Link:

“I’ve heard her make that argument before,” Mr. Kennedy said, speaking on his cell phone as he drove to the family compound in Hyannis for the holiday weekend. “It sounds like she was invoking a familiar historical circumstance in support of her argument for continuing her campaign.” . . . [H]is support of Mrs. Clinton has not wavered.

More from RFK, Jr.:

I have heard her make this reference before, also citing her husband's 1992 race, both of which were hard fought through June. I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it is a mistake for people to take offense."

Update (TL) below:

I've been in court all afternoon and just coming in now to all the hysteria. All I'll say is Hillary is being treated unfairly here. The media and blog commenters are engaging in character assassination. She was making a historical statement on why she needn't drop out of the race by early June. Democratic nominations have gone past that before. Her emphasis was on the word "June."

The leap that is required to think that her reference to the RFK assassination was in any way a statement or subliminal wish that it might happen to Obama is mind-boggling.

This will be the final TalkLeft thread on the matter. I'm not going to spend the weekend on this. And I'm going to have a low threshold for accusatory comments. If you want a place to further your attacks on Hillary, go somewhere else.

More...

I realize I am too wrapped up in every bit of this crazy political season. So I am done writing for the night and maybe tomorrow.

It is Memorial Day Weekend after all.

This is an Open Thread

Comments now closed.

It turns out that Hillary Clinton said something similar regarding RFK and the 1968 race in a Time Magazine interview in March 2008, but there was not an uproar then. Here is what she said in March:

TIME: Can you envision a point at which--if the race stays this close--Democratic Party elders would step in and say, "This is now hurting the party and whoever will be the nominee in the fall"?

CLINTON: No, I really can't. I think people have short memories. 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.

More . . .

Hillary Clinton issued the following statement today in Brandon, SD:

“Earlier today I was discussing the Democratic primary history and in the course of that discussion mentioned the campaigns that both my husband and Senator Kennedy waged in California in June 1992 and 1968 and I was referencing those to make the point that we have had nomination primary contests that go into June. That’s a historic fact. The Kennedys have been much on my mind the last days because of Senator Kennedy and I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation, and particularly for the Kennedy family was in any way offensive. I certainly had no intention of that, whatsoever. My view is that we have to look to the past and to our leaders who have inspired us and give us a lot to live up to, and I’m honored to hold Senator Kennedy’s seat in the United States Senate from the state of New York and have the highest regard for the entire Kennedy family.”

More below

You will be hearing about this meeting tonight because of an unfortunate, inappropriate statement by Senator Clinton regarding the length of the contest. She invoked President Clinton's 1992 fight for the nomination and most regretfully, the fact that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s fight for the nomination was cut short the night of his win in the California primary in 1968 as well as the fights in 1980 and 1984.

But her mention of the RFK assassination is simply is an indefensible remark, and in very poor taste. I believe Clinton's point was that the fight for the nomination was going full bore in June 1968. But the statement was a terrible mistake. Indeed, a politically damaging mistake. Senator Clinton should apologize and I imagine will apologize for it. Her enemies will of course use it against her and accuse her of hoping for something bad to happen to Senator Obama. And that tells you about them. But there is no getting around this - Senator Clinton made a terrible statement and she needs to apologize for it immediately.

Barack Obama is still in Florida. Today, he spoke at a luncheon for the largest organization of Cuban-American exiles -- a pretty conservative bunch. He told them he would meet with Cuba's new leaders.

The annual Cuban Independence Day banquet of the Cuban American National Foundation cheered Obama's avowed commitment to fostering democracy in Cuba. But the audience showed its wariness of his talk of meeting with Cuban leaders. Mere handfuls applauded that statement from among the crowd of at least 500.

....Foundation Chairman Jorge Mas Santos voiced the Cuban American community's enduring opposition to any U.S. president meeting with the Castro regime before political prisoners are released and free elections slated. The son of the foundation's late founder, Mas described any expectation of engaging Raul Castro in democratic reforms as "wishful thinking."

Did he win himself any votes today? He did say he would end the travel restrictions and limits on sending money home, but he would also maintain the embargo.

The Miami Herald reports: [More...]

Former Clinton Super Delegate Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) has decided to support Barack Obama. And of course this is his right as Super delegates can change their minds right up to the Convention. But I found his rationale for the switch wanting:

While I continue to greatly respect and admire Senator Clinton and feel she has made history with her campaign, I believe that Senator Obama will inevitably be our party’s nominee for President.

Um, that's it? That's your big reason for switching. Okay. But he continues, and you'll laugh at this:

Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post has extensive comments and media reaction on the Karl Rove subpoena.

The House Judiciary Committee yesterday released documents and correspondence pertaining to Rove's subpoena. Here is the letter (pdf)from the Office of Professional Responsibility stating it has opened a probe into the Don Siegelman prosecution.

As promised yesterday, here is the 99 page appeal brief filed by Siegleman.

I disagree with Big Tent Democrat on Obama's statement today on FL and MI. It's woefully inadequate and nothing he and the party haven't said before. It doesn't address the issue.

The issue is not seating the delegates at the convention. It's counting their votes and awarding delegates based on their votes BEFORE the nominee is chosen. It's about giving 2.3 million voters who took the time to go to the polls and who did nothing wrong have their votes count in deciding our party's nominee.

Obama is playing the same games he's always played on Michigan and Florida. He's not agreeing to let their votes count.

Saying they can be seated at the convention means they can cheer for the nominee and sit in on party platform and rules meetings. Big deal. If they can't have their votes count in determining the nominee, it's a shell game.

In this interview with the Palm Beach Post, Barack Obama says the Florida delegation will be seated:

Q: At this point in the race, why not seat the entire Florida delegation with a full vote based on the Jan. 29 primary?

[OBAMA]: They're definitely going to be seated. We're not the final decision maker on this. But we've said to the DNC that we want the Florida delegation to be seated, and I'm confident that it's going to be worked out sometime in the next 10 days. I expect that the delegates are going to be participating at the convention.

(Emphasis supplied.) Good for Obama. Here's a bonus - Obama gives Donna Brazile the stiff arm:

Like Colin Powell, Patrick Kennedy and NBC News anchor Brian Williams, John McCain takes Ambien.

More on Ambien:

• FDA Requests Stronger Warnings on Ambien

• Ambien, Sweet Ambien

• Driving While Ambien'ed

Does anyone not take Ambien?

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