Olbermann: Ferraro Statement 'Clearly Racist: Are We in South Africa?'

March 11th, 2008 9:40 PM

Forget the popcorn: it could take a case of Cognac and a humidor of good cigars to fully savor the warfare that's breaking out in Dem ranks. Who could have predicted that Keith Olbermann would be accusing a prominent Clinton team member and former Dem VP candidate of making a "clearly racist" statement evoking the apartheid era in South Africa? And yet . . .

On this evening's Countdown, Olbermann and Newsweek's Howard Fineman were discussing Geraldine Ferraro's remarks about Obama and the way the Clinton campaign, far from denouncing them, sent out campaign manager Maggie Williams to try to turn the tables, accusing Obama of "false, personal and politically calculated attacks" for having the audacity to complain.

View video here.

HOWARD FINEMAN: It's clear to me the Clinton people aren't going to back down. As you saw, they sent Maggie Williams out with a statement to defend Geraldine Ferraro who's defending herself. So this is the fight the Clintons want, the way they want to fight it.

KEITH OLBERMANN: So the senator wants a clearly racist, clearly equal-opportunity-is-not-a-good-thing, that's-the-only-reason-he's-here kind of statement interjected into the campaign? It's not just somebody not judging a negative to something? This right now, this reaction right now is intentional?

And a bit later, discussing the Clinton campaign strategy.

OLBERMANN: Does it not have disaster written all over it, or are we living in South Africa?

Love the smell of MSM napalm in the evening?