The recent skirmish between the Clinton and Obama campaigns comes as no surprise to me in this overly scandalous election. It seems as though the news media isn’t happy unless one of the candidates is attacking another.
So, when I checked out The New York Times online a few days ago, I wasn’t too surprised to see that Hillary Clinton had become a supposed racist overnight.
The ensuing argument between the two campaigns was only spurred by the increasingly ridiculous news media. They latched on to Clinton’s seemingly innocuous statement and blew it way out of proportion. When Clinton said, “Dr. King’s dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It took a president to get it done,” she wasn’t attempting to subvert any impact that Dr. King had on the Civil Rights Movement. Any American who made it through 10th grade history knows that without Dr. King, race relations in this country would be wildly different than they are today. So why did the Obama campaign react so strongly against this statement, and why did the news media circulate it so widely?
It shouldn’t be scandalous to simply state the fact that if former President Johnson hadn’t signed the bill into law, it may not exist today. Though Dr. King was absolutely instrumental in raising awareness about racism and causing social change in America, he had no power to change the laws himself. It did take a president to do that.
And while it’s nice to hear that the two campaigns have called a truce, I can’t help but picture this whole exchange taking place on the fourth grade playground between the swings and the seesaws, with a mini Obama yelling “You’re stupid!” and little Clinton responding “Am not!”
Mostly, the exchanges between any of the candidates, whether Republican or Democrat, are disheartening at best. One of these candidates is ultimately going to win this election, and so far, the front-runners have shown less than exemplary maturity levels.
However, bad behavior among presidential hopefuls is not something unique to this year’s candidates. In 1972, Richard Nixon helped take out an opponent during the primaries by criticizing the man’s wife.
Edmund S. Muskie ran for president on the Democratic ticket. According to the New York Times, while campaigning for the New Hampshire primary, the Manchester Union Leader, a conservative New Hampshire newspaper, attacked Muskie partly because of an anonymous letter sent to the paper which said he used the slur “Canuk” when referring to French Canadians living in the state.
Later, when defending his wife in a speech made in front of the Manchester Union Leader’s building, he reportedly began to cry. This act was widely seen as the reason he lost the Democratic ticket. He claimed some time later that the supposed “tears” were actually snowflakes that melted on his face.
Later, it was discovered that the anonymous letter was sent to the newspaper by Kenneth W. Clawson, a political aide to Richard Nixon. Who could have ever imagined that Nixon would use dirty tactics to make it to the White House?
Howard Dean’s race to the White House in 2004 also ended abruptly when he made his famous “YEEEEAAAAHHH!!!” speech. Granted, he was a little overexcited for a candidate who came in third in the Iowa Caucas, but being passionate shouldn’t be a detriment when running for president.
And speaking of passion, Al Gore’s extended kiss with his wife actually helped his campaign. So, for further reference, if any of you want to run for president some time in your future, screaming, bad; kissing, good.
It seems like every four years, the public has to sit back and watch as full-grown men — and this year — a woman, pick fights with each other over things that don’t matter. We get to see unprecedented displays of emotion, good or bad. And at the end of it, one person emerges with a few scars, probably some extra emotional baggage and the title of President of the United States.
