Bill Clinton Says Critics Distorted Remarks About Obama
- From: jose <josefsoplar@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:10:00 -0700 (PDT)
Bill Clinton Says Critics Distorted Remarks About Obama
By JULIE BOSMAN
Former President Bill Clinton struck back on Monday at critics who
have suggested that his remarks in South Carolina in January on behalf
of his wife's campaign were racially insensitive.
In an interview shown Monday on CNN, Mr. Clinton said the widespread
interpretation of his remarks -- comparing Senator Barack Obama to the
Rev. Jesse Jackson -- was "a total myth and a mugging." Mr. Clinton
added, "I think that's been pretty well established."
His comments came during a media blitz surrounding the Clinton Global
Initiative University, a project of his nonprofit foundation. Mr.
Clinton's spokesman, Matt McKenna, said a round of interviews in New
Orleans last weekend was planned weeks in advance.
Mr. Clinton's responses came as public opinion polls show damage to
his reputation since he became Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's most
high-profile surrogate in her campaign for the Democratic presidential
nomination.
According to an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll released last week,
45 percent of respondents viewed him negatively, while 42 percent
viewed him positively. One year ago, the poll said, Mr. Clinton had a
48 percent positive rating and a 35 percent negative rating.
Mr. Clinton used the weekend's interviews to defend himself against
accusations that he had campaigned too aggressively against Mr.
Obama.
In an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" broadcast Monday, Mr.
Clinton echoed his comments to CNN, saying that the other side "put a
bizarre spin" on his remarks, in which he compared Mr. Obama's victory
in the South Carolina primary to Mr. Jackson's victories there in 1984
and 1988. The remarks led many critics to conclude that Mr. Clinton
was trying to diminish Mr. Obama's success by suggesting that he could
win the black vote but not the general election.
"They made up a race story out of that," Mr. Clinton said. "There was
no disrespect to Senator Obama in that. So I think that our side got a
bum rap about what was said about South Carolina. But the point is,
that's political tactics. They thought they could hurt me with that,
and so they put a bizarre spin on it, and it worked for a while."
The campaign did not play "a race card," Mr. Clinton told CNN. "We had
some played against us," he said, "but we didn't play any."
Mr. Clinton has been campaigning for months, sometimes conducting
three or more events a day and speaking to large town halls and
rallies. (Mrs. Clinton usually campaigns separately.)
Mr. McKenna dismissed suggestions that the campaign had taken a toll
on Mr. Clinton's image. "His primary concern and effort is to be an
effective advocate and surrogate for his wife and her campaign," he
said.
He added that Mr. Clinton would continue to campaign for Mrs. Clinton
but would focus more on work for his foundation in the coming weeks.
Leon E. Panetta, a chief of staff in the Clinton administration, said
in an interview that "there's no question" Mr. Clinton had made
mistakes in the campaign.
"I think one thing I've always seen about Bill Clinton is his ability
to always come back," he said. "In the long run, people's feelings
about Bill Clinton and his positions on issues and the good things
that he did -- there will always be a reservoir of good will for that."
William the pervert is loose again, flapping is lips
to the detriment of his spouse.
.
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