Curtis Houck at NewsBusters noted late Thursday that on that evening’s NBC Nightly News, incumbent Louisiana Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu told NBC's Chuck Todd that President Barack Obama is unpopular in the South because the region “has not always been the friendliest place for African-Americans” and thus “[i]t’s been a difficult time for the President to present himself in a very positive light as a leader." Landrieu also said that "It’s not always been a good place for women to present ourselves. It’s more of a conservative place."
Houck described the race-based portion of Landrieu's lament as a "gaffe." The Senator apparently disagrees, as she doubled down on both aspects of her "woe is me" remarks in a statement today. Politico's James Hohmann waited an incredible 11 paragraphs to get into her embarrassing double-down:
Landrieu defends race comment
... In a statement released Friday evening, Landrieu defended herself against people trying to “twist” her comments. After clarifying that the president’s energy policies are the “main reason” for his unpopularity in Louisiana, the senator addressed the backlash over her race comment.
“[T]he South has not always been the friendliest or easiest place for African-Americans to advance, and it’s been a difficult place for women to be recognized as the leaders we are,” Landrieu said, echoing her initial statement. “Everyone knows this is the truth, and I will continue to speak the truth even as some would twist my words seeking political advantage.”
It shouldn't be necessary, but I should remind readers that the toughest era for African-Americans to advance, especially without threat of violence for being too "uppity," was during the nearly 100 years between the end of Reconstruction and the Republican-enabled passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
As to her comment about women's difficulties in the South, Landrieu apparently considers her two previous U.S. Senate wins — one against another woman — miracles.
In a seemingly too-convenient accident, the Politico's link to Landrieu's statement just returns the reader to Hohmann's write-up. It seems appropriate, given that the Senator is circling the wagons over her remarks, which manage the difficult task of being simultaneously indefensible and unreflective of reality. Would Hohmann have waited 11 paragraphs for a Republican's or conservative's embarrassing double-down?
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
