Probably the worst thing about Hillary Clinton invoking RFK’s assassination as a justification for staying in the race has been the “who-me?” aftermath of it, the various explanations offered by her camp and her. Speaking to the editorial board of the Argus-Leader in Sioux Falls, SD, Clinton defended sticking around beyond her use-by date saying, “My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California.”
Meaning: anything can happen, right? You never know in this crazy, mixed-up, gun-clinging country of ours. It ain’t over ’til it’s over etc. As news of her comments spread (June is coming right up, folks) and Obama’s camp showed admirable restraint even as the candidate himself was reportedly outraged, one of her spokespeople tried to turn the tables, like the fellow who shows you a pornographic picture and says what a dirty mind you have. “She was simply referencing her husband in 1992 and Bobby Kennedy in 1968 as historic examples of the nominating process going well into the summer. Any reading into beyond that would be inaccurate and outrageous,” said Mo Eleithee, keeping a straight face the whole time.
When that didn’t play, Clinton tried a more straightforward apology, telling reporters in a supermarket, “The Kennedys have been much on my mind the last days because of Senator [Edward] Kennedy and I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation, and particularly for the Kennedy family was in any way offensive. I certainly had no intention of that, whatsoever. My view is that we have to look to the past and to our leaders who have inspired us and give us a lot to live up to, and I’m honored to hold Senator [Robert] Kennedy’s seat in the United States Senate from the state of New York and have the highest regard for the entire Kennedy family.”
So it is about her, after all! You see, she holds the same seat RFK did, and she went sailing with Ted when Obama was still working the streets in Chicago, and hey, we all make mistakes. Looking at the the video of her remarks she certainly doesn’t look like she’s at the top of her game and there she does have my sympathies. I would hate to have people filming me first thing in the morning, trying to sound smart before the coffee kicked in.
But she’s supposed to be the candidate who’s good to go at three am, on Day One, no less. For someone who supposedly has her wits about her at all times, she’s coming off as mighty punchy — or calculating — these days. Was she giving voice to an unconscious death wish for her opponent? I doubt it. But even if this was only a 1%, a girl-can-dream-can’t-she response, why would Obama want a potential Lady Macbeth for a running mate? It would be reasonable to assume someone is out to get him but you don’t want to have to bring the food taster with you when you’re having lunch with your No. 2.
The alternative explanation –that she just said something stupid and tasteless because she was thinking about the Kennedys, even though she said the same thing to Time back in March — is almost as bad. “Did I say ‘kill Castro’? My bad. I had been thinking about the Castro district in San Francisco, since I’m actually a lesbian. Oops, did it again. I had been in Lisbon, Portugal, recently and…” She’s either discombobulated or disingenuous, and I know which one I’m putting my money on.