Obama Denies Race Involved in ‘Elitist’ Comments

From CBS News’ Maria Gavrilovic:



WASHINGTON, PA. -- Barack Obama dismissed the notion that Hillary Clinton is prejudiced, as one voter implied here today.

“I think the Clintons are getting away with something that they must be called on, they will continue to do it until somebody states, ‘Mrs. Clinton, you are close to prejudice here, this is wrong’,” the voter said.

Obama denied that race was involved in Clinton’s argument, blaming the controversy on politics. “I don’t think there are racial overtones to the attacks going on right now,” Obama said. “I think that this is politics and this is what we do politically when we start to get behind in races and we start going on the attack.”

Obama has tried to put his presidential rivals’ assertion that he is an elitist to rest for five days now. He has brought up the issue at every campaign event since the controversy surfaced on Friday evening; however, Obama did not mention it until a voter asked him about it directly today. Once again, he found himself explaining his comments, this time by referencing his background.

“I am amused about this notion of elitist given that when you are raised by a single mom, when you are on food stamps for a while when you were growing up, you went to school on scholarship,” Obama explained. “So when somebody makes that argument, particularly given I have spent my entire life working with workers and low income communities and trying to make people’s lives a little bit better, then that’s when you know we are in political silly season.”