P
Patriot Games
Guest
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/civilrights/
January 7, 2008, 8:57 pm
Clinton's Civil Rights Lesson
DOVER, N.H. - As they barnstorm through New Hampshire, Senator Hillary
Rodham Clinton and her husband are often introduced by supporters who once
backed another candidate but converted to her cause.
Today, in Dover, Francine Torge, a former John Edwards supporter, said this
while introducing Mrs. Clinton: "Some people compare one of the other
candidates to John F. Kennedy. But he was assassinated. And Lyndon Baines
Johnson was the one who actually" passed the civil rights legislation.
The comment, an apparent reference to Senator Barack Obama, is particularly
striking given documented fears among blacks that Mr. Obama will be
assassinated if elected.
Phil Singer, a Clinton spokesman said: "We were not aware that this person
was going to make those comments and disapprove of them completely. They
were totally inappropriate."
Mrs. Clinton's expression did not change noticeably when Ms. Torge made the
comment.
Only a few hours later, she brought up the civil rights legislation herself
in remarks to a Fox News correspondent.
Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama have been in a running feud arising from her
suggestion at Saturday's debate that he was raising "false hope."
Mr. Obama responded that Mr. Kennedy did not decide going to the moon was a
false hope and that Martin Luther King, Jr. did not see ending segregation
as such.
"Dr. King's dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the
Civil Rights Act," Mrs. Clinton said when asked about Mr. Obama's rejoinder
by Fox's Major Garrett after her speech in Dover. "It took a president to
get it done."
The Obama campaign declined to comment on either of those remarks.
Later, during an appearance in Salem, Mrs. Clinton refined her remarks on
Fox: "You know, today Senator Obama used President John F. Kennedy and Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. to criticize me. He basically compared himself to our
greatest heroes because they gave great speeches.
"President Kennedy was in Congress for 14 years. He was a war hero. He was a
man of great accomplishments and readiness to be president. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. led a movement. He was gassed. He was beaten. He was jailed.
And he gave a speech that was one of the most beautifully, profoundly
important speeches ever written in America, the "I have a dream" speech.
"And then he worked with President Johnson to get the civil rights laws
passed, because the dream couldn't be realized until finally it was legally
permissible for people of all colors and backgrounds and races and
ethnicities to be accepted as citizens.
"I'm running for president because I believe that there is not a
contradiction between experience and change."
January 7, 2008, 8:57 pm
Clinton's Civil Rights Lesson
DOVER, N.H. - As they barnstorm through New Hampshire, Senator Hillary
Rodham Clinton and her husband are often introduced by supporters who once
backed another candidate but converted to her cause.
Today, in Dover, Francine Torge, a former John Edwards supporter, said this
while introducing Mrs. Clinton: "Some people compare one of the other
candidates to John F. Kennedy. But he was assassinated. And Lyndon Baines
Johnson was the one who actually" passed the civil rights legislation.
The comment, an apparent reference to Senator Barack Obama, is particularly
striking given documented fears among blacks that Mr. Obama will be
assassinated if elected.
Phil Singer, a Clinton spokesman said: "We were not aware that this person
was going to make those comments and disapprove of them completely. They
were totally inappropriate."
Mrs. Clinton's expression did not change noticeably when Ms. Torge made the
comment.
Only a few hours later, she brought up the civil rights legislation herself
in remarks to a Fox News correspondent.
Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama have been in a running feud arising from her
suggestion at Saturday's debate that he was raising "false hope."
Mr. Obama responded that Mr. Kennedy did not decide going to the moon was a
false hope and that Martin Luther King, Jr. did not see ending segregation
as such.
"Dr. King's dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the
Civil Rights Act," Mrs. Clinton said when asked about Mr. Obama's rejoinder
by Fox's Major Garrett after her speech in Dover. "It took a president to
get it done."
The Obama campaign declined to comment on either of those remarks.
Later, during an appearance in Salem, Mrs. Clinton refined her remarks on
Fox: "You know, today Senator Obama used President John F. Kennedy and Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. to criticize me. He basically compared himself to our
greatest heroes because they gave great speeches.
"President Kennedy was in Congress for 14 years. He was a war hero. He was a
man of great accomplishments and readiness to be president. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. led a movement. He was gassed. He was beaten. He was jailed.
And he gave a speech that was one of the most beautifully, profoundly
important speeches ever written in America, the "I have a dream" speech.
"And then he worked with President Johnson to get the civil rights laws
passed, because the dream couldn't be realized until finally it was legally
permissible for people of all colors and backgrounds and races and
ethnicities to be accepted as citizens.
"I'm running for president because I believe that there is not a
contradiction between experience and change."