Clinton Owes Obama An Apology

I've had it with the Clintons.

The past few months I've tried to defend Bill and Hillary Clinton against some of the more unreasonable attacks from their critics. Just last weekend on CNN's Ballot Bowl, I defended Bill Clinton when critics accused of him of questioning Barack Obama's patriotism. The critics may have misinterpreted Clinton's remarks, I said, giving the former president the benefit of the doubt.

I've also defended Barack Obama in recent weeks against unreasonable charges directed at him because of his association with his church and his pastor. It seems obvious to me that Barack Obama loves his country and is not an anti-white bigot.

Maybe I'm too close to the two Democrats to be against either one. I went to law school with Barack Obama and worked in the Clinton White House, so I have connections and allegiances to both candidates. That's why I've never understood the rabid Hillary haters or the angry Obama opponents. To me, all three candidates -- including John McCain -- are good and decent Americans who have served their country with distinction.

I wish Hillary Clinton would acknowledge that fact too. In the past few weeks, I've been increasingly disturbed by the gratuitously negative tone of the Clinton campaign.

First, during an interview with 60 Minutes host Steve Croft, Sen. Clinton cleverly stoked the rumors that Obama might be a closet Muslim. "No, there is nothing to base that on," she told Croft. But then she slyly added, "As far as I know."

Next, she all but endorsed McCain over Obama for president. "I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House," she said. "I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002."

Then came the Jeremiah Wright story. Based on the previous tactics used by her campaign, I did not expect Clinton to say much of anything about the Wright story. As Napoleon Bonaparte famously said, "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." And after all, the Clintons have relied on the support of controversial black pastors, include Rev. Jeremiah Wright, to save their own hides several times in the past.

But as time went by, and the Wright story lingered on, it seemed Clinton was perfectly willing to let the uninformed public get the misimpression that Barack Obama is moonlighting as an anti-American black nationalist racist. She knows better, and she ought to be ashamed for not speaking up on his behalf.

Just last month, in one of the many near-death experiences that forced her into a moment of vulnerable humility, Senator Clinton told a debate audience in Austin, Texas that she was proud to sit beside Barack Obama. "No matter what happens in this contest -- and I am honored. I am honored to be here with Barack Obama. I am absolutely honored," she said to applause. For a moment, it seemed the Democratic contest might become civil but competitive. For a moment.

Then on Tuesday of this week, apparently dissatisfied that the Jeremiah Wright story had failed to derail Obama's campaign, Clinton broke her silence on the issue and told a newspaper in Pennsylvania (188 delegates) that Rev. Wright "would not have been my pastor."

She repeated her criticism at a press conference later in the day. "You know, we don't have a choice when it comes to our relatives. We have a choice when it comes to our pastors and the churches we attend," she said.

She ought to be ashamed. A month ago she stoked the fears that Obama might be a Muslim and now she plays on the fears of Pennsylvanians that the Illinois senator is a radical black Christian. I would expect that kind of nonsensical fear mongering from a Republican, but I'm disappointed when it comes from a fellow Democrat.

Even John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has acknowledged that Clinton and Obama are both honorable Americans. When a conservative radio host attacked Obama at a Cincinnati McCain rally last month, the Arizona senator stood up for his Democratic opponents and apologized for the attack. "I have repeatedly stated my respect for Senator Obama and Senator Clinton," he said and promised to "treat them with respect." That was much classier than Hillary Clinton's comments on Jeremiah Wright.

As a New Yorker, I have been proud of Hillary Clinton's service in the Senate, and I harbor no ill will toward her. If she somehow manages to wrangle the nomination from Obama, I will actively support her general election campaign. But I cannot remain silent any longer while my own senator destroys the Democratic Party, and her own reputation, in a desperate and degrading effort to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

It's time for Senator Clinton to act like a leader that I know she can be. Hilary Clinton not only needs to defend Barack Obama, she needs to apologize to him.

Follow Keith Boykin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/keithboykin

Comments

[ann1]

Keith, I absolutely agree with you but I can't say that I'll support her if she wrangles the nomination. I started out supporting and defending her. I was impressed with Sen Obama and liked him as well, but Hill was my girl, until..............The Clinton halo came off. I started hearing things come out of Bill and Hillary's mouth that disappointed me. I started to see why the republicans despised them so much. I can't believe they're willing to lose their reputation at the expense of taking a fellow party member down. So much for loyalty.

[roswald]

I used to respect Hillary, but after this campaign I no longer do.
Hillary whines about being picked on, or at least she lets Bill do the whining for her. Bill claims that talking about race is off limits, but it's OK to pick on girls, poor Hillary. First of all, girls shouldn't be running for president - women should. If Hillary really wants to prove she's one of the guys and lay claim to commander-in-chief status, she should remember the guy rule - no whining!
So Hillary, stick to policy, and apologize to Barack. Actually, don't apologize to Barack. Apologize to all the other people who go to Barack's church for implying that they too are bad people (and if they're not, then Barack isn't either). If I was an African American who went to that church, I would have been completely insulted. I wouldn't have cared if she apologized to Senator Obama. I would have wanted her to apologize to me!
That would be the smart "guy" thing to do - back down and apologize when you are wrong. But Hillary isn't strong enough to do that.

[Fahrenheit452]

I don't buy the "as far as I know" gaffe. I think she answered poorly but the clip that made this famous decontextualized her response. If the media matters story here: http://mediamatters.org/items/200803030004?f=h_latest is correct then the controversy over this remark seems way out of proportion to the sentiment of the interview. That's not to say she couldn't have done much better answering this question, but this is extremely minor in the list of her offenses.

Her "Commander in Chief threshold" bit is both stupid and bad for a number of reasons (not the least of which is that it's not clear that she has passed this threshold if it even exists). As is her re-entering Wright into the fray to get people off of her sniper tall tale. But this "as far as I know" bit seems like a non story that has grown into a gross mischaracterization.

[DavidKC]

Not only does Hillary Clinton owe Barack Obama an apology, she owes American voters an apology for taking this campaign into the gutter. Even though Hillary, Bill and their surrogates have used countless race-baiting tactics and racially divisive comments to try to gain some kind of political traction for Hillary, Obama has strived to stay above the fray and stick to the issues and use the truth as his weapon. Just imagine if Obama had tried to use gender and sexism in the same way that Hillary is using race and racism in her campaign; we wouldn't hear the end of it from Hillary's supporters. But Obama isn't doing that. And you know why? Because he's a true leader.

[glascoed]

She does owe an apology. And because I don't believe in rewarding people for bad behavior I will write Obama's name in or cast my vote for Ralph Nader if Hillary steals the nomination from Obama.

[thefirehorse]

Please don't waste your vote. As long as it doesn’t look like she stole or was given the nomination by a bunch of party fat cats vote for whoever is the nominee, because we can’t allow the Republicans to take the White House for another 4 years.

[NanWhit]

First, during an interview with 60 Minutes host Steve Croft, Sen. Clinton cleverly stoked the rumors that Obama might be a closet Muslim. "No, there is nothing to base that on," she told Croft. But then she slyly added, "As far as I know."

WHAT PART OF "NO. " don't you understand????

[kristin]

What don't you understand about the qualification made by the phrase "as far as I know."
If I stated publicaly that no, you are not a bigot -- then paused and said, "as far as I know"
how would you feel?

[fullkelly]

Obama owes Clinton (both of them) an appology.

[thefirehorse]

Please tell me why. I will admit that he does if you can give me one good reason.

[MrRex]

"I did not inhale,"......... for twenty years.
Does anyone believe this?

[thefirehorse]

And what if he did inhale. What would make it right. Give us an outline on what he should do. Is quiting the only option. Shall we all be judged by our associations. Lets start with Hillary, is there any thing that you really don't believe that shes said or done? Or if You want I'll start with Obama, He wasn't a tenured Professor. Now your turn.

[MrRex]

whatever

[sej100]

This article just insulted me further.
I am tired of the DOUBLE standard set for Mr Obama. He seems to convey the impression amongst his supporters that he is above criticism but other should be criticized. Any one who mentions his actions, his past, his obligations or ties is considered wrong or racist.
Sorry I do not buy that.
Mr Obama is a politician not a saint. He is ambitious and has himself lied at times.
He is not above reproach nor has his compaign and his surrogates been above the fray.

I am so turned off by the Obama fraction insisting that no criticism be layed their way and making everyone else a monster. They have totally lost my support because of their own duplicity.

[thefirehorse]

Don't be turned off. Tell us his faults. Tell us what his stances are on the issues. Tell us if he has committed a crime. I personally agree with you that we need to quit whining. This is an election after all. Please tell me your objections to Sen. Obama. I will listen with an open mind. I will only ask that I be allowed to voice my problems with Sen. Clinton as well. I promise to keep it civil and on the issues. I will not attack you or her on personal issues. You have at least one person who is ready for meaningful dialogue. I’ll tell you though; I think you will be surprised as to how many of us there are.

So let’s get started.

[elion10]

Well, inviting a discussion of what are Obama's "faults" is a false premise... he has no faults to speak of, since he has no real record to review.

He hasn't been in the trenches.. he hasn't been the target- he didn't get hung out to dry as the point man (woman) on a national health care plan.. he wasn't the target of MILLIONS OF tax payer dollars spent on investigating his every move ( that will come later- IF he's the nominee)

He wasn't damned if did show emotion, damned if he didn't...

He's a new fresh face, with no national experience or history to put under scrutiny..

So- lets compare apples to apples, she is the more experienced, she has fought harder and longer than Obama for the good of the Democratic party(does anyone remember how long we LOST before the Clintons came along?)

Hillary has earned my respect-- I really didn't like her when she ran for Senate..

I don't really know who Obama is, His policies seem close enough to Clinton's that the difference will be - who he associates with, and how he slects people to get a job done..

I see his choices, the foreign policy expert who refers to an American leader - possibly next president as "monster" .. a senior adviser who is so naive she said "neither one is prepared to answer the phone" .. Clinton brings Madeline Albright, General Wes Clark, and oh- yeah- Bill Clinton.. seems like the "A" team

[ragtopdodge]

Clinton should apologize to the Bosnians who has had to deal w/REAL SNIPER FIRE; unlike her LIES!

[nomorecomics4me]

I think Obama should apologize to Hillary on behalf of the horrible remarks made by Rev. Wright. How come nobody even mentioned how insulting his remarks were?

[cmbaldwin]

Why should Obama apologize to Hillary for someone else's remark? So what the Rev. made remarks that have pissed people off...he has a right to his opinion. And if you're not voting for Obama because you think he is hoodwinking us then you have that right as well. But, THERE ARE NO SQUEAKY CLEAN POLITICIANS IN THIS COUNTRY. We can compile a list of "misstatements" and campaign donations from questionable sources from all the candidates and we will be no better off. The BIG picture for me is WHO is going to lead our country back to peace and prosperity. Who will end corporate welfare and focus on AMERICANS IN AMERICA and for me that man is BARACK OBAMA!
For hundreds of years, black folks had to endure hate-filled rhetoric and terroristic attacks against our people but that didn't deter those who chose not listen to that rhetoric and rose above..we may not like her all the time - but we still love the country that gives us life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

[redisright]

the fact that liberals are defending Obama for his association with his racist reverend is proof of how hypocritical the left is. If this was a white minister, there would be lawsuits filed by the ACLU. What a joke you liberals are.

[thefirehorse]

Why should he apologize to her? He didn't say anything wrong to her. If she needs an apology from anyone, why doesn't she go to Rev. Wright personally and tell him to his face why he should apologize, and she can take Bill with her since he was the First Black President.

[edweird]

Mondale = Dukakis = Obama

[thefirehorse]

Clinton Oligarchy

[thefirehorse]

Clinton = Oligarchy

[Henry2008]

Notice how he uses "Hillary's HATERS" and "Obama's ANGRY" One are haters and the others are just angry.

What about Hillary's patriots and Obama's traitors.

[thefirehorse]

Why would you say something like that? Are you saying Obama and his supporters don’t believe and support our country? I would think that anyone who would call a fellow American a traitor for exercising their constitutional rights is the one who sounds unpatriotic and a slanderer as well.

But that’s not right; you have a right to express your views, no matter how ignorant they are.

[Henry2008]

You people have no shame. Is it Hillary's fault that you guys hangs around with a bigoted anti american man?

I have had it with you Obama people. I will not be supporting Obama in the fall. My vote goes to McCain. Keep at and you will see millions more going to McCain.

[LisainNYC]

Why are you calling the author an "Obama person" when he said he has ties to both and worked in the Clinton WH?

Not everyone who criticizes the Clintons is an Obama person, but I know that it is convenient for you to do so, since it allows you to overlook and excuse Clinton's flaws.

[thefirehorse]

And there are none in McCain’s camp? Before you change your vote because of an association, check and see who McCain sought out for support. You have a right to your opinion and if you think that we are beating up on Hillary that’s fair, but in that same vein it is also fair for us to have our opinion. Just don’t vote for another 4 years of Bush.

[BlondeLebanese]

Whew!! For a minute there I was afraid you were going to vote for Obama!! I think it is a good idea for everyone to vote for their favorite. Come on, be honest, you are obviously not a Obama supporter or even a Democrat. Anyone who would choose McCain over either Clinton or Obama probably shouldn't be reading these comments...and you think that MILLIONS more are going to McCain??? Now that is just wild speculation...we all know that McSame as Bush doesn't have a prayer.

[patriotscholar]

Keith, you make good points. There are many who see things just as you do, and there are many who cannot, or will not, ever change their minds. I am old enough to remember Kentucky voters that believed that a certain rich President would shower them with his own riches. You could not ever get them to change their minds. He didn't, but they still supported him. That's politics.