With Geraldine Ferraro’s remarks about Barack Obama, all three leading presidential candidates have recently faced situations where their surrogates made controversial remarks. How do you rate the candidates’ handling of these cases?

In chronological order:

John McCain
On Feb. 26, McCain made a campaign stop in Cincinnati. Before McCain appeared on stage, a local talk radio host, Bill Cunningham, was among the speakers who warmed up the crowd. In his remarks, Cunningham used Obama’s middle name — Hussein — several times, and said: “Now we have a hack, Chicago-style Daley politician who is picturing himself as change.”

At least one other speaker took the stage after Cunningham and before McCain. After his speech, McCain raised the issue with reporters before they questioned him about it.

McCain said he wasn’t in the building when Cunningham spoke, but he was made aware of them at some point.

McCain said:

“I did not know about these remarks, but I take responsibility for them. I repudiate them. My entire campaign I have treated Senator Obama and Senator (Hillary Rodham) Clinton with respect. I will continue to do that throughout this campaign.”

“I want to dissociate myself with any disparaging remarks that may have been said about them.”

When reporters asked McCain about Cunningham’s use of Obama’s middle name, he said: “No, it is not [proper]. Any comment that is disparaging of either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama is totally inappropriate.”

Later, on his radio show, Cunningham complained that McCain “threw me under the bus to the national media.”

Here’s the full AP story. And here’s a Los Angeles Times story.

Barack Obama
An unpaid but high-level foreign policy adviser to Obama resigned after she called Clinton a “monster” who “is stooping to anything” to win the nomination. “You just look at her and think: Ergh.”

The adviser, Harvard Prof. Samantha Power, made the comments during an interview with a Scottish newspaper while on a publicity tour in London for her latest book.

When she resigned, Power apologized to Clinton and Obama for her “inexcusable remarks.”

Obama’s campaign announced Power’s resignation, but Obama himself has said nothing. Instead, the campaign issued a statement from spokesman Bill Burton that said, “Sen. Obama decries such characterizations, which have no place in this campaign.”

Here’s a New York Daily News story.

Hillary Rodham Clinton
On Friday, the Daily Breeze of Torrance, Calif. reported that Geraldine Ferraro, the former congresswoman, vice presidential candidate and current Clinton supporter and fundraiser, said:

“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.”

AP reported that in an interview today, Clinton was asked about the comments and replied: “I do not agree with that…It’s regrettable that any of our supporters — on both sides, because we both have this experience — say things that kind of veer off into the personal.”

News reports say that Obama’s campaign called on Clinton to cut Ferraro’s ties to her campaign. David Axelrod said in a conference call with reporters: “The bottom line is this, when you wink and nod at offensive statements, you’re really sending a signal to your supporters that anything goes.”

Here’s the AP story. And here’s an ABC News report, including a video of a TV interview with Clinton.

There you have it: Three examples of remarks that crossed the line. Three repudiations, but each done in a different way.

How do you think each candidate handled the situation?

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