WASHINGTON — The first female vice presidential candidate and a fundraiser for Senator Clinton suggested Senator Obama only achieved his status in the presidential campaign because he’s black. The Obama campaign called on Mrs. Clinton today to denounce the comments.

“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position,” Geraldine Ferraro told the Daily Breeze of Torrance, Calif., in an interview published Friday. “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.”

Ms. Ferraro is a former New York congresswoman and was Vice President Walter Mondale’s running mate when he was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1984. She has endorsed Mrs. Clinton and raised money for her campaign.

An Obama senior adviser, David Axelrod, said Ms. Ferraro should be removed from her position with the Clinton campaign because of her comments.

“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,” Mr. Axelrod said in a conference call with reporters today.

“There’s no other way to send a serious signal that you want to police the tone of this campaign,” he added. “And if you don’t do those things then you are simply adding to the growing compendium of evidence that you really are encouraging that.”

Mr. Axelrod said Mrs. Clinton has encountered problems because people view her as a “divisive and polarizing force.”

“The best way to address those concerns is to not allow divisiveness and negativity to flourish among your supporters,” he said. “And this is an opportunity for her to address that.”

An Obama supporter, Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, said Democrats should not tear each other down, and instead focus on defeating Senator McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting.

“I respect every person’s right to promote his or her candidate, but any and all remarks that diminish Senator Obama’s candidacy because of his race are completely out of line,” Mrs. Schakowsky said on the conference call.

Ms. Ferraro also said Mr. Obama has it easy because of a “very sexist media.”

“I think what America feels about a woman becoming president takes a very secondary place to Obama’s campaign — to a kind of campaign that it would be hard for anyone to run against,” she said. “For one thing, you have the press, which has been uniquely hard on her. It’s been a very sexist media. Some just don’t like her. The others have gotten caught up in the Obama campaign.”

Last week, a former adviser to Mr. Obama resigned after calling Mrs. Clinton “a monster.”