The "Monster" Lies Once More

March 18, 2008, 3:54 pm
Clinton on Obama’s Speech: I Haven’t Heard It

By Patrick Healy

PHILADELPHIA -– Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared at Philadelphia’s City Hall this afternoon, a few hours after Senator Barack Obama delivered a major speech on race not far from here. But despite the speech’s high profile and intense media coverage of it, Mrs. Clinton said at a news conference she had not heard it yet or read the text.

Many reporters muttered in disbelief during and after her remarks, surprised that a candidate as diligent as Mrs. Clinton -– who always talked about being well-prepared and doing her homework -– would not have read the speech yet. The fact that she was not prepared to comment on it, however, will keep the race issue alive for at least another news cycle, since reporters will keep seeking her reaction.

In her opening remarks, Mrs. Clinton said she was “very glad” Mr. Obama had made his speech, given that she said that race had been a “complicated” issue in America that had been marked by “pitfalls” and “detours.” Asked why she was glad, she said that issues of race and gender are “important” and twice called them “difficult issues.”

Asked if she thought Mr. Obama had done enough to denounce racially divisive remarks made by his pastor, the Rev, Jeremiah Wright, Mrs. Clinton replied, “I think that question should be directed at him” -– referring to Mr. Obama.

She was also asked if she could do anything more to tamp down the issue of race in the campaign, since some Obama supporters have blamed her campaign for stirring it up. She said she and Mr. Obama have called truces on numerous occasions, and added that “we have admonished our staffs and supporters” to avoid incendiary language.

In response to another question, Mrs. Clinton said she was not sure if she would deliver a speech that was similar to Mr. Obama’s.

“I don’t know, I haven’t read it, I have to think about it,” she said.

The bulk of the news conference dealt with Mrs. Clinton’s familiar positions on the Iraq war and the economy, such as withdrawing American troops from Iraq and dealing with the home foreclosure crisis. She also appeared here with former Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife, Valerie Plame Wilson, who have been locked in legal and political battles with Vice President Dick Cheney and his former top aide, Lewis “Scooter” Libby, over Mr. Wilson’s criticism of prewar Iraq weaponry intelligence and the unmasking of Mrs. Wilson as a covert C.I.A. officer.

Mrs. Clinton also noted that about 11,000 page of her daily schedule as First Lady were set to be released on Wednesday –- evidence, she said, that she was a transparent and accessible candidate, an image the Obama campaign has challenged.

“I think I’m the most transparent person in public life,” she said. She added that 60 books have been written about her, “much of it untrue but nevertheless out there.”

“This will be an exciting day for all of you,” she said to reporters about the release of the documents, with just a touch of sarcasm in her voice. “There will be a lot more that can fill many archives and warehouses across the world.”