24 May 2008
Beyond the Pale
Posted by Joy Bischoff under: Presidential Election 2008 .
Hillary Clinton forced to apologise for staying in race ‘in case of an assassination’
Hillary Clinton rushed out an apology last night after citing the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy as a reason for her to remain in the race against Barack Obama — an extraordinary admission which caught her campaign aides off guard.
Mrs Clinton, dismissing the idea of abandoning her increasingly longshot attempt to win the Democratic presidential nomination, said in South Dakota: “My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. You know I just, I don’t understand it.”
She added that she did not understand why, given this history, some Democrats were calling for her to quit. The former First Lady had been responding to a question from a newspaper editorial board.
Mr Obama has been under Secret Service protection for more than a year after receiving death threats. Some within Mrs Clinton’s camp have talked in recent days about an “Act of God” strategy, but described it as the chance of the Illinois senator committing a serious blunder or being engulfed in a scandal that would render him unelectable.
For Mrs Clinton to articulate the darkest thoughts over Mr Obama’s safety as a reason to stay in the race appeared the clumsiest of attempts to justify her fading candidacy, and was immediately pounced upon by her rivals’ aides. Bill Burton, Mr Obama’s spokesman, said: “Senator Clinton’s statement before the Argus Leader editorial board was unfortunate and has no place in this campaign.”
James Clyburn, a senior African-American politician on Capitol Hill, who has criticised the Clinton campaign but remains an uncommitted superdelegate, said through a spokeswoman: “This is beyond the pale.”
Shortly after her remarks were publicised, Mrs Clinton rushed out a statement, through her campaign website, apologising for what she had said. “I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation — and in particular the Kennedy family — was in any way offensive. I certainly had no intention of that whatsoever.” She added: “I was discussing the Democratic primary history and in the course of that discussion mentioned the campaigns of both my husband and Senator [Robert] Kennedy waged in California in June in 1992 and 1968 and I was referencing those to make the point that we have had nomination primary contests that go into June. That’s a historic fact.”
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6 Comments so far...
Cameron Says:
24 May 2008 at 11:16 am.
Hillary created a firestorm with her comments yesterday. She really is finished now.
Hillary Clinton’s colossal blunder simply the last straw
SICK. Disgusting. And yet revealing. Hillary Clinton is staying in the race in the event some nut kills Barack Obama.
It could happen, but what definitely has happened is that Clinton has killed her own chances of being vice president. She doesn’t deserve to be elected dog catcher anywhere now.
Her shocking comment to a South Dakota newspaper might qualify as the dumbest thing ever said in American politics.
Her lame explanation that she brought up the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy because his brother Ted’s illness was on her mind doesn’t cut it. Not even close.
We have seen an X-ray of a very dark soul. One consumed by raw ambition to where the possible assassination of an opponent is something to ponder in a strategic way. Otherwise, why is murder on her mind?
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2008/05/24/2008-05-24_hillary_clintons_colossal_blunder_simply-2.html
Pickles Says:
24 May 2008 at 11:39 am.
If the Clinton mafia machine was planning on having Obama assassinated, they can’t get away with it now.
Stumpy Says:
24 May 2008 at 2:12 pm.
Betcha thats what Obama thinks of Hillary all right. That there woman is beyond the pale – shes down right WHITE!
Jesse Says:
24 May 2008 at 4:09 pm.
LOL Stumpy.
I think she has effectively just finished her campaign. No way will she be VP either after that.
Pickles Says:
24 May 2008 at 4:17 pm.
Yes sir, she is certainly finished.
There Stumpy, did I say that correctly?
Cavetrollhead Says:
25 May 2008 at 11:50 pm.
Well get ready for an Obama-nation.
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