CBS11 broaches a volatile campaign issue -- but will it go any farther than that?
02/28/08 12:25 PM
By ED BARK
Longtime D-FW political activist Adelfa Callejo ran circles around political correctness in her blunt, racially charged comments to CBS11 about the Texas Democratic presidential primary.
But she also spoke the truth as she sees it, and shouldn't be shunned or vilified for that.
The racial dynamics behind support for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are a very touchy topic. So far no local TV news operation has dared to touch it in depth. But it's a key element of the campaign, particularly in Texas. And it was addressed earlier this month in a fair and perceptive piece by CNN's Soledad O'Brien. She dared to explore both sides after beginning her story by asking, "Are Latinos rallying for this white woman or against this black man -- just because he's black?"
First appearing on Tracy Rowlett's Sunday night "Perspectives" segment, Callejo, 84, said that, in her mind, sharp divisions remain between the Latino and black communities.
"When blacks had the numbers, they didn't do anything to support us," she contended. "They always used our numbers to fulfill their goals and objectives, but they never really supported us, and there's a lot of hard feelings about that. I don't think we're going to get over it anytime soon."
She then was asked about Obama's efforts to court Latino voters.
"Obama simply has the problem that he happens to be black," said Callejo, who's supporting Hillary Clinton and attended her rally in Oak Cliff last Friday.
CBS11 reporter Jack Fink later brought up Callejo's comments during a one-on-one satellite interview with Clinton. In a story that aired on Wednesday's 10 p.m. newscast, he asked whether she would reject or denounce them.
"People have every reason (the probably meant "right") to express their opinions," Clinton told him. "I just don't agree with that. I think that we should be looking at the individuals who are running, and that is certainly what I intend to do."
Clinton made it a point to jab at Louis Farrakhan's unsolicited endorsement of Obama during the two candidate's Tuesday night debate in Ohio. Noting his anti-Semitic comments over the years, she called on Obama to reject his support, saying it wasn't enough to merely denounce his views.
The Clinton campaign, in a subsequent statement to CBS11 Wednesday night, fell back on sharper rhetoric in responding to Callejo's remarks.
"After confirming that they were accurately portrayed, Sen. Clinton of course denounces and rejects them," the statement said in part.
There obviously are many views within both the Hispanic and black community regarding the respective support of Clinton and Obama. Callejo's is only one of them, and it's easy to dismiss her as an addled member of the "Old Guard."
She has, however, provided an opening to look deeper into this volatile issue. But will any local TV reporter have the guts to touch it in the final days before the March 4th Texas primary? Or will the racial elements of the Clinton-Obama race simply be boiled down to the latest polling data -- and left at that? That, of course, would be the easy way out.