfectly fine," and that there were no hard feelings. She said she understands what Clinton is going through, and understands that being part of a presidential campaign is "very hard."

Full letter:

Dear Hillary –

I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what is at stake in this campaign.

So here is what is going on.  Ferraro, the 1984 Democrat Vice Presidential nominee, has come under fire for essentially stating the truth.

Ferraro's Remarks About Obama Decried

Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday she disagrees with Geraldine Ferraro, one of her fundraisers and the 1984 vice presidential candidate, for suggesting that Barack Obama only achieved his status in the presidential race because he's black.

In a brief interview with The Associated Press, Clinton was questioned about Ferraro's remarks. The Obama campaign has called on the New York senator to denounce them.

Ferraro told the Daily Breeze of Torrance, Calif.:

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

So tell me, is that an ugly truth or just hate speech.  No one wants to admit that it is really the ugly truth.  Since his entrance into the national scene he has been groomed to be the first (real) black president.  And she is right, the democrats are enraptured with the concept of proving they are really as diverse as they claim, so they rally behind him as their totem.

Obama the man, the politician and leader is less important to the democrats than his race is, otherwise the more qualified people would be sitting in the final two.

Aside from being charismatic, he really has nothing in his resume to indicate he is really the best qualified person for the office.

Hillary ought not scoff too hard, she is benefiting from the same thing, being the first woman nominee, and Ferraro should also be an expert at the concept since Mondale chose her solely for her gender to appeal to the feminists.  Don't believe it?  See below.

Ferraro is defending her comments, somewhat surprisingly:

The state of Florida, not content with being the laughing stock of 2000 continues its campaign to be the laughing stock of 2008.

Really, in all fairness, the Democrat party is the laughing stock, as entire primary election seems fated to be a bigger debacle than the 2000 election.

Not content to have their election invalidated after they had their primary invalidated for moving their primary date in violation of DNC rules, they now want to muddy the waters with an impromptu mail in vote...or do they?

Re-vote picture clouds

For a moment, it looked like party leaders were marching toward a Florida revote. But Obama's campaign signaled today that the mechanics would be an obstacle, and Florida's congressional delegation just took a hard line against a re-vote in a joint statement:

Washington, DC – The Members of Florida’s Democratic Delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives issued the following statement regarding the seating of Florida’s delegates at the DNC National Convention this August.

“We are committed to working with the DNC, the Florida State Democratic party, our Democratic leaders in Florida, and our two candidates to reach an expedited solution that ensures our 210 delegates are seated.

“Our House delegation is opposed to a mail-in campaign or any redo of any kind.”

Which leaves the matter woefully murky. 

So exit question:  Why does Florida seem to attract election debacles?  Do I need to remind anyone of the stupid ballots, inconsistent standards of evaluating voter intent, hanging chads, dueling courts and whining politicians from 2000?

If the Democrats were really pushing to assure the people they stand for integrity in elections, they seem to be failing.

All I have seen is race baiting, victim card playing, scheming and conniving.  I have seen plans for totally thwarting voter intent, and two entire states completely disenfranchised.

This is election integrity?

And you cannot blame the Republicans this time, this is Dem on Dem infighting.

Ever since the DNC suspended the Florida and Michigan Caucuses, it was almost a sure invitation to litigation and controversy.

And who else would we expect other than Al Sharpton to make an issue of it.

SHARPTON THREATENS LAWSUIT OVER FL, MI

Al Sharpton is in Florida and said he is prepared to sue if Florida and Michigan’s delegates are seated as is. He said there are people who didn’t vote because they knew their vote wouldn’t count and “there must be a formula to factor” them in.

“There were many people that did not vote, because the DNC said their vote did not count,” Sharpton said on MSNBC. “Whatever way this is resolved, they must be factored in.”

Sharpton instead called for a re-do of the voting in both states. “There must be a way that people can exercise their right to vote who did not vote.”

Called it “absurd” that Michigan where uncommitted was on the ballot, would get their delegates seated as is.

”If they try to seat as is,” Sharpton said, he and the National Action Network are prepared to file suit.

As we noted in First Read this morning, Sharpton is in Florida to meet with local National Action Network chapters in Orlando, Port St. Lucie and Miami where they will plan to sign up people who will say they didn’t vote because they were “told their vote wouldn’t count. And we’ll do it in Michigan too.”

What no one wants to say is that Al only cares because Hillary would get the delegates if they were seated as is, and while he had is issue with Obama in the past, Sharpton would rather see Obama in the Whitehouse than Hillary...for obvious reasons, IMO. 

Now I will grant that it seems unfair to let her sweep the states when the Obama didn't even campaign and wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan, but then again, the DNC created this mess, so they need to figure out how to make it right.