Is Bill Clinton Black Enough?

In the wake of Hillary’s staggering defeat in South Carolina, in which she received only approximately 20 percent of the black vote, serious questions have arisen concerning whether or not her husband, Bill Clinton, is Black enough.

Bill Clinton was determined the nation’s first black president, as well as ‘blacker’ than rival candidate Barack Obama, by Andrew Young, former UN Ambassador, and President of American Black Culture. The determination was made on the basis that Clinton allegedly dated more black women than Obama.

“I don’t disagree with his methods; ‘blackness’ is clearly a function of who you’ve dated. Nevertheless, his assessment demonstrates a fundamental lack of empirical data,” says Dr. Michael Wilkins, senior Blackologist at the Strom Thurmond Institute for African American Studies.

Wilkins says that the available evidence indicates that indeed Obama may be blacker than Clinton. “Let’s look at the women Bill has been with: Monica Lewinsky, Gennifer Flowers, Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broaddrick, and allegedly even Hillary; all white women. We don’t know much about Obama on the other hand, but he is married to a black woman.”

However the confusion as to Bill Clinton’s black status seems to be taking a toll on Hillary’s campaign, as she is struggling to connect with black voters. “I didn’t even know that Bill Clinton was Black” says Richard Wallings, president of the South Carolina chapter of Racists for Democrats, a fledgling voter organization. “If I had, we would’ve easily endorsed Edwards.”

Wallings says he feels fooled by the Clinton campaign. “They can’t have it both ways. If he’s Black, he needs to wear excessive jewelry, and talk like one of those rap guys. Otherwise we have no way of knowing.” The group plans to file a lawsuit on the grounds of failure to adequately disclose blackness and, in a stunning partnership, the NAACP is expected to join.

“If we had known that a black man had been elected in 1992, that would’ve saved us much of the work we’ve done over the past 15 years,” says Tony Cooper, a spokesperson for the NAACP. “We also would’ve shown up on time to the inauguration.”

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