Bill Clinton learns a lesson, kinda:
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. (snip)
"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."
This is Bill Clinton personified. His "mistake" is that he didn't realize that other people would make mistakes in assessing the things he says. He is ready to concede that not everyone is as wonderful as he is. What a guy.
Recent Comments