C'mon Hillary, It's ... Chinatown

A few days ago Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign committed a blunder in San Francisco by refusing journalists from the Chinese-American outlets Sing Tao, World Journal, and China Press admittal to her fundraiser at the posh Sheraton Palace Hotel. A dropped ball and a technicality led to the insulting standoff, for the campaign had failed to send out appropriate press advisories and then the reporters arrived mere minutes after the time specified for press admittance.

Why do they call us foreigners, even [when] we have a local address on our business card? asked World Journal's Portia Li, who was frustrated, upon arriving five minutes late, at being required to produce identification at the door before still being turned away. Let the conversation begin, Hillary proclaimed last month in her campaign's lauch vlog. Not quite, it seems.

The San Francisco Chronicle wasted no time in reporting the story, as well as the local CBS affiliate, liberal-busting blogger Michelle Malkin, and the ethnic media site New America Media. In an editorial last Sunday World Journal went so far as to demand a formal apology from Hillary's campaign.

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While this appears to be a case of logistical carelessness rather than racist recklessness -- a New York Times reporter was similarly turned away from the Sheraton Palace fundraiser, and Hillary's representatives did publicly apologize for the incident -- it's a bad foot for Hillary to get started on in her California campaign.

California has always been a financial breadbasket for political fundraising, and especially Democratic fundraising. Now that California's presidential primary has been moved up to February 8, 2008, however, every candidate's stop in the state is undeniably a campaign stop as well. No candidate can commit snafus like the one that occurred last week and count on coming out on top on primary day. This is true of Hillary even more than of her opponents. Since California is home to some of the fringiest, most extreme and most absurd elements of the Democratic Party, a centrist like her has very little wiggle room to work within while strategizing to capture her party's primary. With several states moving their primaries up to February 8, that's a day on which both parties' eventual nominees may effectively be decided. Hillary will be counting on the Chinese-, other Asian-American, and other ethnic communities for their solid support between now and next February, while the several ethnic communities will, for their part, be counting on having free access to Hillary and to all the candidates.

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Just for the record, Bill Clinton is remembered with exceptional fondness in much of San Francisco's Chinatown. For a decade he has literally been an icon at the historic Eastern Bakery at 720 Grant Street. Eastern is the very first Chinese bakery established in San Francisco's Chinatown, a fact of which its owners are very proud -- just as they are very proud of the former president's personal visit there. According to 101 Cookbooks:
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The walls are highlighted with poster-size portraits of Bill Clinton. They looove Bubba at the Eastern Bakery. There are little notes all over the Presidential posters that share with you all the details of his visit. We learn President Clinton tasted a genuine lotus paste mooncake, and that he visited the bakery nearly ten years ago. Other note-worthy text: "He shook hands with everybody inside our bakery. All of us, our customers and employees were thrilled, and it was just like a short but big, exciting and memorable party!!!" [emphases added]
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Hillary's going to have to work harder and smarter in order to not squander the legacy her husband left in Chinatown (a legacy which should be hers for the taking). Don't be surprised if during a future campaign stop in San Francisco she spends less time dining at the swank Sheraton Palace and more time doing damage control at the Eastern Bakery eatery.

Comments

[Cinnamon]

Very astute commentary. The Chronicle couldn't do better :-)

This episode aside, Hillary has about as much warmth and personal charisma as a pirrana. Still, the Kool-Aid Dem drinkers will vote for her, but around SF, she's practically a Republican!

[Jeremayakovka]

Thanks so much for the input. More commentary to come, I hope.