Senator Clinton, Please Get Some Sleep--or a New Rhetorician

This is no mock outrage.

Although I would like to think that Mrs. Clinton’s evocation of Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination was “an historical reference regarding how late the primary season can go,” I have my concerns.

Point one: Bill Clinton was already the presumptive nominee when he won the California primary in 1992. He had swept Super-Tuesday and he had beat Jerry Brown in April's New York primary; in other words, he was the Democratic nominee in all but name.

Point two: Robert F. Kennedy had won the California primary the night he died, and not the nomination.

Point three: Why did she choose Kennedy as an example when a surfeit of examples exist (e.g., other presidential contenders who continued to fight into the summer exist).

Point four: Why did she use the word assassination? Why even refer to Kennedy’s murder? She could have just said “Robert Kennedy didn’t win the California primary until June,” and that would have been fine.

Remember, please, that Senator Clinton is one hell of a smart, capable woman. At first I thought she might well have had a slip of the tongue—non-stop campaigning is hard work—but she’s said it before (from Wonk):

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.

The funny thing is that after her comment to Time, she ceased referencing Kennedy's murder when discussing the 1968 California Primary to the public. Until today.

And no, she didn’t apologize for her more recent gaffe.

Instead, she issued one of those tedious non-apology apologies in which it sounds like the person who is being offended is somehow at fault: “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” (NYT)

Add to this the fact that Clinton's comment came exactly one week after Huckabee got into a boatload of trouble for his crack about Obama ducking at gunfire…well, she should have known better.

As an aside: is claiming that something is "an historical reference" a new trend in excuse-making? Remember "bin Laden determined to strike in US"? What was Condi Rice's response? Oh, yes. She ignored it--but only because "it was an historical memo." Okay, I guess I'm pushing it there.