Ferraro’s racial rant

Before Geraldine Ferraro disappears back into irrelevancy, she owes Senator Obama and America an apology.

Dear Geraldine Ferraro,

One of my proudest moments as a Democrat came in
1984 in Washington, Georgia when I was finally old enough to vote and I proudly
cast my vote for the Democratic ticket of Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro.
I am a lifelong Democrat. I have worked for a Georgia Governor, Lieutenant
Governor and the South's first African-American Majority Leader. Throughout the
years, I have always heard rumblings from the whisper campaign from my
Republican counterparts, "Democrats don't really care about black people. They
just want ya'lls vote." I would always defend my love of the Democratic Party.
However, on today that whispering campaign screams some level of validation
from your horrific statement: "If Obama was a white man, he would not be
in this position."

What were you thinking? Were you thinking at
all? You know the plight of black people in America. More specifically, you
know the plight of black men in America. You know America's horrific race
record. You know that racism is still alive and well in America. You know first
hand that black people in America are still stereotyped in some kind of way
each and everyday. You are aware of the poverty and incarceration gaps. You are
aware of the health care and educational gaps. I could go on and exhaust a
platoon and plethora of other facts that ooze with racial overtures. Yet there
are people in America who are working very hard to get beyond race.

What bothers me is that yet another Democrat
reaches in their back pocket and in your case, your pocketbook, and pulls out
the race card and plays it. Why did you do it? Why did you feel this was
necessary? Did you and Hillary talk about it in advance? Why didn't Hillary ask
for your immediate resignation? Did you, Adelfa Callejo and Bill Clinton
collaborate on this intentional slamming of Senator Obama because he could not
help the fact that he was born black? Were you intentionally trying to appeal
to the fears of white people in America who have already made up their minds
that they will never vote for a black man? President Clinton played the race
card in South Carolina and has almost been invisible since that time, are you now
the new race card player for Senator Clinton's campaign? Are you purposefully
trying to start a political racial war in an already intense primary fight? Is
this a part of the Clinton "throw in the kitchen sink policy?"

Geraldine in case you have been asleep under a
rock the last few months, there are masses of 
white people in this country who are voting for Senator Obama in places
where no one thought that a black man would ever get their votes: Iowa, Idaho,
Wyoming, Utah, Alaska, North Dakota, Colorado, Kansas and Maine to name just a
few. Hello! These people didn't vote for Obama because he was black. They voted
for him because they want "CHANGE!" They voted for him because they are tired
politics as usual from people like you.

You owe Senator Obama an apology. You owe
America an apology. Senator Barack Obama represents the hopes of his nation and
his race. As much as people like you don't like it, Obama transcends race. Just
ask the people in the aforementioned states. In fact you and Walter Mondale are
white and I don't recall you all winning any of the aforementioned states in
the general election.

You also said "He happens to be very lucky to be
who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept." I agree with you
that the country is caught up in the concept but not for the reasons that you
suggest in your raucous racial ranting. The country is caught up in Obama
because they believe that he will bring change. The country is caught up in
Obama because they believe that he is more honest than your candidate. The
country is caught up in Obama because they believe that he can bring America
back together again and heal the political deep political divides. The country
is caught up in Obama because they believe that he can restore America's image
in the world. The country is caught up in Obama because he represents the best
and the brightest of America's future.

Before you disappear back into irrelevancy, I
want to remind you that there are some people in America who want to get beyond
race and just see each other as human beings. However, there are people like
you who step onto the stage and purposefully awaken foolish fears and set race
relations back. However, America is tired of race baiting and people of all
races will continue to support Senator Barack Obama

Praying that you will apologize,

Kenneth Walker

Late update: Ms. Ferraro has expanded on her charge by saying, "They're attacking me because I'm white." – ed.