By Nathan Duke
Ferraro, who worked on the finance committee for Clinton's presidential bid, stepped down from her post Thursday after making comments earlier in the week that Obama's campaign was successful because he was black.
“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position,” Ferraro said, according to The Daily Breeze, of Torrance, Calif. “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 could not be reached for comment.
But Ferraro, who previously lived in Forest Hills Gardens, told CBS' The Early Show that she was not asked to step down from the campaign and that she would not stop raising money for Clinton. She later told the Daily Breeze that Obama's campaign misinterpreted her remarks.
“Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says, 'Let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world,' you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up,” she said.
She also accused the media of “sexist” reporting on Clinton's campaign, CNN reported.
Obama responded to Ferraro's remarks, calling them “ridiculous,” CNN reported.
Ferraro previously ran in the 1984 presidential election as vice president to Democratic candidate Walter Mondale, but Ronald Reagan defeated the Democratic ticket in a landslide to earn his second term in office.
See the March 20 editions of the TimesLedger Newspapers for the full story.
