The statement I want Bill Clinton to make about his Jesse Jackson comment

[lwcon]

My comment about Jesse Jackson after Senator Obama's impressive win in South Carolina was an act of very poor sportsmanship, and I apologize for it. Suggesting that his victory was due to the demographics of South Carolina, and not Senator Obama's genuine and well-earned appeal across the state, was inappropriate and uncalled for. I apologize for that sincerely and unreservedly. My apologies go to Senator Obama, Rev. Jackson, and the good people of South Carolina.

Beyond what I had intended by the comment, which people have fairly criticized, is an unfair outcome, as well. Some are using it to amp up the wholly unwarranted and deeply corrosive mischaracterizations of my and Hillary's statements and beliefs about race.

A lot of people in the media have had a field day injecting false narratives about the important and sensitive topic of race into perhaps the most important election in America's history, distracting from the issues that all three Democratic candidates are dedicated to working on. This use of race as a sensationalistic novelty demeans everyone who seeks honest and constructive dialog about and healing for the still-fresh wounds of racial discrimination.

Those who want to nullify Hillary's and my lifelong dedication to civil rights may seize on this to validate these mischaracterizations. But Hillary and I have learned, like few others have, to trust in the goodness and fairness of the American people.

The 2006 election shows that Americans are ready to move past the failed policies of the Bush administration, policies that have been especially hard on minorities and the poor, and I am proud to be supporting a candidate who is dedicating to and uniquely capable of taking the country in a new and better direction.

___

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, now at my new home: Correntewire.com

[WinkyDink]

1. Bad idea to keep the topic going.

[lwcon]

2. The topic is going. Bill knows more than anybody...

... you can't let these things fester. And festering it is.


___

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, now at my new home:

Correntewire.com

[niceypoo]

10. Why do people fall for this media hype crap?

So, any mention whatsoever of a black person, by any white person, is some an attack? Is that what this has come to? More victim card BS from Obama and his supporters.

So does it work the other way around too? If Obama mentions or quotes any white person, does Hillary and her camp and the media get to explode with insinuations of racism?

This is getting pathetic.

[MonkeyFunk]

3. You want him to lie?

None of that is true.

[Meldread]

4. You act as if that would be out of character for him.

:P

[MonkeyFunk]

5. get off my lawn

[niceypoo]

11. As always, jumping onto the RW bandwagon

[lwcon]

13. That's Unity, for ya!

It's a beautiful thing. And remember, we all get ponies!

I do so love ponies!

___

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, now at my new home: Correntewire.com

[lwcon]

6. Where are you coming from here?

I take your avatar to mean you're supporting HRC. I'm with JRE, BTW, but I'm sick of watching the Clintons get slimed.

That said, the Jackson comment seemed unmistakably to be saying "heck, South Carolina has different demographics from the rest of the country -- so much so, they voted for Jesse Jackson." Honestly, did you not hear that?


___

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, now at my new home:

Correntewire.com

[MonkeyFunk]

7. And to me

it doesn't seem that way at all.

He was pointing out that you could win the SC primary, and still not go on to electoral success.

There were two choices of who to use: Edwards or Jackson. Jackson was the preferable choice because he lost SC twice, AND while Edwards lost SC, he did go on to become the VP nominee. Also, John Edwards is still in THIS race, and it would've seemed as a slam against him.

[lwcon]

8. Or he could have taken the high road and avoided demeaning the win

Since he didn't, and since it's feeding into the Obama camp's race-baiting, he'd better get in front of this soon, or he can forget about moving back to the White House.

___

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, now at my new home: Correntewire.com

[MonkeyFunk]

9. It's a campaign

this is politics.

Geez, I swear this is the first time anybody's ever watched a campaign.

Here's the deal: they're all running for the same job. Each one is trying to improve his/her own standing and diminish the standing of the others.

[lwcon]

12. You'd think it was the first time Bill was ever in a campaign

Nobody likes a sore loser. And he stepped his foot into the race topic, with which he's been unfairly slimed.

He's gotta eat some shit on this for his sour grapes statement and move on.

I expect this defensiveness from the Obama Fan Base, but usually not from the Hillary folks, who are generally pragmatists.


___

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, now at my new home: Correntewire.com

[MonkeyFunk]

15. He did nothing wrong

the outrage is manufactured.

[lwcon]

17. My point is that he stepped into the manufactured outrage

I would like to see the full context, though. Some say he may have been egged on into the quote. You seen the full audio or transcript anywhere?

___

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, now at my new home: Correntewire.com

[MonkeyFunk]

19. I haven't seen the question he was asked

but yes, that would be interesting.

Here's the full line that Clinton said, though:

"Jesse Jackson won South Carolina twice in '84 and '88. And he ran a good campaign, and Senator Obama's run a good campaign here. He's run a good campaign everywhere."

Edit: I just rewatched the video of it, and Clinton does preface his remark with "that's just bait, too." So yeah, I wonder what happened prior to that.

[lwcon]

21. Please drop me a line if you see the whole source

Peace! And JRE in 2008!

___

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, now at my new home: Correntewire.com

[mrreowwr_kittty]

20. Both Jackson and Edwards won SC, they didn't lose

There was no need for Bill Clinton to go back 2 decades to make an electoral comparison. Except that there was a need to drive a certain issue. The Clintons just can't help themselves.

[MonkeyFunk]

22. yes, of course they did

my dumb error.

[BenDavid]

14. Obama’s campaign is twisting things so that a comment about

any black man is a comment about him, just as any attack on him is an attack on all black people. I ask again: who is playing the race card here?

[cali]

16. no they're not. it's not coming from Obama or his campaign

I just listened to Peter Hart for an hour and he mentioned it in terms of disbelief several times and explicitly said that Billy was playing the race card and brass knuckle politics.

Denial is obviously a close buddy of YOURS.

[lwcon]

18. The simple facts are these

1. Any bad thing said about Obama was at the specific direction of the Clintons, and possibly their AIPAC overlords
2. Any bad thing said about the Clintons is simply the tip of the iceberg of their slimeball racism

___

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, now at my new home: Correntewire.com

[agdlp]

23. Jackson: Not Upset by Clinton Remarks

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/jackson-not-upset-by-clinton-remarks/

The Rev. Jesse Jackson said late Sunday that he was not offended by comments on Saturday by former President Bill Clinton, who brought up Mr. Jackson’s name in response to a question about Senator Barack Obama.

Mr. Clinton had noted that Mr. Jackson had won South Carolina in the Democratic contests in 1984 and 1988. Pundits and many in the blogosphere interpreted Mr. Clinton’s mention of Mr. Jackson as an attempt to diminish Mr. Obama — and what would turn out to be his landslide victory Saturday in South Carolina over Senator Hillary Clinton — because Mr. Jackson had not gone on to win the Democratic nomination.
But Mr. Jackson said he did not see it that way.

“I don’t read anything negative into Clinton’s observation,” Mr. Jackson said in a phone conversation late Sunday night from India, where he is taking part in a commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi