Bill: I didn't hear Hillary 'whining'
Posted: Thursday, April 17, 2008 5:13 PM by Mark Murray
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
ST. MARY'S, PA -- Bill Clinton has been talking all day about how great he thought last night's debate was. At his most recent stop, he pushed back at some of the complaints coming from the Obama campaign, saying his wife didn't whine when she took some hits.
"[Obama staffers] were saying, 'Oh this is so negative, why are they doing this.' Well, they've been beatin' up on her for 15 months," Clinton said. "I didn't hear her whining when he said she was untruthful in Iowa, or called her the senator from Punjab... But you know, this is a contact sport. If you don't want to play, keep your uniform off."
Clinton also noted that the Obama camp has "said some pretty rough things about me, too," and shortly after again pushed back against the sentiment that there wasn't much difference between his or the Bush Administration.
"They've been trying to make that old mangy dog hunt since Nevada," he said.
He did say, though, that the race so far "has been basically positive campaign on the issues."
The stop in this small town was the third of the day, and the first to be held outdoors in the Keystone State. Much of the town turned out, either huddled in front of the three story house or standing in the street.
It was a very supportive crowd, as well, laughing at even the oldest of Clinton quips and loudly cheering the most simple stump line. And appropriately, given Clinton's comment, the campaign music playlist included a new addition before and after his speech -- the theme from "Rocky."
According to one local reporter, the visit by Clinton was the first by a sitting or former president in at least a century. Harry Truman did pass through when he was a senator from Missouri; Teddy Roosevelt passed nearby the town as he traveled by train to Washington shortly after President McKinley was shot in Buffalo.
