Obama apologized today for a memo his campaign sent to papers attacking the Clintons' ties to India as part of a broader theme criticizing outsourcing. Oddly enough, this is not the first time that Democratic candidates for President have made questionable comments about Indians. What gives? A list and brief thoughts below the fold...
Obama disavowed the memo which carried the headline -- "Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab) -- and referred to Bill and Hillary Clintons' investments in India; her fundraising among Indian-Americans; and the former president's $300,000 in speech fees from Cisco, a company that has moved U.S. jobs to India.In a statement on his Web site, Obama said he was not aware of the contents of the memo before it was distributed. The Illinois senator said he was responsible for the mistake and the campaign had taken appropriate action "to prevent errors like this from happening in the future."
Good for Obama for taking responsibility and immediately apologizing, and as offensive statements go this is pretty mild (the "D-Punjab" was apparently a reference to an earlier joke by Hillary), and almost certainly came from a staffer and not him. Still, it undercuts his image of squeaky-clean campaigning, and partially reverses the free boost he got from the crush on Obama video.
Clinton herself got in trouble earlier for a joke about Ghandi:
During an event here for Senate candidate Nancy Farmer, Clinton introduced a quote from Gandhi by saying: "He ran a gas station down in St. Louis."After laughter from many in the crowd of at least 200 subsided, the former first lady continued: "No, Mahatma Gandhi was a great leader of the 20th century." In a nod to Farmer's underdog status against Republican Sen. Kit Bond, Clinton quoted the Indian independence leader as saying: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
Of course, the most well-known gaffe is Biden's remark:
On a recent edition of the C-SPAN series "Road to the White House," the Delaware Democrat is shown shaking hands with a man and boasting about his support among Indian-Americans."I've had a great relationship. In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking," Biden said.
Biden has made a few other non-PC comments (calling Obama "articulate" and "clean" and describing Delaware as a former slave state in an apparent misguided attempt to bolster his southern credentials).
What's going on? You'd think in this day and age politicians would be more aware, and campaigns more savvy, than to stumble like this. Sort of odd that India comes up so often, isn't it? At least none of them called an Indian-American "macaca."
Cross-posted from Swords Crossed
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