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Bill Clinton Talks Hillary Campaign: "I Am Not a Racist"
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 4, 2008
Modified Aug 4, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 4, 2008
Modified Aug 4, 2008
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Former President Bill Clinton spoke to ABC News about his role in his wife's presidential campaign and said, "There are things that I wish I'd urged her to do. Things I wish I'd said. Things I wish I hadn't said."
But the regrets aren't the ones you're thinking of: He said emphatically, referring to his remarks after Barack Obama's South Carolina victory (when he had referred to Jesse Jackson's 1984 and 1988 S.C. primary wins), "But I am not a racist. I've never made a racist comment and I never attacked him [Obama] personally." Hmm, maybe Clinton is just regretting his Bosnia remarks. Or the fairy tale one.
Clinton, who is scheduled to speak at the World AIDS Conference today in Mexico, added, ""I'm not and never was mad at Senator Obama. You know he hit her hard a couple of times and they hit us a few times a week before she ever responded in kind. The only thing I ever got mad about was people in your line of work pretending that she somehow started the negative stuff. It's a contact sport."
It's unclear what role the former president will play at the convention, but Hillary Clinton is rumored to be the keynote speaker.
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bill clinton
election 2008
hillary clinton
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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