Update on the "Hillary Memo"
Updated June 19, 2007, 12:30am EDT
The past 24 hours have brought about a significant turnaround in the situation involving the opposition research memo. We have now seen the Obama campaign -- including the Senator himself -- reach out personally to the community to apologize for the pain caused by the memo. The campaign selected our website as the forum to distribute a message from the Senator to the Indian American community.
In a meeting with the Des Moines register earlier today, Senator Obama referred to the incident as "stupid" and "caustic," adding that it "not only didn't reflect my view of the complicated issue of outsourcing -- it also didn't reflect the fact that I have longstanding support and friendships within the Indian-American community."
These were welcome sentiments from the campaign in response to the hurtful comments expressed in the memo. The Senator acknowledged the pain the memo caused and took responsibility for it. We expected nothing less. Perhaps even more importantly, however, he has opened a larger dialogue among the South Asian American community about the future of our country and our role in the political process.
In an exclusive with India Abroad, Senator Obama specifically addressed members of the SAFO community. "I want them to know how much I appreciate their support, and I want them to know how much their involvement means to our campaign." Senator Obama went on to emphasize the connection he feels with many South Asian Americans and the core values that he shares with us -- our love for this country, our commitment to public service and our belief in a tolerant and just society.
We are pleased that Senator Obama has engaged the community in a constructive way following this setback. He has invited our participation in this "exchange of ideas," and we at SAFO feel compelled to accept the invitation. After all, we were drawn to this campaign because of the promise it offers us as a community. We intend to focus our efforts over the coming months on ensuring that this promise becomes a reality and that our voice is heard in 2008.
We invite you to continue sharing your voice with us below.
This posting will be updated periodically to reflect any new developments....
Updated June 17, 2007, 10:00pm EDT
Like most of you, SAFO was shocked and dismayed to learn the news about an opposition research memo entitled "Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab)'s Personal Financial and Political Ties to India," which was distributed to reporters on a not-for-attribution basis by the Obama campaign. Although intended to draw attention to Senator Clinton's hypocritical position on outsourcing, the memo was laced with criticism of Senator Clinton's longstanding support among the Indian American community.
In addition to being offended by the clear anti-Indian sentiment in the memo, we were particularly disturbed because the memo flies in the face of what we respect most about Senator Obama -- his inclusive message and his ability to relate to people of all backgrounds.
After reading the story, SAFO immediately went to work drafting a response to the campaign. As we were finalizing this response -- but before we could send it -- we received a call from the campaign in Chicago. We learned, as we had already suspected, that the memo did not reflect Senator Obama's views regarding the Indian American community, and he was deeply disturbed by its content. (Indeed, the memo even appears to contradict some the Senator's own statements regarding outsourcing.) We expressed our severe disappointment with the incident, and offered our constructive thoughts as to how the campaign should respond -- both internally and outwardly -- to rectify the situation.
On Friday evening, Senator Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe issued the following statement: "Barack Obama has been a longtime friend of the Indian-American community and our campaign is fortunate to have strong support from Indian-Americans across the country. The intent of the document was to discuss the issue of outsourcing, but we regret the tone that parts of the document took."
The response prompted a variety of reactions from our community. As organizers of an effort committed to building a relationship between the campaign and the South Asian American community, we were less than satisfied. However, we have new reason for optimism. We have been in contact with the campaign over the weekend and are confident that this issue is now receiving the attention of those at the highest level. The Senator himself is cognizant of our concerns (not just with the memo, but also the initial response) and has made clear his intention to address the situation personally. The campaign has already begun reaching out to individual members of the community, and a more public gesture will be forthcoming. Over the next several days, we will continue to communicate with the campaign to convey the sentiments of the community regarding this incident and work toward a positive resolution.
We are aware that this posting will prompt a wide range of reactions from our readers and supporters. We invite you to share your thoughts and comments with us below. We also intend to share your thoughts with Senator Obama to ensure that we continue to move this campaign, our community, and our country forward.
This posting will be updated periodically to reflect any new developments....
posted by Hrishi @ 8:51 PM
12 Comments
12 Comments:
This is a great example of how passionate dedicated supporters of a truly responsive and representative grassroots based campaign can have an impact not only on mundane issues like fund raising and recruiting but also on policy and direction.
Kudos to SAFO and also to the Obama campaign -- -to err is human but to be dumb and not acknowledge a mistake -- -now thats a forte of someone else we all know ;-)
Can the Obama campaign please come right out and apologize? How many times have we seen politicians who make matters worse by letting issues fester?
The fact that 3 days have gone by suggests to me that these guys aren't professionals. Hello Hillary!
I'm sorry, but my allegiance will probably have to switch. I mean, "(D-Punjab)"? That is not just offensive, it's immature. With a wife who works in politics, I know that a message like that comes from the top down. And all an apology will mean is "we're sorry this got out." Obama lost a voter and a donor in me.
Ashish expresses my feelings exactly. I am dismayed not only by the offensive substance of this oppo material, but also by the Obama campaign's ineptness in responding to the well-deserved blowback.
A well-run campaign doesn't make this kind of mistake in the first place. And even when it does, it apologizes fully, without qualification such as referencing only the "tone," and is able to get past the issue quickly. From a campaign mechanics standpoint, this reduces my confidence that Obama could win the general election. A well-run campaign is at least as important, and sometimes more important, than being a superior choice for president. Dubya proved this in 2000.
As a SAFO member, I am disappointed with the incident, and more disappointed by the response.
I understand that some overworked staffer tried to be clever, but a simple and clear apology from Sen Obama would have put this to rest. Something along the lines of "Ethnic pot shots are not acceptable in this campaign."
What really bothers me is that a (D-Israel), (R-Vatican) or (D-Mexico) would have triggered an immediate apology. We deserve the same connsideration.
Pretty stupid thing for Obama's campaign to do. I mean, does this campaign realize that the Indian American community in this country is very financially viable and politically active? I bet they just lot a lot of their votes. Also, a well run campaign should have figured out a good response to repair the damage right away. On the whole, not very impressive.
Senator Barack Obama (D-Umb)
Senator Obama’s response to being decried for the release of a Hillary Clinton opposition research campaign document was not action, but only reaction to downplay this serious error prompted by immediate and well-founded criticism. This document was an inappropriate and unacceptable means to address the complicated issues and realities of globalization and outsourcing at the expense of targeting an ethnic minority group in our diverse nation. While Obama has undoubtedly now ostracized many of his Asian supporters, I am certain he has gained the support of those who choose to bemoan the loss of American jobs to international sources of competition and attribute these issues to a single ethnic minority group rather than the true sources of these complicated trends, namely a free market economy and technological progression. Further, those individuals named in the document do not lead nor represent the greater views and beliefs of all the East Indian American community let alone the entire Indian state of Punjab.
Outsourcing is hardly new and will continue to be inevitably present in our increasingly interconnected global society. These extraordinarily complicated trends have continued for many decades and are most definitely not limited to the state of Punjab or nation of India. How we as Americans will be able to sustain an economically strong nation are significant questions that must be addressed appropriately, not by attacking an ethnic group. As long as such ideas of “patriotism” include targeting of minority groups within its own nation, we have progressed culturally nowhere and the influences on our economy cannot be honestly addressed this way. Such blatant hypocrisy in lieu of Obama being a candidate who himself represents a minority group that has suffered and continues to suffer discrimination should not be tolerated.
This opposition research document’s attack upon East Indian Americans is disturbingly similar to President Carter’s mischaracterizations by public insinuations of media and congressional control by Jews as well as use of well-worn anti-Semitism slurs attacking the American Jewish Community rather than address the tragically difficult questions regarding Israel and Palestine. Obama is unfortunately yet another leader who I have long supported and admired who has undone themselves by demonstrating anti-American sentiments. Further, a July 19, 2007 Chicago Tribune article by Eric Zorn titled “Obama Too Fast To Retreat From 'Punjab' Jab” defending the legitimacy of this opposition research document, Zorn refers to East Indian Americans as “expatriate natives of India.” Clearly, endorsing and encouraging an erroneous belief and personal sentiment that East Indian Americans are not really Americans or patriots of the United States further contributing to the real intent and threat of ostracizing the East Indian American community from the rest of the nation. Such irresponsibility in journalism is beyond offensive.
Obama’s campaign use of financial disclosure by Senator Clinton is nothing more than a deliberate attack against a political rival under the guise of addressing complicated issues facing the American public and economy at the expense of a minority group of Americans. As a Punjabi American, and one who has long supported and defended Senator Obama’s candidacy towards presidency, I must acknowledge with great sadness that the revelations from this campaign document places myself, my family and my community in grave danger and undue discrimination. As such, I no longer endorse Senator Obama and will encourage all of my colleagues, friends and community to do the same.
P.J. Uppal, MD
Chicago, Illinois
I personally don’t find the memo to be that offensive. I think it was initially meant as an internal research memo with a sarcastic tone. Based on other speeches that he has made, he too seems to agree that outsourcing is here to stay and that America can thrive in a global economy. I do feel that opposition research is essential in the political process, so I am not offended by the gathering of facts. However, the moment that staffer decided to release it publicly, everything went wrong. I have been very inspired by Senator Obama and by his campaign. However, between the Maureen Dowd editorial response and now this memo release, he is showing that his team is very amateur. As captain of his ship, I expect to see him take control of the direction it is going in, because from my perspective it is out of control. I think his response is a standard apology, but I am more disturbed by his lack of awareness of the things going on in his team. Will he really be a good manager of many different people if he can’t keep his team members in order? Is he campaigning so much that he doesn't know what is going on with his team members or is his campaign manager not that great? Maybe a Donald Rumsfeld or Dick Cheney democratic equivalent could emerge in a government run by him (depending on the things he or she feels strongly about, I might not approve of them either)? I was disappointed when there were 1000 people a “VIP event” that I attended, and I chalked that up to the campaign being unprepared for the enthusiasm for him. But these events further demonstrate his and his team’s naïveté when it comes to a national campaign. Senator Clinton had such a negative impression that she could only improve her image. Senator Obama was seen as such a “rock star” that he was bound to decline a little. But I’d like to see more than just a brief memo written to address this issue. When he says, “We have taken appropriate action to prevent errors like this from happening in the future”, I’d like to know what those actions are because I think I’ve heard that line before (at the time of the Maureen Dowd exchange). Overall, I thought that his inspirational capabilities, new type of politics, and core set of values were things I could identify with. I never thought that executive experience was necessary to be commander-in-chief, but he does not appear to be demonstrating the ability to execute. The other alternative is that Senator Obama allowed for this memo to be released intentionally because he is seeking the votes of those people that are angry about losing jobs. I am choosing to believe that he could not be so vindictive toward the Indian American community and rather that his team is naive. I was inspired to join the political process by him, but now it seems like the same old politics to me. I will be watching closely to see what he does from here.
Although I do not share South Asian heritage, I share your concerns about this blunder and what it tacitly implies about the campaign. I am, however, quite satisfied with Obama's personal response to the situation and I am curious to know whether it changes the minds of any of the previous commenters in this blog.
I think memo is saying they do not want the campaign to be associated with Indians or their money for fear of tainting the campaign. I use a sarcastic tone but can you come to any other conclusion? While Obama has given good apologies, the campaign has been spinning the memo as a memo about outsourcing comments gone to far. Read the memo that is simply not the case. It was a memo about the Clintons' ties to Indians.
I am glad to learn about Mr Obama & his campaign's true ideals and ideas about India. Mr Obama proved that is not above petty politics.
He lost my support. I wish him all the very best in his quest for the 2008 nomination!
- Krish
Well, Mr. Obama, if you do not want my money or vote, i will not give it. Simple as that.
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