Retreat! A day after calling Hillary Clinton a “monster”, Samantha Powers has departed from the Barack Obama campaign. The resignation comes after a deluge of criticism aimed at the Obama campaign:

A top senior foreign policy adviser to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, Samantha Power, resigned Friday morning after calling Clinton a “monster” in an interview with a European newspaper.”With deep regret, I am resigning from my role as an advisor the Obama campaign effective today,” said Power in a statement issued by the Obama campaign. “Last Monday, I made inexcusable remarks that are at marked variance from my oft-stated admiration for Senator Clinton and from the spirit, tenor, and purpose of the Obama campaign. And I extend my deepest apologies to Senator Clinton, Senator Obama, and the remarkable team I have worked with over these long 14 months.”

Power’s statement came scarcely an hour after congressional supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, demanded that Obama fire Power for the remarks.

This won’t look good for Obama. The resignation comes after a demand for Obama to fire Powers by three Democratic Representatives. Hillary Clinton herself had criticized the name-calling, and the campaign suggested it provided more proof that Obama simply isn’t up to a national campaign.

Hillary has Obama clearly on the defensive. A few more weeks of this and Obama may not have many superdelegates left behind him.

UPDATE: Power, not Powers — thanks to our commenters for the correction.