From the Washington Post Jan. 25:
For nearly two decades, Yvette Wider, an African American, adored Bill Clinton, once described by a famous black novelist as the nation’s first black president.
But now, after Clinton’s "fairy tale" remark about Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in New Hampshire and a statement in South Carolina that Obama had put a political "hit job" on him, Wider said she feels she hardly knows the former president. "I was surprised to hear him make a comment like that, because I thought he understood our people better," said Wider, who said she will vote for Obama in Saturday’s South Carolina primary. "It made me think he’s been playing us all this time."
Wider’s sentiments are echoing across black America — on blogs, Web chats and talk radio, where Clinton is being attacked as never before.
It is a significant turnabout for Clinton, who throughout most of his presidency counted black people as his staunchest supporters. Less than eight years ago, African Americans gave the former president a stratospherically favorable rating — higher than those for Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.
With his attacks on Obama, however, that appears to be changing, causing some strategists and observers to wonder whether Clinton’s behavior will alienate black voters whom his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), will need should she win the nomination.
"The tone of some of the things he said just crossed a line," said David Bositis, chief researcher for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a black think tank.
Dennis Prager: It’s astonishing that there are substantial numbers of black Americans in positions of stature who charge Bill Clinton with racism for saying that Barak Obama lives in a fairy tale. There was nothing remotely racist in what Obama said.
It’s being taken that Bill Clinton is abandoning the black community that so loved him. Even Bill Clinton can’t criticize Barak Obama without being accused of racism. This means that any criticism of Obama is going to get one accused of racism.
If Bill Clinton, the most popular white in the black community can’t criticize a black politician, than nobody can without being accused of racism.
Of course Clinton has been playing blacks all the time. He’s been playing everybody all the time. Bill Clinton is all about Bill Clinton.
What folks like Yvette Wider are saying is that you can’t attack a black person. That blacks should be immune to criticism.
How did Bill Clinton’s remarks cross the line of racism?
Notice how the article says "black people." Do you ever see "white people"?
If Obama gets the Democratic nomination, criticisms of him will be seen as racially inspired, which will cause of rise of anger in the black community.
