Hotline After Dark -- The Deluge Continues

The majority of the political talk last night focused on Geraldine Ferraro and her comments about Barack Obama:

CNN's Malveaux broke the news of Ferraro's resignation: "I just got off the phone with Geraldine Ferraro, who simply said she is stepping down, leaving the Finance Committee. She has sent a letter to Hillary Clinton about 20 minutes ago" ("Situation Room," 3/12).

Ferraro spoke with NBC's Curry last night after her resignation:

Asked why she resigned: "I wanted to get this off the news."

Asked if the Hillary Clinton campaign asked her to resign: "No. No."

On the Obama campaign: "They're the ones who did it. They started --- they went to the national press."

Ferraro: "I personally think that this is the last time that the Obama campaign is going to be able to play this type of a race card because I think that's what it is. I really do."

More: "If anybody is going to apologize, they should apologize to me for calling me a racist" ("Nightly News," 3/12).

After the cut, pundits give their take on Ferraro and discussion of whether or not Eliot Spitzer made a deal with prosecutors before he resigned. [EMILY GOODIN]

There was plenty of pundit talk on Ferraro:

Chicago Tribune's Page: "She made a racist statement, with all due respect, and now she's playing the victim card, saying she's being accused of racism."

FNC's Kondracke: "I think race undoubtedly has a role in his being where he is as a presidential candidate. A two-year white senator from Illinois probably would not be where he is. But that's not all he's got going for him, and what she said was that he would not be in this position except for the fact that he's black. Well, she is neglecting all the other things that get into that position" ("Special Report," 3/12).

Pat Buchanan: "If he were not an African-American and he spent two years in the United States Senate, I do not think he would be the front-running candidate for the nomination. And I think an awful lot of Americans would agree with that statement" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 3/12).

More Buchanan: "In Iowa and New Hampshire, there aren't that many black folks. He skipped Michigan. The first big contest was South Carolina. ... The first contest was South Carolina and he got 76 percent of the black vote. Case closed" ("Live with Dan Abrams," MSNBC, 3/12).

Ex-WH adviser David Gergen: "I think Barack Obama had every reason to go after these comments, because they're so reminiscent of what we are hearing just after New Hampshire and going into the South Carolina primary and just after the South Carolina primary. And those remarks by the Clintons and by some of their surrogates, trying to sort of marginalize him as simply a black and diminishing him in that sense, trying to put him in a box, you know, I think backfired on the Clinton team. And I think it was one of the turning points in his campaign that helped Barack Obama" ("AC 360," CNN, 3/12).

And MSNBC's Keith Olbermann offered a ten minute commentary on Clinton and Ferraro. Huffington Post has the video.

DID HE PLAY LET'S MAKE A DEAL

The identity of Spitzer's call girl came late in the day (although it did dominate morning show talk) but there was a lot of discussion of whether Spitzer cut a deal before his resignation:

ABC's Ross: "The U.S. attorneys office made a point of saying there was no agreement relating to his resignation or any other matter. Lawyers for the case say a grand jury has now been impaneled" ("World News," 3/12).

More Ross: "The defense argument is that now he should be treated like any other customer in a prostitution ring and not prosecuted now that he is no longer in public office" ("World News," 3/12).

MSNBC's Taibbi: "There was some speculation early today that the governor might try to hold on to his job and would only quit once he cut a deal for no criminal charges. In the end, it was neither, just a sad end to this part of the story and to a political career" ("Countdown," 3/12).

CBS' Pitts: "In an usual move today the U.S. attorney's issued a statement saying there has been no deal between his office and Spitzer. That means the former governor is still in real legal jeopardy" ("Evening News," 3/12).

Ex-Gov. George Pataki (R-NY), asked how Spitzer could have gotten away from his detail: "I don't understand that. The 12 years I was governor, you know, whether I was out running in the woods or just sleeping at home, there was a trooper somewhere very nearby. But you know, that's something for others to answer. It's just something I find hard to understand" ("Situation Room," CNN, 3/12).

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), asked if Spitzer should be prosecuted: "Politicians are human, and this shows it. We all have our frailties. And that's for sure. But we should be held to a higher standard. I don't disagree with that. When you hold yourself out as a leader, whether it's in politics or entertainment or sports, you have a higher obligation. So, the fact that maybe somebody else might not have been subject to all of the brickbats and everything else, so be it. That's how it is. As for any prosecution, I can't really comment on it. I don't know all the details. But I will say this. I think that Eliot Spitzer has suffered plenty already. There's no question about it, even if there weren't to be a prosecution" ("Election Center," CNN, 3/12).

Trial atty David Boies: "I think that if the prosecutors exercise their discretion in order to prosecute, it would be a very, very unusual step under these circumstances. It is true the Mann Act is still on the books, but it's basically been used to go after people like Jack Johnson and Chuck Berry, who prosecutors wanted to target for other reasons. This is not a normal kind of prosecution. It would be a very unusual and, I think, unfortunate situation if this were to proceed in a criminal prosecution at this time" ("NewsHour," PBS, 3/12).

CNN's Cooper: "I should not underestimate the abilities of Lifetime producers to jump on this story" ("AC 360," 3/12).