Hotline After Dark -- There Was A Primary?

Dems in Mississippi were voting yesterday but the majority of TV coverage focused on Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D-NY) and Geraldine Ferraro's comments on Barack Obama:

Ferraro appeared on "GMA" this a.m. where she said: "Let me say to you how sorry I am that people think this was a racist comment."

But when asked if she's sorry she said this, she responded: "Absolutely not."

She added: "David Axelrod knows me. He should have called me up and asked me what I meant by this. ... I'm hurt, absolutely hurt, by how they have taken this thing and spun it to imply that I am anyway racist" ("GMA," ABC, 3/12).

And ex-Sec/State Madeleine Albright pre-recorded an interview with NPR that will air today. She noted: "I traveled with Geraldine Ferraro when she was the vice presidential candidate. And what I find interesting is, sometimes, the people that are hardest on women are other women. And so at that stage, that campaign was totally covered by women reporters who were trying to prove how tough they were by being tough on her. And I think there's a little bit of that going on now, too" ("Tell Me More," NPR, 3/12).

Under the cut, Obama makes the media rounds and gets asked about Ferraro, Mitt Romney does his first post-campaign interview, and highlights from the Spitzer talk: [EMILY GOODIN]

TAKING TO THE TUBE

Obama made the media rounds last night and this a.m.:

Asked about Ferraro's comments: "I think if anybody was looking for the quickest path to the presidency that would not say 'I want to be an African American man named Barack Obama.' I don't think that's in the hand book in running for president. Anybody who knows the history of this country, I think, we not take to the notion that this is a huge advantage but I don't think it's a disadvantage either" ("GMA," ABC, 3/12).

More Obama: "Part of what I think Geraldine Ferraro is doing, and I respect the fact that she was a trailblazer, is to participate in the kind of slice and dice politics that's about race and about gender and about this and that, and that's what Americans are tired of because they recognize that when we divide ourselves in that way we can't solve problems" ("Today," NBC, 3/12).

Asked if he would consider Hillary Clinton as a possible VP: "I think it's really premature for any of us to be talking about V.P. nominations when we're in the midst of a really important contest. ... If I'm the nominee, then I'm going to go through the process of figuring out what vice president would be most able to continue with those same themes if something happened to me, who could lead the country, who could serve as commander-in-chief. And, obviously, Senator Clinton is a very capable person and as I've said before, she'd be on anybody's short list."

On MI and FL: "I think all of us are interested in making sure that they are seated in some way that doesn't advantage one candidate or another too much. And what we've tried throughout the process is just follow the rules that the DNC gave us. They said that Michigan and Florida wouldn't count. My name wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan and I didn't campaign at all in Florida. And so what we believe is that there should some way of arriving at a fair settlement that respects the fact that there were rules in place, but also make sure that the Michigan and Florida voters are seated. I'm not going to spend too much time designing what the solution is. I think that whatever the DNC decides, we will abide by" (CNN, 3/11).

Asked about a mail-in vote: "Well, I think we'd have to figure out whether this was fraud-proof. I mean, Oregon, for example, has a terrific mail-in system, but they've already scanned everybody's signatures who's registered to vote, so that they can check to make sure that in fact the right people are voting. And that's something that I think you'd have to figure out. But our general view has been that we've just played by the rules throughout. We were told that Michigan and Florida wouldn't count, and so we said we wouldn't campaign there. Senator Clinton said the same thing, that they wouldn't count. Now, her campaign is suggesting that they should. What we want to do is to make sure that the Florida and the Michigan folks are seated, but to do in an equitable way. And whatever system the Democratic National Committee comes up with that is fair and equitable but also makes sure that the votes of people of Michigan and Florida are dealt with, we're going to be open to that. We want to make sure that they're seated as well" (MSNBC, 3/11).

Asked if he would turn down a VP offer from HRC: "I basically said in Mississippi I'm running for president." More: "I am not running for vice president. I am not thinking about the vice presidency" ("GMA," ABC, 3/12).

"NO HARD FEELINGS"

Mitt Romney was on "Hannity & Colmes" last night:

Romney: "There really are no hard feelings."

Asked if he would serve as McCain's VP: "I think any Republican leader in this country would be honored to be asked to be serving as the vice presidential nominee, myself included. Of course this is a nation which needs strong leadership, and if the nominee of our Party asked you to serve with him, anybody would be honored to receive that call, and to accept it, of course."

More: "I think Senator McCain has a long list of people he can look to to potentially be a vice presidential nominee."

Asked if he'd run again: "I have not given that a lot of thought. That is like asking a woman after she just delivered a baby, do you want to get pregnant again? Let me have some time pass. I am hoping that you are going to see Senator McCain become elected president, serve for eight years, and who knows what the future holds. I am not going to close the door to the future" (FNC, 3/11).

SOUNDING THE DEATH KEEL

And most of the talk on Spitzer focused on whether he will resign ...

CBS' Pitts: "It's hard to see how he survives as governor much longer" ("Evening News," 3/11).

NY Assembly GOP Leader James Tedisco (R): "We don't know when he's going to resign, but we think sooner better than later. The fact that Hillary Clinton has taken his endorsement off her web site may mean that it could be imminent and coming through shortly."

Asked if Spitzer should be prosecuted: "We don't wish him any ill will. ... We have a counsel looking at the potential that if in 48 hours, he does not resign, that we would put forth articles of impeachment according to the constitution. That hasn't been done in about 100 years. ... We would potentially have to remove him by legislation. We'd hate to do that. We hope he resigns for the betterment of himself and the family and all New Yorkers. ... He was on his way to the White House. That has crashed and burned right now. He's ruined his political reputation" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 3/11).

Ex-NYC Mayor Ed Koch: "I think there's a screw loose. I believe that his behavior, beginning with his becoming governor, has been irrational. And what he did is to indicate that he doesn't play by the regular rules. That regular rules don't apply. That you can say anything you want, you can insult anybody you want, including the people that you have to work with, whether it's the speaker of the assembly or the majority leader of the senate."

Asked if it was arrogance, Koch: "Yes, it's arrogance. He's a very smart guy, but I think that there is a screw loose" ("Situation Room," CNN, 3/11).