Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations

Ferraro Quits Clinton Job After Obama Comments

Geraldine Ferraro is resigning her fundraising position with Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign because of comments she made about Sen. Barack Obama.

Ferarro — the 1984 vice presidential nominee — suggested in a recent interview that Obama would not be where he is in the presidential race if he were not black.

Obama said the statement was an attempt to divide America with "slice and dice" politics, and he called on Clinton to denounce the statement. On Tuesday, Clinton said she "did not agree" with Ferraro's remarks.

Ferraro said her comments were misinterpreted.

This is just the latest example of how race and gender issues are complicating the Democratic race for the White House.

Michele Norris talks with Christopher Edley and Maria Echaveste about that comment and the ensuing war of words.

The two are married. They both teach law at University of California at Berkeley, and they both worked in the Bill Clinton White House — but their political allegiances are split this year. Edley is an adviser to Obama, and Echaveste is advising Clinton.

They agree that the campaigns have to be extra-sensitive to comments about race and gender, but they differ on whether race and gender can be avoided completely.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Related Stories