Geradine Ferarro said of Sen. Barack Obama's success: "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."
In another twist to the bitter battle for the Democratic presidential nomination, former vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, a member of Sen. Hillary Clinton's finance committee, vented her frustration with Sen. Barack Obama's campaign success in racially charged remarks.
"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," Ferraro told a local California newspaper last week.
"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," Ferraro said.
Ferraro, a fundraiser and outspoken supporter for Clinton, was Walter Mondale's 1984 Democratic vice-presidential nominee — the first woman nominated by a major political party as its candidate for vice president of the United States.
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Ferraro, a 72-year-old lawyer and former congresswoman, said this campaign was "very emotional" for her and suggested Clinton has been a victim of a "very sexist media."
"I think what America feels about a woman becoming president takes a very secondary place to Obama's campaign — to a kind of campaign that it would be hard for anyone to run against," Ferraro told the paper.
"For one thing, you have the press, which has been uniquely hard on her," she said. "It's been a very sexist media. Some just don't like her. The others have gotten caught up in the Obama campaign."
Obama Aide Resigned After 'Monster' Remark
Ferraro's controversial comments have made news less than a week after Obama senior foreign policy adviser Samantha Power resigned from the Illinois senator's campaign for calling Clinton "a monster.''
The Obama campaign held a conference call with reporters Tuesday with Obama supporter Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., arguing that Ferraro's words "undermine" Democrats' "ability to win in November."
"It's disappointing that Clinton supporters have sought to somehow diminish Senator Obama's candidacy and his support by suggesting he's in some way being given preferential treatment because of his race," Schakowsky said. "Any and all remarks that diminish Sen. Obama's candidacy because of his race are completely out of line."
Schakowsky urged Clinton to call on all of her advisers and supporters to change the tone of the campaign.
Obama campaign manager David Axelrod added the comment was "part of an insidious pattern that needs to be addressed" within the Clinton campaign, pointing to Clinton's remark to 60 Minutes that rumors Obama is a Muslim aren't true, "as far as I know," she said.
"When you wink and nod at offensive statements, you're really sending a signal to your supporters that anything goes," Axelrod said, arguing Clinton is seen as a "divisive and polarizing force" in politics.
Another foreign policy adviser for Obama, Susan Rice, called on the Clinton campaign to repudiate Ferraro's comment Tuesday morning.
"I think if Sen. Clinton is serious about putting an end to statements that have racial implications," Rice told MSNBC Tuesday morning, "then she ought to repudiate this comment."
Ferraro, currently a lobbyist in New York with Blank Rome Government Relations, did not return ABC News requests for comment.
The Clinton campaign is apparently trying to distance itself from the remark. Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson said the campaign disagrees with Ferraro's comment, according to the Politico Web site.
Obama campaign manager David Axelrod added the comment was "part of an insidious pattern that needs to be addressed" within the Clinton campaign, pointing to Clinton's remark to 60 Minutes that rumors Obama is a Muslim aren't true, "as far as I know," she said.
"When you wink and nod at offensive statements, you're really sending a signal to your supporters that anything goes," Axelrod said, arguing Clinton is seen as a "divisive and polarizing force" in politics.
Another foreign policy adviser for Obama, Susan Rice, called on the Clinton campaign to repudiate Ferraro's comment Tuesday morning.
"I think if Sen. Clinton is serious about putting an end to statements that have racial implications," Rice told MSNBC Tuesday morning, "then she ought to repudiate this comment."
Ferraro, currently a lobbyist in New York with Blank Rome Government Relations, did not return ABC News requests for comment.
The Clinton campaign is apparently trying to distance itself from the remark. Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson said the campaign disagrees with Ferraro's comment, according to the Politico Web site.
Obama's senior economic adviser Austan Goolsbee told Canadian diplomats the candidate's anti-NAFTA rhetoric should be interpreted as political positioning and not an articulation of policy, according to a Canadian government memo.
Rice was herself part of a mini-firestorm last week when she appeared to go off message and said that neither Obama nor Clinton is ready to answer the proverbial 3 a.m. phone call in the White House.
"Clinton hasn't had to answer the phone at three o'clock in the morning and yet she attacked Barack Obama for not being ready. They're both not ready to have that 3 a.m. phone call," Rice told MSNBC last week.
The Clinton campaign pounced, e-mailing a YouTube video of the interview to reporters.
Earlier in the campaign, Bill Shaheen, a Clinton campaign co-chairman in New Hampshire, stepped aside after making remarks about Obama's past drug use. The Clinton campaign also fired Iowa staffers who forwarded e-mails with false rumors that Obama is a Muslim.
Ferraro's comments appeared to highlight her frustration with Obama's campaign. The Illinois senator is leading Clinton in popular support and pledged delegates, according to ABC News' delegate scorecard.
In the interview with the newspaper, Ferraro also rejected the notion that Obama will bring together Republicans and Democrats.
"I was reading an article that said young Republicans are out there campaigning for Obama because they believe he's going to be able to put an end to partisanship," Ferraro said. "Dear God! Anyone that has worked in the Congress knows that for over 200 years this country has had partisanship — that's the way our country is."
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