Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Assassination?

There's a deserved uproar over Donald Trump's remarks about the 2nd Amendment, gun owners, and Hillary Clinton's safety. 

But am I the only one that remembers the controversy when Hillary Clinton cryptically suggested that Barack Obama could be assassinated? Apparently so, as I haven't seen any reference to the 2008 controversy in any of the stories on the current kerfuffle.

Here are excerpts from the NYTimes in 2008.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton defended staying in the Democratic nominating contest on Friday by pointing out that her husband had not wrapped up the nomination until June 1992, adding, "We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California."
Her remarks were met with quick criticism from the campaign of Senator Barack Obama, and within hours of making them Mrs. Clinton expressed regret,...
Still, the comments touched on one of the most sensitive aspects of the current presidential campaign — concern for Mr. Obama's safety. ...
Bill Burton, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, which has refrained from engaging Mrs. Clinton in recent days, said her statement "was unfortunate and has no place in this campaign."
Privately, aides to Mr. Obama were furious about the remark.
Concerns about Mr. Obama's safety led the Secret Service to give him protection last May, before it was afforded to any other presidential candidate, although Mrs. Clinton had protection, too, in her capacity as a former first lady....
It was against that backdrop that Mrs. Clinton's mentioning the Kennedy assassination in the same breath as her own political fate struck some as going too far. Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, an uncommitted superdelegate, said through a spokeswoman that the comments were "beyond the pale."...
Friday was not the first time Mrs. Clinton referred to the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in such a context. In March, she told Time magazine: "Primary contests used to last a lot longer. We all remember the great tragedy of Bobby Kennedy being assassinated in June in L.A. My husband didn't wrap up the nomination in 1992 until June. Having a primary contest go through June is nothing particularly unusual."

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