another attack dog RIP: Kerrey Apologizes to Obama
By Jeff Zeleny
DES MOINES – Former Senator Bob Kerrey has apologized to Senator Barack Obama, praising his judgment and experience to serve as president. He said he did not intend to offend Mr. Obama or contribute to misinformation about his family’s Muslim heritage.
“I am sorry for the insult,” Mr. Kerrey wrote in a letter to Mr. Obama.
The controversy began Sunday when Mr. Kerrey endorsed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. When he was asked about Mr. Obama’s qualifications, Mr. Kerrey said, “It’s probably not something that appeals to him, but I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama,” adding that his election would send a unique message around the world.
For months, the Obama campaign has sough to quash incorrect Internet-spread rumors that he is Muslim and has ulterior motives for running for president. Mr. Obama is Christian.
But by mentioning Mr. Obama’s middle name, particularly on a day he was endorsing his rival, questions were raised about whether Mr. Kerrey was contributing to those assertions. (The Clinton campaign had previously dismissed two volunteers in Iowa for forwarding e-mails making false claims about Mr. Obama.)
Here is a copy of the letter, which Mr. Kerrey sent on Wednesday:
Dear Barack,
I want to sincerely apologize for the remarks I made on Sunday in Council Bluffs, Iowa, after an event at which I endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton’s Presidential candidacy. I answered a question about your qualifications to be President in a way that has been interpreted as a backhanded insult of you. I assure you I meant to do just the opposite.
After you and I met during your primary campaign for the Senate, I wrote a public letter in which I said that that you were among the two or three most talented people I have ever met in politics. Nothing in your performance in the Senate or your campaign for the Presidency has altered that view.
The question I was asked in Iowa on Sunday was something like this: “Senator Kerrey, you ran for President in your first term in the Senate. If you were qualified, why isn’t Senator Obama?” With the benefit of my computer’s capacity to make certain that my words reflect my belief let me answer that question in this letter which you are free to use anyway you choose.
You are exceptionally qualified by experience and judgment to be president of the United States. I do not doubt that you would use the power of the presidency to bring peace and prosperity to as many people as possible on our fragile planet. You inspire my highest hopes for that office’s potential: That it be used as a force for good in America and the world.
It is your capacity to inspire hope that is your greatest God given talent. Without spending a dime of tax payer’s money or changing a single law your presence in the Oval Office will send a clear and compelling message to four groups of people who will be altered for good as a consequence. That was what I was trying to say on Sunday and what I hope I said more clearly in this letter.
Again, I am sorry for the insult and wish you the best on January 3 and beyond.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Respectfully yours,
Bob Kerrey |
