Are Bill Clinton Race Comments "More Objectionable" Than Reid's?

By: Michelle Levi
Topics: Washington Unplugged

"Game Change," the new book by John Heileman and Mark Halperin, alleges that former president Bill Clinton told the late Sen. Ted Kennedy that "a few years ago this guy [Obama] would have been getting us coffee"

On Monday's edition of CBSNews.com's "Washington Unplugged," CBS News' chief political consultant Marc Ambinder said Mr.Clinton's remark is "more objectionable than anything Harry Reid might have said."

"This is coming from a former president of the United States and what we know about this comment is it apparently got Ted Kennedy, who spent a lifetime fighting for civil rights, so exercised that not only did he endorse President Obama but he went out of his way to link Obama to the legacy of his brothers," Ambinder told moderator Bob Schieffer.

However, it should be noted that it's unclear whether Mr. Clinton was specifically referring to Mr. Obama's race or his relative youth.

"So much of this book is being viewed through the prison of race," CBS News' Chief Legal Analyst Jan Crawford pointed out in raising the question.

"Game Change" also charges that later in the conversation with Kennedy, Bill Clinton said "the only reason you are endorsing him is because he's black. Let's just be clear."

The book has been criticized for being "political gossip" but Schieffer warned he thinks "it is a pretty serious political book because I think sometimes we learn a lot from gossip."

"I just think it is incredible the publicity this book has gotten for these authors," Crawford said about the book, teasing Ambinder for waiting at the book store at midnight.

Watch the full roundtable above and watch "Washington Unplugged" Tuesday when we talk to the author's themselves.

Read more:

60 Minutes: More Revelations from "Game Change"
Watch the Full "60 Minutes" Report
Unpacking Harry Reid's "Racist" Comments
Bob Schieffer: Reid Will Survive ... 'til Election Day
Harry Reid Gets Support from Eric Holder
Dianne Feinstein: Reid Comments a "Closed" Matter
Republicans Keep the Heat on Harry Reid
Reid Apologizes for "Negro Dialect" Remark
"Washington Unplugged" appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.

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by derr567 January 12, 2010 1:02 PM EST: parfaitmoi, I think you are pathetic; Reply to this comment

by Lormos January 12, 2010 5:31 AM EST

Anyone seen a recent face pic of Clinton? He looks old as hell and like he'll drop over and die soon. Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!

I'm black. The issue with Reid, who's a Democrat, is a nonissue. It was just an attempt by the Republican party to cause a divide in the Democratic party by accusing a well-known Democrat of racism thereby taking eyes off all the racism in the Republican party.

What Reid stated was pure truth. If Obama were darker--hell, if Obama weren't mixed between black and white but just black, I doubt he would have been even half as successful as he was with the white community. As it is, only 25% whites voted for Obama; the other 65% voted for McCain. What Reid stated was a fact. Republicans just claimed it was racist to create a divide in the Democratic party.

The only person who made the Republican party successful was Democrat Clinton. Now there actually is a divide within the Democratic party as what Clinton said was racially offensive. Clinton is probably embittered that his wife lost to Obama and likely has been making a racist remarks all across the board behind but it's only managed to rear it's ugly head now.

Not that Clinton's stupidity deserves an answer but I'll be gracious enough to reply; for eons, whites have kept minorities out of the Presidency, never allowing a non-White president. The U.S. only recently got a President that wasn't completely White, but mixed between White and Black. Despite the exclusion of minorities from the Presidency finally coming to an end (somewhat anyway, as Obama is half-White), many whites whiningly claim that Obama only is successful because he's black or that blacks only voted for Obama because he's "black." Not only is their whimpering totally unjustified because Jessie Jackson wasn't successful when he ran, but it's ironic and hypocritical because for most of our history you could could only be successful in government affairs if you were white and all aspects of life.

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by derr567 January 12, 2010 1:03 PM EST: Nonsense. How dare you use pig-headed statements to justify your crap


by parfaitmoi January 11, 2010 10:32 PM EST: The 5th paragraph of this article has a sentence that reads "prison of race". It should be prism of race. A paragraph should consist of more than one sentence. What kind of writing standards do you have at CBS News? And finally, President Clinton's remarks are not more racially objectionable because you cannot prove that they had a racial context.; Reply to this comment


by tyrannosaura January 11, 2010 9:40 PM EST: The remarks might be disturbing if they weren't a third-hand paraphrase of something somebody says he thinks he recalls hearing Kennedy say that Clinton said. Since Kennedy isn't around to confirm it, do you suppose maybe we could treat this as the very dubious information it is? You know, the author of the books didn't put the remarks in quotation marks for a reason; they were a loose impression of what the "source" told them. And here we are all parsing the exact significance of the words as though we knew what we were talking about! The American public hasn't had a responsible, functioning media for so long that we think illiteracy is normal.; Reply to this comment

by ajvw January 11, 2010 6:37 PM EST

Are Bill Clinton Race Comments "More Objectionable" Than Reid's?

______
who cares. we all know bill clinton is an idiot

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by derr567 January 12, 2010 1:05 PM EST: So, because you think that Bill Clinton is an idiot, you assume that others agree with you too. You make me laugh

by FHMullane January 11, 2010 6:22 PM EST

ENOUGH of this petty stuff. What is going on now is 10X more offensive than what anyone said. Most blacks feel Reid was really just saying it as it is... and now is there something really wrong with that? Everyone needs to drop it. We are loosing our guys in Afghanistan every day and this is what our leaders think is important... particularly the Republicans... shame shame you sickos

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by parfaitmoi January 11, 2010 10:36 PM EST: My sentiments exactly. What Reid said reflects the history of colorism (preferential treatment based on skin color) in America. My only objection is he used the archaic term Negro. But then Reid is a very ancient man.

by spunlimited January 11, 2010 5:38 PM EST

Why is this a racial comment? My first thought was that he was referring to how lowly newbies in the "company" serve the higher ups (regardless of race). The seniority status in the democratic party a couple of years ago, Clinton and Kennedy were at the top and Obama was at the bottom. They could have all been green. That's how I interpreted the remark. As for Kennedy becoming "enraged" at the comment, I have no doubt that Obama's color was the main attraction for him plus the fact the he was not enamored with the Clintons.

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by parfaitmoi January 11, 2010 10:37 PM EST: Ditto.


by Ajacqx January 11, 2010 5:30 PM EST: I'm of the very firm opinion that it works out like the good-book says- "a tree is known by the fruit it bears" and as such, and paraphasing Jesse Jackson... for what Clinton has done and stood for with regard to helping to improve the lives of minorities and the poor in particular, in concert with his responsibilities to this nation as a whole..."I'll take Bill Clinton in a brothel over Reagan and Bush and Bush and McCain and Palin and Limbaugh and Coulter coming out of church, a synogogue, a temple or a mosque etc...; Reply to this comment


by spongekill January 11, 2010 5:07 PM EST: When was "getting coffee" ever a disparaging racial stereotype? Sounds like he is making fun of interns to me.

OH THE HUMANITY! Call the ACLU, interns the world over are being insulted by Bill Clinton.; Reply to this comment

by Freedomforever88 January 11, 2010 4:59 PM EST

There is no way the self declared first black President could have said that?????????????

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by parfaitmoi January 11, 2010 10:38 PM EST: Bill Clinton never was and will never be a black man. I love Toni Morrison, but she was completely wrong in saying that.