Obama Responds To President Clinton's slam of the NYT

[RedEarth]

By Greg Sargent | bio

Barack Obama's campaign is responding to remarks that President Clinton made at a private fundraiser in which he slammed The New York Times for being overly aggressive toward Hillary while going soft on Obama.

As I just reported over at The Horse's Mouth, a source who was present at the fundraiser says that Clinton pointed to some remarks by Obama that, he claimed, weren't being covered prominently by the paper. Specifically, Clinton claimed that a few years ago Obama was quoted in another paper saying that he didn't know if he would have voted for the war -- a quote, Clinton said, that is receiving far less attention from The Times than Hillary's refusal to say that her vote was a "mistake."

Now Obama has hit back, issuing the following statement in response to Clinton:

“In 2002, I opposed giving President Bush the authority to invade Iraq, and said that a war based not on principle but on politics would lead to a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I wish those words had never come true, but I have stood by them since that day and continue to today.”

http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2007/mar/16/obama_responds_to_president_clinton


.........Clinton's comments.........

CONFIRMED: Bill Clinton Slams New York Times' Coverage Of Hillary At Private Fundraiser
March 16, 2007 -- 11:25 AM EST // View Comments (27) // Post a Comment
I've just confirmed it: Bill Clinton is going after The New York Times, complaining that the paper's coverage of his wife is unfair and that the paper's giving a pass to Hillary rival Barack Obama.

I just got off the phone with someone who was present at a private fundraiser on Tuesday night where Bill Clinton was the featured guest, and he tells me that Clinton aggressively critized The Times in his speech to guests.

Specifically, Bill hammered the paper for its coverage of Hillary's Iraq stance, and faulted the paper for not covering certain aspects of Obama's position on the war.

A gossip column in the New York Post ran an item today on some of Clinton's comments at the fundraiser -- which was held at the plush apartment of mortgage exec Keith Kantrowitz -- but quoted a "source close to Clinton" disputing the account. However, I've now spoken with one guest -- someone I know and trust -- and he not only confirmed what happened, but added a lot more, too, and I have full confidence in this source.

"Clinton spoke about the Times at some length," the guest says. "He said that The Times had basically created an artificial construct on whether or not Hillary should apologize for the war. He said the paper kept pushing it."

Clinton also faulted The Times for undercovering various comments by Obama about the war, including some about the 2002 Iraq War resolution, the source says.

"He quoted Obama as saying in some other newspaper a couple years ago that he didn't know how he would have voted. He also said that Obama had said at some point in 2006 that there was very little difference between his position and Bush's position on Iraq. He said that The Times had not reported these comments prominently. It was like two minutes on how Obama was getting a free ride while the paper pursued the Hillary-should-apologize storyline...He was just upset about it. He was passionate."

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/horsesmouth/2007/03/clinton.php

[blm]

1. Don't worry Barack - at least in 08 Bill won't be siding with Bush's military decisions

more than the Democratic nominee's positions as he did in 2003-4 cycle.

[NDP]

2. When is someone going to say, "I think the country is frankly ready to move on from

the Bush/Clinton rotation"?

When they say that, 90% of every head in the United States electorate will nod in agreement, and Hillary will be finished.