Clinton decries sexism in the White House race
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Hillary Clinton called sexist attacks on her campaign "deeply offensive" Tuesday, as female supporters sprang to her defense, saying she speaks for all women and should stay in the Democratic race to the bitter end.
In what appear to be the waning days of her historic White House bid, the former first lady spoke out for the first time about what her supporters have long condemned, including derisive T-shirts, novelty items and commentary focusing on her gender.
"It's been deeply offensive to millions of women," Clinton said told The Washington Post in an interview, in which she pinned blame primarily on tolerant attitudes in the media.
"I believe this campaign has been a groundbreaker in a lot of ways. But it certainly has been challenging given some of the attitudes in the press," Clinton said of the contest that will crown either a black or a female presidential nominee for the first time in history.
Clinton said she did not believe the campaign had been tainted by racism, adding that racism is apparently less tolerated in US society than sexism.
"There should be equal treatment of the sexism and the racism when it raises its ugly head," she said.
"It does seem as though the press at least is not as bothered by the incredible vitriol that has been engendered by the comments by people who are nothing but misogynists."
Female supporters of Hillary Clinton have sprung to her defense, insisting she should stay in the Democratic primary race to the end, June 3.
"Not so fast," read a full page ad in The New York Times Tuesday, amid calls for Clinton to bow out sooner to help unify the party after a divisive contest between Clinton and Illinois Senator Barack Obama.
"Hillary's voice is OUR voice, and she's speaking for all of us," said the ad, purchased by a group not affiliated with the Clinton campaign called WomenCount.
"We want Hillary to stay in this race until every vote is cast, every vote is counted, and we know that our voices are heard."
Obama meanwhile inched closer to claiming the right to be the party's standard bearer in November, with voting in Kentucky and Oregon Tuesday likely to give him a majority of pledged delegates, according to aides.
"A clear majority of elected delegates will send an unmistakable message -- the people have spoken, and they are ready for change," Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe said in a fundraising email Monday.
Geraldine Ferraro, who as the Democratic party's vice presidential nominee in 1984 is the only woman on a major US presidential ticket to date, said sexism had been "rampant" in the presidential primary campaign.
Asked if the former first lady could blame her loss on gender, Ferraro said, "She might, but I certainly will and other people involved in watching the campaign will."
"Latent sexism has been around this country for a long time. In this campaign it was rampant," Ferraro said on NBC's Today show.
"There is a real difference in this country. It is not okay to be racist. It is just not. It is almost acceptable to be sexist," Ferraro said as the Democrats fielded the historic choice of the first female or the first black presidential nominee.
Ferraro recalled a Clinton rally in New Hampshire when someone in the audience held up a sign saying "Iron my shirt."
"Suppose somebody at that Barack Obama rally said 'Shine my shoes.' The person would have been swamped by the media saying, what, are you a racist? Hillary barely saw press on this. It is not only the Obama campaign. It is how the press has handled this."
Ferraro stirred up a firestorm in March with comments attributing Obama's stunning rise in US politics to his race.
"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," Ferraro told a California newspaper. She resigned from Clinton's campaign finance committee shortly after.
