PrintJanuary 10, 2010
What Bill Clinton really thinks of Obama
The publication of the book "Game Change" has Washington in an uproar this morning with so many mouth watering, juicy little tidbits of political gossip, it should keep tongues wagging for days.
One of the more interesting gossip items was a revealing exchange between former president Bill Clinton and the late Teddy Kennedy. It had been something of a mystery why Teddy had cast his lot with Obama rather than Hillary Clinton - a mystery solved by Politico's Ben Smith who quotes from the book:
[A]s Hillary bungled Caroline, Bill's handling of Ted was even worse. The day after Iowa, he phoned Kennedy and pressed for an endorsement, making the case for his wife. But Bill then went on, belittling Obama in a manner that deeply offended Kennedy. Recounting the conversation later to a friend, Teddy fumed that Clinton had said, A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.
Kennedy was reportedly so offended by Clinton's racially charged dismissal that he decided to endorse Obama.
Is it true? Someone wanted the authors of the book - veteran political hands John Heliemann and Mark Halperin - to think so anyway. If that comment had come out after Iowa, Hillary would probably have withdrawn much sooner than she eventually did. The thing is, it sounds like something Clinton would say - which only makes the double standard regarding racist remarks between Democrats and Republicans that much more pronounced.
Wonder what Hillary is thinking this morning?
