A truce?

Posted: Monday, January 14, 2008 7:47 PM by Mark Murray

From NBC's Mark Murray
Hillary Clinton just released this statement: “Over this past week, there has been a lot of discussion and back and forth - much of which I know does not reflect what is in our hearts. And at this moment, I believe we must seek common ground. Our party and our nation is bigger than this. Our party has been on the front line of every civil rights movement, women's rights movement, workers' rights movement, and other movements for justice in America.

More: “We differ on a lot of things. And it is critical to have the right kind of discussion on where we stand. But when it comes to civil rights and our commitment to diversity, when it comes to our heroes -- President John F. Kennedy and Dr. King -- Senator Obama and I are on the same side. And in that spirit, let's come together, because I want more than anything else to ensure that our family stays together on the front lines of the struggle to expand rights for all Americans.”

*** UPDATE *** Apologies for not seeing this earlier (we're preparing for tomorrow night's debate on MSNBC), but Obama was the first to extend the proverbial olive branch. Per the AP, "Obama was the first to try and quell the controversy that flared in the Democratic campaign in recent days, calling reporters together to say he didn't want the campaign 'to degenerate into so much tit-for-tat, back-and-forth that we lose sight of why all of us are doing this.' Referring to Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards, he said that while they may have disagreements, 'we share the same goals. We're all Democrats, we all believe in civil rights, we all believe in equal rights.'"

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Comments

Let's hear her denounce Johnson's obscene comment from yesterday. Then, she can make nice.

SJF (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 7:54 PM)

Obama already held a press conference, saying similar things. Too bad Hillary didn't say this stuff on Meet the Press!

Adam, Pittsburgh, PA (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 7:54 PM)

Do we really need this? He's the firwt black, she's the first woman.

How about who is best to lead out country?

McCain.

Timothy, Philadelphia (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 7:56 PM)

absolutely hysterical! obama has a news conference this afternoon damping down the whole controversy, and here comes mrs. unoriginal trying to sound magnanimous, once again following the leader. give us a break already! you and your lying hubby didn't have anything to say about bob johnson this morning, and if obama hadn't have made his usually classy statements on the flap earlier today, you'd still be silent. oooh, silence from the clintons ... what a concept. maybe it'll stick!

sickofitall (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 7:58 PM)

This statement came out AFTER Barack Obama's call for a truce. Please correct.

Huh (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 7:58 PM)

Obama is truly presidential and has enormous amounts of character. I'm glad he finally chose to stand up and bring this to an end. I think it's great that the Clinton campaign was able to come out quickly afterwards and agree with him.

Real change! A -real- end to partisan bickering... Obama will take us there, and this is just one more example why.

Ron, TX (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 7:58 PM)

Obama actually made the offer first... see http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/01/14/obama-calls-truce-with-clinton/

Eric Olson, Hyattsville, MD (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:00 PM)

Mark, please report the facts. Obama put out a similar statement before Clinton did. Do not give her the credit for this. Once again she is following what Obamam does.

Greg (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:03 PM)

Mark, please report the facts. Obama put out a similar statement before Clinton did. Do not give her the credit for this. Once again she is following what Obama does.

Greg (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:03 PM)

Actually, Obama was the first to extend the truce:

"I don't want the campaign in this stage to degenerate into so much tit-for-tat back-and-forth that we lose sight why all of us are doing this," he said. "If I hear my own supporters engaging in talk that I think is ungenerous or misleading, or in some way is unfair, then I will speak out forcefully against them, and I hope the other campaigns take the same approach."

Hillary's "truce" came after Obama's statement. Just FYI since you at MSNBC didn't make not of this important fact AT ALL.

Read http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/ for a more balanced point of view on this.

Kevin, SF CA (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:05 PM)

This story implies that Senator Clinton initiated a truce when in fact, this statement is in response to a press conference Barack Obama held more than two hours ago calling for a truce.

Matt Hinds, Beaumont, TX (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:07 PM)

This is rich. I'd like to believe she means it, but after her comments, those of her husband, and those of her surrogates, it's pretty tough. She's going to have to change quite a bit to get this Democrat to vote for her, should she be the party's nominee in November. I doubt this truce lasts past the official MLK holiday.

chuck (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:08 PM)

This is from Politico, namely Ben Smith's blog, located at Http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/.

"Carrie Budoff Brown has some key quotes from an Obama avail this afternoon in Reno, where he tried to put to rest the racially-charged name-calling.

'You have seen a tone on the Democrat[ic] side of the campaign that has been unfortunate. I want to stipulate a couple of things. I may disagree with Senator Clinton and Senator Edwards on how to get there, but we share the same goals. We all believe in civil rights. We all believe in equal rights. They are good people. They are patriots....
I don't want the campaign at this stage to degenerate to so much tit-for-tat, back-and-forth, that we lose sight of why we are doing this.

Obama said he wants to send "a strong signal to my own supporters that let’s try to focus on the work that needs to get done. If I hear my own supporters engaging in talk that I think is ungenerous or misleading or unfair, I will speak out forcefully against it....

Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have historically been on the right side of civil rights issues. They care about the African American community.… That is something I am convinced of. I want Americans to know that is my assessment.'

His surrogates and a spokeswoman have, it's worth noting, participated in the recent round of criticism of the Clintons, and in the suggestions that the Clintons have engaged in a "pattern" of racially-charged comments."

Dem Above All Else (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:08 PM)

Actually Barack released a statement earlier today, so don't give Hillary credit for trying to clean up this mess that she started in the first place.
This is what Barack said,
"You have seen a tone on the Democrat[ic] side of the campaign that has been unfortunate. I want to stipulate a couple of things. I may disagree with Senator Clinton and Senator Edwards on how to get there, but we share the same goals. We all believe in civil rights. We all believe in equal rights. They are good people. They are patriots....

I don't want the campaign at this stage to degenerate to so much tit-for-tat, back-and-forth, that we lose sight of why we are doing this.

Obama said he wants to send "a strong signal to my own supporters that let’s try to focus on the work that needs to get done. If I hear my own supporters engaging in talk that I think is ungenerous or misleading or unfair, I will speak out forcefully against it....

Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have historically been on the right side of civil rights issues. They care about the African American community.… That is something I am convinced of. I want Americans to know that is my assessment."

Tom, Sioux City, IA (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:08 PM)

Good for you Hillary. Someone has to be the bigger person and speak out. Do not want to divides us going toward general election. I back you 100% Hillary 08

voter (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:10 PM)

It's about time. She should have thrown in the towel a long time ago! Now we can move on to what really matters (i.e. icking a president). Hillary was stupdid enough to make the statement about MLK in the first place then she puts up a weak attempt to drag Obama into the mud with her by using ball-less surrogates like Bob Johnson? The American people are smarter than this. We are tired of her games and we see right through her. We need someone who will unite, not divide, especially along racial lines where we are already divided enough.

J, Santa Rosa, CA (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:12 PM)

Please include Obama's statement, which was made before Clinton's.

Brian, Seattle, WA (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:17 PM)

Well, since both Senators Obama and Clinton have called a "truce" hopefully that will put an end to the topic. Now perhaps media attention can focus of the candidates' stands on the issues. I, for one, would like to know more about the Obama economic plan that was given little attention yesterday.

Dot, Illinois (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:18 PM)

obama was the first to call a truce chuck...maybe you wanna mention that instead of being bias

hillary's statement came AFTER obama called for a truce both in a memo and during a rally

Sean, Chicago, IL (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:22 PM)

Someone should tar and feature NBC's Mark Murray for really horrible reporting. He didn't even mention Obama's offer, let alone mention that he was first.

How can we ever trust Mark Murray to give us any kind of objective reporting of events? Mark Murray should fix this blog post.

Kevin, SF CA (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:22 PM)

Let's see, Hillary spends the better part of a week lying, dissembling and distorting Obama's words and record. Another one of her surrogates makes comments that can only be viewed as repulsive and she, along with the surrogate, lies to everyone about the meaning behind his words. Then, she asks for a "truce" as if there were ever any shots fired at her to begin with. What a great leader!

It saddens me that I will not be able to vote for her if she's the nominee and still have any self-respect left. I've spent 16 years liking, appreciating, and defending Hillary against what I saw were vicious and unfounded attacks. I've always liked Hillary and, until the last week, was determined to support her in the general election.

After 8 years of waiting for a Democratic president, as things stand now, I can't do it and have any sense of self-respect left. If she's losing Democrats, how's she going to do w/ Independents and Republicans?

chuck (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:23 PM)

Who cares who said what first. They both agree on something I totally agree on, that is, we do not want to inject or fuel this whole race issue/controversy into what is supposed to be critical issues facing our nation. Thank God this idiocy is put to rest by both candidates. Let's get to the real issues.

Victor (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:26 PM)

OBAMA CALLED THE TRUCE FIRST!!!!!! HRC accepted. So, who is ready to lead from day one?????? (See TIME's "The Page" by Mark Halperin)

Michele, Katy, Texas (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:27 PM)

OBVIOUSLY you're preparing for the debates. You've been fanning this flame for two days just so you could get more ratings for your debate.

We get it.

adam / Brooklyn NY (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:31 PM)

I don't think this is genuine on the part of Obama. Clearly, he is shaken by the whole thing backfiring at him.

J, Ca (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:31 PM)

J, CA it was backfiring on Clinton not Obama.

sonya, atlanta, ga (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:38 PM)

What a surprise. The Democrats fighting among themselves. They have been doing that all their lives and that is the beauty and exzcitement of the party. In the words of Will Rogers about 80 years ago, "I belong to no organized political party. I am a Democrat." Fight, scrap, accuse, defend, intelligence, discussion, opinion and other such words are the hallmark of the Democratic Party and the country has always benefited from these intelligent battlers. It would be a pity if the country were to be entrusted to the group of lock step, we think alike, take the word "Tax" out of the English Language and we can't complete a sentence, war mongering, fear spreading, empty suited Neanderthals that stride across the Republican stage. Democrats look to the future; Republicans shake their heads and mutter unendingly "Dire consequences, dire consequences, dire consequences..."

Lee Delaney, Las Vegas (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:38 PM)

Just goes to show IT TAKES A MAN to turn the other cheek given the abuse Barack had to absorb from the Clinton Tag Team.

Surely sad that after spending an hour attacking Barack on Meet The Press, that she had to acknowledge to go positive after Barack's generous offer to go so.

Karl Rove would be so proud of Hillary.

RobK, Seattle, Wash. (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:41 PM)

Barack and Hillary? Best qualified? Not a chance. Most whiney? Absolutely!

Jon Brady (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:43 PM)

J, if this thing were backfiring on Obama, the Clintons would not drop the issue. Trust me.

J. Franklin, Denver, CO (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:43 PM)

If any of us Barack supporter's think 1st read is gonna change this thread to the Real Truth of who initiated this so-called Truce, we're sadly Mistaken. An Update at the bottom of the Thread don't cut it. However, since this connection of Intertubes, we don't need 1st read to find the Truth, we can with the click of a button.

Barack Obama for President!!!!!

Rick,ky (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:48 PM)

THANK YOU MSNBC! I was getting concerned you guys had suffered a lobectomy yesterday.
Obama was brought into this HIllary drama buy her error on Meet The Press. There is no race debate, it's Hillary saying things before thinking about how they're coming out of her mouth.

Hillary needs to come forward and say that she made in error in stating that Obama "distorted" her statements, that is COMPLETELY false!! He didn't enter into this discussion until she mentioned his name, again erroneously on Meet the Press. She also needs to come forward to denounce what Bob Johnson said, and I can't even believe she would want an endorsement from such an obscene womanizer...have any of you seen BET when he was in charge? It was disgusting!

Give Obama credit where it's due and request Hillary to come forward and admit her mistakes.

Stop giving Hillary a pass in the media.

OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT. Someone who is not about the drama and theatrics and media spin, but about the REAL ISSUES for REAL PEOPLE!

GO OBAMA!

Dr. Ashley, Chicago, IL (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:52 PM)

J, Ca: In order for something to backfire, you have to shoot. When did Obama shoot? It was the media that pointed out the weirdness (at best) of the Clinton comments.

Adam, Pittsburgh, PA (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:53 PM)

Glad to see that the vast majority of the blogosphere (at least this small segment of it) has gotten it right.

BTW, I love the way that the media is trying to push some Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama fusion ticket (that's fusion of good and evil, as far as I'm concerned). LOL, that will never happen. The Clinton ego would never accept second place on a ticket and not only would Obama not compromise himself by associating with the Clinton machine but he would refuse to play second fiddle to a de facto Bill Clinton vice presidency.
Obama '08

Mitchell Feldman, Vestal, NY (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:54 PM)

Two Washington self serving paperhangers throwing a little mud?? Both are ""NOT qualified to lead a scout troop, let alone this nation. They show immaturity and false self serving agenda. Promises which they have no command to place on congress, because the major issues have already been tabled or swept under the carpet by the other self serving paper hangers.

Like two little brats in a sand box, one gloats while the other sobs because she has sand in her mouth! Christ""get real!!!

The slander and low life statements are of meager minds, not that of one who has leadership traits, their intent to insult by gender or race proves to the people their inner being! This gender card is all washed up, the election is to select a president not a common immoral bimbo who portrays she is wrong about nothing, commands issues as she is the lone invention of how to solve major! question being: If she is the great problem solver then why is it """she has failed in congress along with the socialist gang bang club of jackasses she belongs with????

HRC, is a open insult ""ELECTABLE HELL NO""""!!!!!!

FACTS (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 8:59 PM)

Yay, we got them to update the blog posting to better reflect reality. This Internet thing is neat!

Kevin, SF CA (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 9:03 PM)

Clean up this blog post... leaving the incorrect info at the top is not good enough.

James Wichita KS (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 9:07 PM)

Apologies? All working on the debate? Give the readers some credit. You men are not reporters, you just past on emails from campaigns. I guess the NBC political director should pay more attention to his "employees" instead of so much time with his BS on TV.

David, Chattanooga, Tn (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 9:07 PM)

Once again Hillary can never make a decision on her own....

Senator Obama was the First Person to step up and call for an end to all this ugliness...

And then Hillary Clinton FOLLOWS...She has always and will continue to be a follower who NEVER LEADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

justwaitandsee (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 9:16 PM)

Obama is dealing with dirty politics:

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/01/calling-all-ind.html

Obama calls for a truce because he sees that his lies are blowing up in his face. What a hypocrite.

Tareli, Fuquay Varina NC (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 9:16 PM)

Why can't American's wake up! This latest manufactured scandal is just that! Bush has just secured an arms deal with the Saudi's to the tune of 20 billion dollars! Weren't 11 of the 12 highjackers Saudis? This is whitewash to keep the people distracted from Bush's middle east trip.

P.D. (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 9:24 PM)

No matter what happens in this campaign, Senator Obama continues to demonsrate to me that my trust in him is well placed.

Nashville_fan (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 9:31 PM)

Please write a new post about Obama calling a truce. Hillary deserves no credit for accepting it, naturally she would do so or look extremely petty. Obama stepped up and proved his character here and he deserves more credit than an "Update: Oh sorry Obama said it first"

Mark Morris, Cupertino CA (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 9:33 PM)

george soros sat them both down and tolds them to make nice,cause he didn't want his millions wasted this time on a republician winning After funding a bogus iraq report georgie us getting of losing his money

Hillary+Obama sitting in a tree (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 9:55 PM)

Who cares? Neither Clinton or Obama is showing any real leadership in this campaign. It isn't about being black or a woman -- it is about what is happening in the good old USA, and all of the really important leadership has come from John Edwards. He has led on health care, on prohibiting added nuclear and coal-fired energy plants, on trade and the economy and on other issues. Edwards is the candidate who has made it okay to be a liberal\progressive in this election cycle. This stuff about race and gender is simply distracting from the real issues. Why don't you Obama\Clinton supporters challenge them on the issues? Ask them why they support nuclear energy, ask them about the Kyl\Lieberman amendment, ask them about NAFTA and current trade deals, ask them about Povery in the US, ask them about New Orleans,......

Edwards die-hard (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 10:02 PM)

This was all created by the media and anyone blaming anyone else is ridiculous. The first time I heard it was Donna Brazile on CNN spouting off about Bill Clinton's "fairy tale" comment. Perhaps she should have read the entire quote, and then she would've realized he was talking about a specific item and not Obama's campaign for president. By then, however, it was too late, for the media has to have been waiting for this since the campaign started way back whenever it started.

That all being said, I think it was handled very poorly by the Clinton campaign. They said some things that were either taken out of context or clipped, and instead of trying to set the media straight, they immediately began pointing the finger at the Obama camp. Thank you Senator Obama for stopping this nonsense before it escalated even further!

Anderson, Savoy, IL (Sent Monday, January 14, 2008 10:03 PM)

Bam Bam and Hillarious are the traveling circus.

I hope they both campaign at circus circus, there a couple of real clowns.

Wade Enns Miami, Florida (Sent Tuesday, January 15, 2008 1:33 AM)

Obama started the whole thing by playing the race card. I have lost respect for him. He is a great Orator. Knows how to say the words to the inspire the people who feel deprived. No more drug users as President for me. I want to know what drugs he used and for how long. Not a good image for our children to look up to. Say goodby to my vote Obama.

Mutzie, Kenosha, Wi. (Sent Tuesday, January 15, 2008 1:59 AM)

January 14, 2008,
Clinton Receives Tepid Reception at MLK Event
By Patrick Healy

“Hillary is very good – she’s a Christian woman, she’s been to my church – but Obama is so fresh and brilliant,” Ms. Tabb added. “We’ve got a woman and a black man. It’s hard. But I’ll probably go with Obama. He’s the one who gets me really excited.”

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/clinton-receives-tepid-reception-at-mlk-event/

Marbw (Sent Tuesday, January 15, 2008 3:32 AM)

That little update is not enough. Yesterday Athena also reported that Clinton spoke at an MLK event, but initially failed to report about the booing she received until people called that out in the comments. This is not responsible reporting. This site is definitely not my "first read" if I want accurate news.

Anne, Columbus, OH (Sent Tuesday, January 15, 2008 6:56 AM)

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