Hint, hint
Bob Johnson, a supporter of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter and the nation's first black billionaire, yesterday seemed to hint at Sen. Barack Obama's youthful drug use. Mr. Johnson, founder of the BET cable-TV network, made the remarks while introducing Mrs. Clinton at a campaign event in Columbia, S.C.
He later denied that he was talking about Mr. Obama's early drug use — a subject that recently led another Clinton campaign aide to resign, the Associated Press reports.
"To me, as an African American, I am frankly insulted the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues — when Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood ... I won't say what he was doing, but he said it in his book — when they have been involved," Mr. Johnson said.
Mr. Obama wrote about his teenage drug use — marijuana, alcohol and sometimes cocaine — in his memoir, "Dreams From My Father."
Mr. Johnson later said his comments referred to Mr. Obama's work as a community organizer in Chicago "and nothing else."
"Any other suggestion is simply irresponsible and incorrect," he said. |
