Clintons Try Easing Racial Flap

Bill Clinton was in damage control mode yesterday, going on Al Sharpton’s radio show to clear the air over remarks that some have called racially insensitive. Clinton offended by calling Obama’s campaign a “fairy tale,” but Bill says he was referring to Obama’s statements on an Iraq vote. Clinton backers meanwhile attacked Obama for aggravating the issue, the Washington Post reports.

A memo turned up yesterday listing racially-charged comments from the Clinton camp, including Hillary’s statements praising Lyndon Johnson over Martin Luther King. Obama’s people deny involvement, but Clinton surrogates accuse them of fanning racial flames. “I personally was offended that they think the African American community is going to be blinded,” said black Ohio Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones. (More Bill Clinton stories.)