US Presidential Election - So What's OKay to Say in Public?

So what's okay to say in public?
US presidential race between a woman and a black man fuels debate
TODAY, Wednesday • January 16, 2008

NEW YORK — Expressions of sexism and racism emerging from the contest between Mr Barack Obama and Ms Hillary Rodham Clinton have been blatant, subtle and perhaps sometimes imagined. And they are renewing the national debate over what is acceptable to say in public.
The race for the Democratic nomination for the United States President is historic as Ms Clinton would be the first woman to hold the office, if elected. Mr Obama would be the first black President. Beyond the back-and-forth in the state-by-state contests that help determine the nomination, the situation has created a snapshot of the nation's sensitivity to certain kinds of comments. Is it more acceptable to make a sexist remark than a racist remark?
"It's always been easier," says Ms Marie Wilson, president of the White House Project, which promotes women's advancement in politics. "With women, you can get away with it. With race, you can hardly say anything."
Feminist leader Gloria Steinem, argued in The New York Times last week that gender is "probably the most restricting force in American life" — more so than race.
But others involved in politics suggest the situation is more complex. Ms Kim Gandy, president of the National Organisation for Women, said sexist and racist expressions both remain all too common in public discourse, although she said the racism often may be "somewhat coded". "There's an awful lot of explicit sexist stuff," she added.
Certainly, Ms Clinton's gender has sparked criticism, verbal and otherwise, of a sort Mr Obama has avoided. Available on the Internet are a Hillary nutcracker (the figure cracks nuts between her legs) and a Hillary toilet brush (the sales pitch: "You can have Hillary Clinton as your 'First Cleaning Lady.'")
Ms Clinton's wardrobe, figure, hairdo — even her laugh — have generated detailed and often unflattering commentary.
Controversial, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh said of her: "Will this country want to actually watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis?"
Ms Gandy said: "The focus on the clothes and the figure and the hairdo — not only are they not used with male candidates, they are used to trivialise Hillary Clinton."

For Mr Obama, the issue of racism was raised a year ago when Senator Joe Biden described the Illinois senator as "clean" and "articulate", then sought to clarify that he meant no disrespect to other blacks.
But since then, there has been little overt racism directed at Mr Obama that has percolated into the public domain.
While supporters of Mr Obama have complained about racial overtones in remarks about his Muslim-sounding middle name, Hussein, the debate has generally been more nuanced — such as whether there was a racial context to references to his acknowledged teenage use of cocaine.
Mr Limbaugh was criticised last year for playing a parody song on his show entitled Barack the Magic Negro, a play on the children's song, Puff the Magic Dragon, which some people believe refers to smoking marijuana.
But Mr Obama himself drew praise from the radio host for laughing off the song and saying he did not mind people poking fun at him.
Mr Charles Ellison, senior adviser to the University of Denver's Centre for African-American Policy, said Mr Obama is benefiting from a pop-culture groundswell — epitomised by the black US President on the hit TV series 24 — that has made the idea of a real-life black President seem appealing.
"The concept of a black President has overtaken the concept of a woman president," Mr Ellison said. "It's very fresh and recent. We've been talking about trying to get a woman President for some time."
However, he said Mr Obama still faces challenges in handling gender and race.
"As a black man, he must be careful not to appear too hostile towards a white woman," Mr Ellison said. "That dynamic has always been there and I think he is rather aware of it."
— AP