Bill Clinton’s On Air Slip-Up

By Pamela Mortimer

Someone should have told Bill that the mic was still live. If he’d known, the former President may have waited until he was off the air to vent about the recent claims by the Obama campaign that he had made inappropriate racial comments aimed at the Illinois Senator.

During a phone interview with WHYY radio in Philadelphia, Clinton said his comments about Jesse Jackson’s failed presidential campaigns prior to Hillary’s defeat in South Carolina had been twisted and, as a result, he has been "unfairly painted with the banner of racism."

Clinton pointed out that his administration worked diligently for racial equality, referring to his own appointment of blacks and Hispanics to top administration posts, the office space he maintains in Harlem, and his efforts worldwide to combat AIDS.

After the interview was over, an irritated Clinton apparently thought he was off the air when he made a comment to someone near him.

"I don’t think I should take any sh** from anybody on that, do you?" Clinton asked.

Clinton’s January 26th appearance was the site of the controversial statement. "Jesse Jackson won in South Carolina twice in ‘84 and’88, and he ran a good campaign, and Senator Obama has run a good campaign. He has run a good campaign everywhere. He’s got a good — He is a good candidate with a good organization," Clinton said.

Obama supporters said Clinton’s statement was designed to belittle Obama by comparing him to a black candidate who ended up losing the presidential race. Obama referred to the comments as "hallmarks of the politics of racism."

In an interview held on Monday, Clinton was asked if he had regrets about making the remarks.

"I conceded that this was used against me but this was a conversation that occurred early in the morning. We didn’t even know what the vote was going to be at the time. We were all sitting around, drinking coffee — we just finished breakfast — and we were starting, we were talking about South Carolina political history.

"And this was used out of context, and this was twisted for political purposes by the Obama campaign to try to breed resentment elsewhere.

"Do I regret saying it? No. Do I regret that it was used that way? I certainly do. But you’ve really got to go some (distance) to portray me as a racist," Clinton said. The former President added that Jackson told him personally that he was not offended by the remarks.

"I called him and asked him if he found anything offensive. And he just laughed and he said, ‘Of course I don’t. We all know what’s going on,’ " Clinton said.