No Carville apology for Judas remark; likened Bill Richardson to Judas for endorsing Obama
18 minutes ago
Hillary Rodham Clinton adviser James Carville is refusing to apologize for comparing New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to Judas.
Carville made the comparison to The New York Times after Richardson, once a member of President Clinton's Cabinet, endorsed Hillary Clinton rival Barack Obama last week for the Democratic presidential nomination. Carville called it an "act of betrayal," and pointed out that it came during Holy Week.
"Mr. Richardson's endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out (Jesus) for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic," he said.
Richardson told "Fox News Sunday" that he wouldn't respond by getting "in the gutter like that."
"That's typical of many of the people around Senator Clinton," Richardson said. "They think they have a sense of entitlement to the presidency."
Carville told CNN on Monday that Richardson had committed an "egregious act" and he intended to make a sharp response to it.
"I wanted to use a very strong metaphor to make my point," Carville said. "I doubt if Governor Richardson and I will be particularly close in the future."
Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson told reporters Monday that he didn't agree with Carville's comment.
"If I had said it, I would apologize," Wolfson said. "I did not say it, and if I had I would, but that's up to him."
Richardson served as ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary during the Clinton administration.
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Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., left, smiles with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Friday, March 21, 2008, at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Ore. where Richardson announced his endorsement of Obama.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Thank you Gov. Richardson for putting Hillary's campaign in perpective when you said there's a sense of entittlment that she and her people have to the presidency. So true. But I must add, isn't this so true of white people. Everybody else has to work hard for what they get while white people delude themselves into believing they've earned theirs.
I admire man like Bill Richardson who doesn't let folks like Carville brow beat him with insults into towing the line.
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I think speaking in 'blanket statements' (a statement meant to cover everything, i.e. an entire group of people or religion, etc.) will not help anyone. I welcome your viewpoint and agree that people should be commended for courage when they stand by their convictions.
It is not true to say that all white people are deluded and have not earned what they work for and attain.
I welcome and encourage free expression on this blog, but I want to be mindful of fairness. There is a lot of anger on all sides, so effort is needed to come to the middle and do our best to be fair to everyone.
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One of the greatest things about the USA is the freedom to speak one's mind. If we did not have people like Mr. Carville, and others in Senator Clinton's campaign who have been so free to give us exposure to the attitudes of the campaign, which generally reflect the attitudes of its leader(s), and to share exactly how they feel with us, the tenor of her campaign might have taken on an entirely different flavor. But, thanks to her freely speaking advisers, I believe the American public has gained considerable insight regarding the attitudes of Senator Clinton's campaign leadership. I believe that a given endorsement carries little weight by itself, but I suspect Senator Richardson had very valid reasons for making the endorsement that he did, and that he was being "politically polite" by not airing the underlying specifics in the press. The reaction by Mr. Carville leads me to believe that a sensitive underpinning of Senator Clinton's campaign was "touched" in some significant way by Senator Richardson's endorsement of Senator Obama. The calls for apologies, resignations, and the like do not change what has already transpired. If this is how Senator Clinton's primary campaign is being managed, imagine how her Presential executive staff might behave.
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