The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Washington

With Hillary Clinton running to be the first woman in the Oval Office and Barack Obama bidding to be the first black president, charges of racism or sexism were inevitably never far from the surface.

But some are becoming concerned that the level of debate in the battle between the two Democratic candidates is sinking to new lows and detracting from the party's main aim of ousting the Republicans from the White House.

Last week, Obama's campaign was up in arms accusing Clinton's aide Geraldine Ferraro of trying to write off the Illinois senator's success as due merely to his race.

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," said Ferraro, a trailblasing politician who was the party's and the country's first female vice presidential nominee in 1984, in an interview with a California newspaper.

"And if he was a woman-of any colour-he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is," Ferraro added.

She resigned from Clinton's campaign finance committee a day later, accusing the Obama campaign of playing the politically- charged racism card, in a country still plagued by racial divisions. "The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you. I won't let that happen," she wrote to the former first lady.

Clinton publicly rejected Ferraro's comments about Obama, but her campaign, in turn, recalled certain comments by her rival's supporters which could be construed as sexist.

In February, Air Force General Merrill McPeak came out in support of Obama, saying one of the reasons the Illinois senator had won his backing was because he didn't "go on television and have crying fits." It was a deliberate swipe at Clinton, who in January had appeared to choke back tears at a New Hampshire campaign rally.

Others have taken sides with Ferraro, pointing out that Obama has won several nominating contests in the country's deep South thanks to the African-American vote. In Mississippi for example he cruised to victory, taking 91 percent of the black vote, but winning over only 30 per cent of white voters. On the other hand, some have noted that Obama's mixed race origins-his father was from Kenya and his white mother from Kansas-are an essential part of his allure for voters who want a break with the politics of the past.

So far Obama has tried "to run a race-neutral campaign," argued academic Ron Walter, which has enabled the young senator to win in such states as Iowa where the African- American population is neglible.

Yet Friday saw Obama moving swiftly to try and quell an uproar over racially charged remarks by his long-time preacher, who said the September 11 attacks were brought on by American "terrorism."

Reverend Jeremiah Wright also urged African-Americans to sing "God Damn America" to protest their treatment.

In a blog post on the Huffington Post website, Obama decried the "inflammatory and appalling remarks (Wright) made about our country, our politics, and my political opponents."

"I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy," Obama wrote, and said such comments flew in the face of his own "profound" love of America.

Democratic Party leaders are increasingly concerned about the ugly turn of events, worried about the long-term effects on the party's image ahead of the November presidential elections.

"When they attack one another, it's not just an attack on the other candidate, it is taken I think by women and by African- Americans in a more personal sense," House majority leader Steny Hoyer told the Washington Post.

"To that extent I think the continued clash between the two candidates, which is inevitable, is not particularly helpful."

The fear is that the longer the deadlock between the two White House hopefuls drags on, the deeper the divisions may grow among Democrats, and the more embittered one camp could become against the other at such an early stage.

And with Republican John McCain, who is not noted for being either racist or sexist, already out pushing his party's agenda, such charges of racism and sexism could flare out into the open at the height of the real campaign.

"It's very important that the Democratic party begin to crush this," said Walter. "If there isn't an overwhelming consensus that this kind of politics is wrong, yes, you're likely to see it in the fall."