that makes about as much sense as the PGA apologizing for that poorly made choice of words by what's her name, tilghman or something. from the whole event, it was clear what she meant, just bad word choice. should the PGA, who doesn't employ her, be required to apologize to tiger woods?

don't be ridiculous.

Are they just insensitive idiots? (not likely)
Are they deliberately trying to inflame racial passions? (stupid, if true)
Are they trying to divert attention? (dubious - and one would have to ask "from what?" and "to what?")

Actually, it was (Democrat) Bob Kerrey doing the whole secret-muslim thing and (Democrat) Bill Shaheen doing the sold-cocaine thing and (Democrat) Andrew Young doing the Bill Clinton's-slept-with-more-black-women-than-Obama thing. We NRO guys are staying well clear.

I suppose that thought opens up a "Yeah, but D-Punjab"

I'd like to think Cuomo's comments weren't planned by Clinton or part of any strategy since he's not officially associated with her campaign, but I agree she needs to make that clear and repudiate them.  Then she needs to reign in her surrogates - they are terrible at hitting Obama.  Terrible.  They almost always do more damage to her.  And even if Cuomo didn't mean to use such racially insensitive language - why is a Cuomo so verbally clumsy and tone deaf?  WTF?

I don't even know what to say about Jesse Jackson, Jr.  Normally, on something like this I'd give Obama the benefit of the doubt, too, but Jackson is one of his campaign's leaders and it looked to me like this was a major point he wanted to make in the interview?   He does know, right, that there are a lot of women in states beyond New Hampshire?  WTF?

I think the Clintons are playing the more dangerous game here through their surrogates.  They've got a lot of sympathy from women going for Hillary from the focus on sexism in the media.   They still have capital in the black community left over from Bill.   They could lose both if they let this go too far.  But my bet is they take the risk and this continues in subtle forms right up through Super Tuesday.

Her base is responsive to thinly veiled racist comments. That's why they are going to keep doing it. These are smart political pros who do not make a slip of the tongue when talking to media.

The spin is that he was being racist and it was directed at Obama. He needs to say that it was a poor choice of words. FOr Clinton to repudiate the phrase would be difficult because she would be in effect buying the version that it was intentionally racist.

That would be worse for her than saying nothing.  

I do not see how intentionally using the phrase helps Hillary at all. She is not a white guy and has her own problems as a woman running for the nomination. If this was strategy it would translate to something like:

Hey I may be a woman, but at least I am not black.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/1/11/123448/291/200/435086

Jesse Jackson Jr. is a PART of OBAMA's campaign.. He is his CAMPAIGN CO CHAIR.

Andrew Cuomo, who hails from the same state as Clinton and supports her, HAS NO OFFICIAL ROLE IN HER CAMPAIGN.

You know I've spent a lot of time in other races, especially in Iowa and in New Hampshire, back with Gore and back with Clinton. Those races require you to do something no other race does, you know, and I like it, and I agree with you, it's a good thing. It's not a TV-crazed race, you know, you can't just buy your way through that race [FD: Airport press conference and the media markets.....], it doesn't work that way, it's frankly a more demanding process. You have to get on a bus, you have to go into a diner, you have to shake hands, you have to sit down with ten people in a living room. You can't shuck and jive at a press conference, you can't just put off reporters, because you have real people looking at you saying answer the question, you know, and all those moves you can make with the press don't work when you're in someone's living room. And I think it's good for the candidates, I think it makes the candidates communicate in a way that works with real people because you know in a living room right away whether or not you're communicating, and I think the questions are good and I think the scrutiny is good, so you can, you can say they're small states and they get a lot of attention -- they are very good for the process, I believe that.

However, their advisors and supporters are completely fricking idiots and beyond tone deaf.  Via Talking Points Memo:

An anonymous Clinton adviser made an interesting comment to The Guardian, explaining the difference between Hillary supporters and Obama supporters.

"If you have a social need, you're with Hillary," the aide said. "If you want Obama to be your imaginary hip black friend and you're young and you have no social needs, then he's cool."

You know, I don't even think the point he's trying to make has anything to do with race.  I think his point is that if you have needs that cry out for programs, then Clinton is your candidate, but if not, then Obama is appealing because of all his movement and inspiration stuff.  And yet, in an attempt to create some sort of memorable soundbite, he manages to sound condescending and idiotic and a million other things, none of them good.