Chris Wallace interviewed Hillary Clinton spokesperson Terry McAuliffe on Fox News Sunday to ask about the now-infamous reference to Robert Kennedy’s assassination as an explanation for her remaining in the primary race. McAuliffe tries trotting out the “I’m sorry if anyone took offense” apology, which Wallace criticizes as a typical Washington ploy:
Ever since Hillary began walking back her comments to the Argus Leader, I was struck by her lack of apology to the Obamas. She has deliberately focused her regrets, such as they are, onto the Kennedys instead. That seems like a provocation towards Barack Obama, daring him to take public offense to it instead of the figurative shrug he has thus far displayed.
And as Wallace notes, the apology has not exactly been complete. Hillary takes the Dick Durbin approach, offering regrets if anyone took offense to her remarks. McAuliffe repeats this several times during the interview, allowing Wallace to confirm that Hillary doesn’t think she said anything wrong. It’s all about the timeline, McAuliffe insists, and nothing else.
Perhaps, but Wallace gets closer to the national reaction when he calls the remarks “tasteless and ghoulish”. Hillary apparently thinks she can brazen her way out of the corner into which she painted herself. Perhaps she can, but she’s more likely to further damage the Clinton brand in the Democratic Party. Even if everyone agrees that she doesn’t hope Obama gets assassinated, the Clintons are supposed to be a lot more politically adept than to leave that impression. If this is the best they can do, the Democrats will have little use for them in the future.
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