Obama Camp: We Accept Hillary's Apology; Let's Move On

[DeepModem Mom]

TPM: Obama Camp: We Accept Hillary's Apology; Let's Move On
By Greg Sargent - May 26, 2008

The skirmishing around Hillary's RFK assassination remarks went into a second frenzied round on the Sunday shows..., with a top Obama adviser coming under questioning as to whether the Obama camp was trying to keep stirring up the controversy by pushing an incendiary interpretation of her comments to reporters. In response, the adviser, David Axelrod, said that the Obama camp accepted her apology and indicated that it was time to "move forward."

Over the weekend, the Obama campaign circulated a transcript of Keith Olbermann's steroidally outraged Special Comment from Friday, in which he blasted Hillary as "heartless" and claimed that the RFK remarks signaled that Hillary's motives are "not merely troubling, but frightening." But both Obama himself and Axelrod have said that they don't believe that she meant the worst by her comments; Obama suggested they had been merely "careless."

Asked by ABC's George Stephanopoulos whether the campaign was trying to keep the controversy bubbling by pushing Olbermann's Hillary-As-Lady-Macbeth interpretation, Axelrod answered:

"As far as we're concerned, this issue is done. It was an unfortunate statement, as we said, as she's acknowledged. She has apologized. The apology, you know, is accepted. Let's move forward."

Generally, when a campaign circulates an opinion piece in this fashion, it's a quasi-endorsement of the positions contained therein. On the other hand, it's pretty standard political practice for campaigns in such situations to take a public high-road position while simultaneously encouraging reporters sotto voce to believe the worst of their opponent.

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/05/fallout_from_rfk_assassination.php

[marylanddem]

1. And this statement, too, will undoubtedly be interpreted as fanning the flames

against God's annointed one, Ms. Hil

[qijackie]

2. I'm beginning to really dislike this guy.

[grannylib]

3. I'm sure the fact that Obama is being mature and reasonable is

part of a dirty plot to make Hillary look childish and irrational.
Hillary, it's not a plot...but it's working anyway.

[CoffeeCat]

4. Once again, Obama takes the high road...

Hillary would have been discussing this endlessly during speeches.

She'd be scheduling media interviews, just so she could bat her eyelashes and wistfully say, "He doesn't want me killed...as far as I know."

Look how far she took the "bitter" comment. To the ends of the Earth and back. Look at how much
mileage she tried to get from one of Obama's speeches that was similar to a speech his friend made.

"Change you can Xerox" anyone?

Look how much mileage she tried to get out of Reverend Wright. Constantly talking about that, and
never being the person who was tempering things down.

Obama, on the other hand, never exploited Hillary's bald-face, fantastical journey into Bosnian
sniper fire. In fact, when asked about it, during the debates, he said that both of them
are under scrutiny at all times, and everyone says things that they regret.

She never takes the high road. She doesn't even know where the high road is.

He always takes it. She royally screws us with absurd lies (sniper fire) and now the RFK thing--and
Obama--is once again, the one to quell the fire, refuse to participate and leads the charge in "moving
on."

That's one of the many reasons that Obama is my candidate.

[Bob Dobbs]

5. Hillary who?

She's been irrelevant for quite a while, criminal incitement of assassination notwithstanding.

[mitchtv]

6. criminal incitement of assassination notwithstanding.

Keith Olbermann is that you?????

[Bob Dobbs]

7. Thanks for the compliment.

Thank God for KO.

[OwnedByFerrets]

8. GOT THAT RIGHT!!!