Hillary Campaign Now Claims It Was Joking About Obama In Kindergarten
According to this New York Times story:
In rather head-spinning fashion, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign is now saying that it was only joking when it noted on Sunday that one of her rivals, Barack Obama, wrote an essay in kindergarten titled, “I want to become president.” The Clinton camp’s reference to Mr. Obama’s kindergarten musings has been widely mocked over the last 48 hours, and now her campaign is defending itself by arguing that it was all a joke.
...As the blowback built on Monday and bloggers and others tweaked the Clinton campaign, some aides began asserting that the information was meant to be tongue in cheek. And this morning, Mrs. Clinton’s chief strategist, Mark Penn, continued this line of argument during an appearance on the MSNBC program “Morning Joe.”
Asked about the press release, Mr. Penn said, “Oh, that is so silly.”
He said the campaign put, “at the end of a long thing, as a joke, that he always wanted to run from kindergarten.”
“It was a joke!” Mr. Penn said.
He also called reporters “spinnable” – apparently by the Obama campaign, or by bloggers – for believing that the Clinton press release was a serious piece of work.
You can check out the Clinton Statement about Obama's presidential ambitions here.
12/3/2007 4:40:37 PM
“Senator Obama’s comment today is fundamentally at odds with what his teachers, family, classmates and staff have said about his plans to run for president. Senator Obama’s campaign rhetoric is getting in the way of his reality.” —Clinton campaign spokesman Phil Singer
Today in Iowa, Senator Barack Obama said: "I have not been planning to run for president for however number of years some of the other candidates have been planning for.”
However, the facts don't back up Sen. Obama’s claim.
...In third grade, Sen. Obama wrote an essay titled 'I Want To Be a President':
Sen. Obama’s third grade teacher, Fermina Katarina Sinaga, "asked her class to write an essay titled 'My dream: What I want to be in the future.' Obama wrote 'I want to be a president,' she said." [The Los Angeles Times, 3/15/07]In kindergarten, Sen. Obama wrote an essay titled 'I Want to Become President':
"Iis Darmawan, 63, Obama's kindergarten teacher, remembers him as an exceptionally tall and curly haired child who quickly picked up the local language and had sharp math skills. He wrote an essay titled, 'I Want To Become President,' the teacher said." [AP, 1/25/07]