"Sen. Hillary Clinton said Friday that she regretted comments that evoked the June 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy as part of her explanation for why she was staying in the presidential race late into the primary season.
Earlier Friday afternoon, she told the editorial board of the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Argus Leader that 'My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it,' she said. Clinton complained that 'people have been trying to push me out of this ever since Iowa' and said that position 'historically ... makes no sense.'
Later at an event in Brandon, South Dakota, she said, 'Earlier today, I was discussing the Democratic primary history and in the course of that discussion mentioned the campaigns that both my husband and Sen. Kennedy waged in California in June in 1992 and 1968, and I was referencing those to make the point that we have had nominating primary contests that go into June. That's an historic fact.'
'The Kennedys have been much on my mind in the last days because of Sen. 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,' Clinton added.
The campaign of her rival for the Democratic nomination for president, Sen. Barack Obama, reacted quickly. 'Sen. Clinton's statement before the Argus Leader editorial board was unfortunate and has no place in this campaign,' it said in a statement....
Friday night, Kennedy's son, Robert Kennedy, Jr., released a statement that said he understands the point Clinton was making and said it would be a mistake to be offended. 'I have heard her make this reference before, also citing her husband's 1992 race, both of which were hard-fought through June,' he said. 'I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it is a mistake for people to take offense.'
Also Friday, the Clinton campaign released a statement from Randell Beck, the newspaper's executive editor, saying Clinton was answering a question about whether her continued campaigning threatens party unity so close to the Democratic convention. 'Her reference to Mr. Kennedy's assassination appeared to focus on the timeline of his primary candidacy and not the assassination itself,' Beck said in the statement."
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/23/clinton.comments/index.html