02-10-2009, 02:46 AM
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/books/354796_power13.html
What is the biggest lesson you have learned in the aftermath of your controversial comments about Hillary Clinton?
Well (pauses) ... what is so abhorrent about my comments is not only are they hurtful and hateful; they don't reflect my real views of Senator Clinton. These are not thoughts I had been having alone in my own home, storing up to vent over these 14 months.
I really just had one of those bad moments when you lose your temper and you say something that sticks. It sticks out there as something associated with Senator Clinton and also with me -- all because of me.
What is the lesson? The lesson is that I wish somebody would invent a device that would allow me to go back in time. (Chuckles.) People keep saying to me that the lesson is: Don't say anything off the record. But I think the real lesson is don't say hateful and hurtful things anywhere. I know that sounds too ponderous. You got to keep control of your temper and not let the heat of the campaign ... cause those sentiments to bubble up in you.
Does your mistake, even with your apologies to both campaigns, disqualify you from taking a position in an Obama administration, if there is one? Has this done irreparable harm to your future prospects in political affairs?
I don't know at all what the future holds. I should get more sleep, drink more chamomile tea, do more yoga (laughs). ... When I left Harvard to work for Obama in 2005, I just wanted to be of some marginal use, bringing what I had learned in the field into the political domain. I made a profound rookie mistake that I regret. ... I will continue supporting Senator Obama. I still believe he would make the best president. That is where my focus is now. Beyond that, I have no idea.
What is the biggest lesson you have learned in the aftermath of your controversial comments about Hillary Clinton?
Well (pauses) ... what is so abhorrent about my comments is not only are they hurtful and hateful; they don't reflect my real views of Senator Clinton. These are not thoughts I had been having alone in my own home, storing up to vent over these 14 months.
I really just had one of those bad moments when you lose your temper and you say something that sticks. It sticks out there as something associated with Senator Clinton and also with me -- all because of me.
What is the lesson? The lesson is that I wish somebody would invent a device that would allow me to go back in time. (Chuckles.) People keep saying to me that the lesson is: Don't say anything off the record. But I think the real lesson is don't say hateful and hurtful things anywhere. I know that sounds too ponderous. You got to keep control of your temper and not let the heat of the campaign ... cause those sentiments to bubble up in you.
Does your mistake, even with your apologies to both campaigns, disqualify you from taking a position in an Obama administration, if there is one? Has this done irreparable harm to your future prospects in political affairs?
I don't know at all what the future holds. I should get more sleep, drink more chamomile tea, do more yoga (laughs). ... When I left Harvard to work for Obama in 2005, I just wanted to be of some marginal use, bringing what I had learned in the field into the political domain. I made a profound rookie mistake that I regret. ... I will continue supporting Senator Obama. I still believe he would make the best president. That is where my focus is now. Beyond that, I have no idea.