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http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/bill_clinton/2008/02/08/71242.html
Bill Clinton: I Learned a Lesson
Friday, February 8, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Former President Clinton says he's learned a valuable lesson
from the dustup over his remarks on the campaign trail _ he can promote his
wife's presidential candidacy, but he's not free to defend her.
Clinton also said that everything he said in South Carolina about Illinois
Sen. Barack Obama was "factually accurate," but a lot that has been said
about what he said is "factually inaccurate."
"I think the mistake that I made is to think that I was a spouse like any
other spouse who could defend his candidate," Clinton said, referring to his
wife, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is waging a hard-fought
contest with Obama for the Democratic nomination.
"I think I can promote Hillary but not defend her because I was president. I
have to let her defend herself or have someone else defend her," Clinton
said in an interview with NBC News as he was campaigning in Portland, Maine,
Thursday.
On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, Clinton called Obama's celebrated
opposition to the Iraq war "a fairy tale," suggesting that while Obama had
spoken out against the war in 2002 while he was an Illinois state senator,
Obama had moderated his anti-war stance during his 2004 U.S. Senate
campaign.
Later, campaigning for his wife in South Carolina, Clinton suggested an
Obama victory there would be a racial one, like the Rev. Jesse Jackson's
twenty years ago.
Critics accused Clinton of injecting race into the Democratic campaign.
"A lot of the things that were said were factually inaccurate," Clinton
said. "I did not ever criticize Senator Obama personally in South Carolina.
.... But I think whenever I defend her, I, A, risk being misquoted, and, B,
risk being the story. I don't want to be the story."
While he's toned down his defense of his wife, Clinton said he doesn't
intend to stop campaigning for her even though some critics have suggested
it's inappropriate for a former president to take sides in a nomination
race.
"I would be campaigning for her if we were not married," Clinton said.
"She's the best qualified person to be president I've ever had a chance to
support, and I feel strongly about it. And I think there's nothing wrong
with me saying that."
If his wife is elected president, Clinton said he will not interfere with
her work or her advisers.
"I will do what I'm asked to do," Clinton said. "I will not be in the
Cabinet. I will not be on the staff full-time. I will not in any way
interfere with the work of a strong vice president, strong secretary of
state, strong secretary of treasury.
"I will do what we've always done for each other," he said. "I will let her
bounce ideas off me. I will tell her what I think."
Bill Clinton: I Learned a Lesson
Friday, February 8, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Former President Clinton says he's learned a valuable lesson
from the dustup over his remarks on the campaign trail _ he can promote his
wife's presidential candidacy, but he's not free to defend her.
Clinton also said that everything he said in South Carolina about Illinois
Sen. Barack Obama was "factually accurate," but a lot that has been said
about what he said is "factually inaccurate."
"I think the mistake that I made is to think that I was a spouse like any
other spouse who could defend his candidate," Clinton said, referring to his
wife, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is waging a hard-fought
contest with Obama for the Democratic nomination.
"I think I can promote Hillary but not defend her because I was president. I
have to let her defend herself or have someone else defend her," Clinton
said in an interview with NBC News as he was campaigning in Portland, Maine,
Thursday.
On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, Clinton called Obama's celebrated
opposition to the Iraq war "a fairy tale," suggesting that while Obama had
spoken out against the war in 2002 while he was an Illinois state senator,
Obama had moderated his anti-war stance during his 2004 U.S. Senate
campaign.
Later, campaigning for his wife in South Carolina, Clinton suggested an
Obama victory there would be a racial one, like the Rev. Jesse Jackson's
twenty years ago.
Critics accused Clinton of injecting race into the Democratic campaign.
"A lot of the things that were said were factually inaccurate," Clinton
said. "I did not ever criticize Senator Obama personally in South Carolina.
.... But I think whenever I defend her, I, A, risk being misquoted, and, B,
risk being the story. I don't want to be the story."
While he's toned down his defense of his wife, Clinton said he doesn't
intend to stop campaigning for her even though some critics have suggested
it's inappropriate for a former president to take sides in a nomination
race.
"I would be campaigning for her if we were not married," Clinton said.
"She's the best qualified person to be president I've ever had a chance to
support, and I feel strongly about it. And I think there's nothing wrong
with me saying that."
If his wife is elected president, Clinton said he will not interfere with
her work or her advisers.
"I will do what I'm asked to do," Clinton said. "I will not be in the
Cabinet. I will not be on the staff full-time. I will not in any way
interfere with the work of a strong vice president, strong secretary of
state, strong secretary of treasury.
"I will do what we've always done for each other," he said. "I will let her
bounce ideas off me. I will tell her what I think."
