You can't say that on television

Was Geraldine Ferraro's remark out of line?

Ummm . . . yes. Yes, even though John McWhorter said as much to me in our Bloggingheads diavlog a few weeks back.

Whether or not it is true, you can't say everything that is true, not in a campaign, and not in real life. You can't call your opponent fat, his children ugly, or make remarks about how many divorces he may or may not have had. Some people are suggesting that this is relevant, because it goes to how qualified he is. But there's a much better way to talk about that, I think . . . you could talk about how qualified he is. Given that his only remaining opponent got her job because she's a woman married to a famous politician, I don't see how this helps you distinguish between the candidates.

Ferraro's remark is a sly way of referring to affirmative action, presumably because she thinks it will help Hillary with angry white ethnics in Pennsylvania's depressed coal and industrial regions. It would be repulsive coming from anyone, but its particularly rich from someone whose main qualification for the vice presidency was possessing ovaries.