Saturday, March 26, 2011

Geraldine Ferraro Dead at 75

Frankly, I rarely share a tear for a Democrat these days, but I was sorry to hear of former 1984 Democrat VP candidate Geraldine Ferraro's passing at the fairly young age of 75. According to Fox News:
Ferraro died at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was being treated for blood cancer, a disease she battled for 12 years, her family said.
Although she lived on the left side of the aisle, I always thought Ferraro conducted herself with class and dignity, particularly during the real estate scandals her husband was involved in--scandals that didn't help when they were uncovered during the 1984 campaign and with which Ferraro was clearly not involved.

After the Reagan victory in 1984, Ferraro mostly retreated from campaign politics, although she briefly tried to run for the Senate in the late 1990s, being bested, alas, by the absolutely dreadful Chuck Schumer who will probably plague us 'til the end of days.

Ferraro was pilloried by the press for her honest observations about the Barack Obama bandwagon in 2008. Unfairly labeled a "racist" for preferring female candidate Hillary Clinton, she backed out of active campaigning for the candidate after the uproar.

Interestingly, the always forthright (and more than equally maligned) Sarah Palin offered a classy valedictory today, lauding the efforts of Ferraro in breaking the political glass ceiling for both Clinton and Palin:
"She broke one huge barrier and then went on to break many more," Palin said in a statement. "The world will miss her. May she rest in peace and may her example of hard work and dedication to America continue to inspire all women."
Right answer. Let's end it there.

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