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Clinton Rejects Staffs' Attacks on Obama

She denounces, seeks to distance herself from drug slam

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 15, 2007 5:40 AM CST

(Newser) – Hillary Clinton yesterday rejected and distanced herself from an official in her campaign who suggested that Barack Obama's teenage drug use could be used against him if he becomes the Democratic nominee. The official's statement "was in no way condoned," Clinton said. "I didn't know about it, and he stepped down."

Campaigning in Iowa, Clinton also denounced as "silly" criticism from within her campaign that although Obama says he hasn't sought the presidency for long, he has long been writing and talking about his presidential ambitions. Her campaign, Clinton emphasized, will focus only on "legitimate differences" between her and other candidates.

Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., left, and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., listen during a debate at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, in this Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., left, and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., listen during a debate at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, in this Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007...   (Associated Press)
Political operative Bill Shaheen gets ready to announce his plans to co-chair Sen. Hillary Clinton's  New Hampshire campaign in Manchester, N.H.,in this  Wednesday, March 21, 2007, file photo. Shaheen resigned Dec. 13, 2007, after making comments that Barack Obama's teenage drug use could make it hard for him...
Political operative Bill Shaheen gets ready to announce his plans to co-chair Sen. Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire campaign in Manchester, N.H.,in this Wednesday, March 21, 2007, file photo. Shaheen...   (Associated Press)
Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks about the mortgage crisis, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007, at the NASDAQ Marketsite in New York. Clinton likes to say she was born in the middle of the country at the middle of the century, in a Chicago suburb that defined a childhood...
Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks about the mortgage crisis, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007, at the NASDAQ Marketsite in New York. Clinton likes to say she was born in the middle...   (Associated Press)
Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., speaks to supporters during a rally at Union Station Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007, in Washington. Clinton likes to say she was born in the middle of the country at the middle of the century, in a Chicago suburb that defined a...
Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., speaks to supporters during a rally at Union Station Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007, in Washington. Clinton likes to say she was born in the...   (Associated Press)
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