Andrew Cuomo, on the radio, talking about Hillary's NH victory, via Capitol Confidential:
”It’s not a TV crazed race. Frankly you can’t buy your way into it. You can’t shuck and jive at a press conference. All those moves you can make with the press don’t work when you’re in someone’s living room.”
Unfortunately, this comes at a time when prominent black Democratic activists like Donna Brazile have been lashing out at Bill Clinton for choosing to dismiss Barack Obama as a "kid." And ... isn't "shuck and jive" a phrase with a racial tinge, used to describe black people being evasive?
One other problem: Does this make any sense? Iowa, where Hillary lost, is not a place where you buy your way in, and is a place where you have to do a lot of retail politicking. So, other than providing a vehicle to reference "shuck and jive" news conferences, is there any coherent substantive point here? See also Politico.We have a call in to Jeff Lerner, Cuomo's press secretary.
Update: Cuomo's office contends that the quote is being taken out of context -- it applied to both leading candidates and both Iowa and New Hampshire, and was offered as an explanation of the health of the early primary process, rather than an explanation of Hillary's NH win.
They played the interview for us, and the tape supports their interpretation. Although earlier in the interview Cuomo calls Obama a "beautiful symbol" but asserts that Hillary is more knowledgable, repeating Clinton talking points, the "shuck and jive" reference applies to the inability of any candidate to avoid direct voter contact in states like Iowa and New Hampshire.
We've posted a partial transcript after the jump.
Partial transcript of Cuomo radio interview, supplied by AG's office:
Question: "You know I’ve said this on my show before, I think the American people are very lucky to have most these candidates, the major party candidates, I think they’re all quality people, they have disagreements, but they’re all quite talented, and I think the people of Iowa and now New Hampshire really have allowed the rest of America to see much of this because I think to their great credit it requires politicians to kind of get down, not kind of, get down in the grassroots, I think I heard John McCain say he had something like 110 community meeting before the primaries - fabulous - you know, I wish we could see that here in New York."
Andrew Cuomo: "You know I’ve spent a lot of time in other races, especially in Iowa and in New Hampshire, back with Gore and back with Clinton. Those races require you to do something no other race does, you know, and I like it, and I agree with you, it’s a good thing.
"It’s not a TV-crazed race, you know, you can’t just buy your way through that race ...It doesn’t work that way, it’s frankly a more demanding process. You have to get on a bus, you have to go into a diner, you have to shake hands, you have to sit down with ten people in a living room.
"You can’t shuck and jive at a press conference, you can’t just put off reporters, because you have real people looking at you saying answer the question, you know, and all those moves you can make with the press don’t work when you’re in someone’s living room.
"And I think it’s good for the candidates, I think it makes the candidates communicate in a way that works with real people because you know in a living room right away whether or not you’re communicating, and I think the questions are good and I think the scrutiny is good, so you can, you can say they’re small states and they get a lot of attention -- they are very good for the process, I believe that."
Comments (14)
Give me a break, Andrew. It's just Obama and Hillary in the race now. We all know what he was "conveying".
Either way, for the sitting Attoney General of NY to be even using terms such as "shuck and jive" is just beyond belief. Cuomo has soiled his good family name with this one.
Open mouth & Insert foot!
Cuomo had a "good family name?" Not to me, they didn't. In nay case, further proof of their hypocrisy and mendacity- the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
What crap. A pox on these PC-hounds.
The only racists I see here are those who want to restrict others' speech by whining about "racial tinges" only they perceive.
Cuomo is a good looking, 100% New York baloney sandwich.
Another racist liberal. Go back to your cave loser.
However he meant it, it's going to lose Hillary a lot of essential black votes. But what an arcane idiom to begin with!
Well, let's see, he said "Iowa and New Hampshire" don't let one "shuck and jive." So, umm, does Iowa mean that he just called Hillary black?
Last time I checked the AG was raised in New York. What an interesting choice of words. But, I'm sure he wasn't intentionally using slave jargon to refer to a black presidential candidate. Have these people no shame (or brains)? I expect more out of an elected official in this State. You should also.
Today's New York Daily News is reporting the woman who asked Hillary the question voted for Barack.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/01/10/2008-01-10_n_h_voter_who_got_hillary_clinton_to_wel.html
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=shuck+and+jive&defid=1340082
Don't look at definition #3. Please don't. I warned you.
Cuomo is a racist. Shuck and Jive. It is as bad as when Clinton called Obama a "boy" like when white slave masters called their house slaves.
They are all racist, and don't like the idea of outsider who is black to rain on their parade. Also, it is interesting that now NH voter fraud is being accused.
This is the establishment that does wants to keep the power the same and not let outsiders in.
This is a racist comment. Hillary has used the term "spade" in reference to Obama. Bill has called him a "kid" or boy. And now Cuomo has used a minstrel term that has only been applied to no-good black men. They are sending out a message, and I get it.
There are deliberate lies being told here. If anyone can demonstrate that Mrs. Clinton ever called Mr. Obama a "spade", I'll be amazed. That is a LIE. And Mr. Clinton did not call Mr. Obama "Boy." Another LIE. And anyone who reads the above transcript and still maintains Mr. Cuomo was speaking only of Mr. Obama and not all the candidates competing in these "retail politics" primaries is either deliberately distorting the record or is a fool blinded by partisan hate.
"shuck and jive" was a stupid metaphor to use; it was not a racist attack on anyone.