Well, it does, of course (she should have said "If Obama were a white man") but the subjunctive has been disappearing from English for centuries now. I think it has become pretty rare in speech. (I take it that this was an interview quotation?) Kathleen Ward UC Davis On Mar 12, 2008, at 9:30 AM, DD Farms wrote: > DD: Am I a bit confused? Consider the quote from Geraldine Ferraro, > [NYT 12 Mar 08, Maureen Dowd.] "If Obama was a white man, he would > not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color), he > would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be > who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept." I thought > High Standard English required the use of the subjunctive in > stating a condition contrary to fact. > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web > interface at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/