Clinton "Regrets" If African-Americans Were "Offended" By Bill
NEW ORLEANS -- Hillary Clinton took a break from campaigning in March 4th primary states to attend the "State of the Black Union" in Louisiana, a state she lost earlier this month and a place where more than 80 percent of African-Americans supported her opponent, Barack Obama.
Clinton was asked about some controversial comments she and her husband made that negatively resonated through the African-American community. Weeks ago, Clinton was hammered for a comment she made that some suggested discredited the work of Martin Luther King during the civil rights movement. And prior to the New Hampshire primary, Bill Clinton criticized Barack Obama, suggesting his views on the Iraq war were "the biggest fairy tale" he's ever seen and later was accused of playing up the race issue prior to the South Carolina primary.
"Most of you here today who know him personally who know his heart, if anyone was offended by anything that was said whether it was meant or not, whether it was misinterpreted or not, then obviously I regret that," Clinton said about her husband.
Clinton continued, "I believe strongly that there is a shared and common purpose that we all hold very dear. Regardless of who you are supporting at this time for the Democratic nominee for president it goes way beyond Barack and me it goes way beyond politics. And I don't think there is any doubt that I and Bill have been part of that common purpose and that struggle our entire adult lives."
"It is important to me that I make that abundantly clear. I think the evidence is overwhelming and we will, after this primary season is over, be united behind our nominee because the stakes are too high for us to be anything but that."
Clinton, who sat on the stage with Tavis Smiley, spoke before a predominantly African-American crowd in downtown New Orleans, and seemed as though she came here to make her peace with the black community, a group that has for so many years supported the Clintons.
Clinton's visit to Louisiana came as a bit of a surprise, especially since her campaign has so much is riding on winning in the March 4 states of Ohio and Texas.