A top foreign policy aide to the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has resigned after referring to Obama’s opponent, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), as a “monster.”
{mosads}Speaking to a Scottish newspaper, Samantha Power said, “She is a monster, too – that is off the record – she is stooping to anything.” The newspaper, The Scotsman, printed the remarks Friday.
Power also conceded that the Obama campaign “f***ed up in Ohio,” where Clinton’s campaign regained its footing by winning the state’s primary on Tuesday.
“With deep regret, I am resigning from my role as an advisor the Obama campaign effective today," Power said in a statement. "Last Monday, I made inexcusable remarks that are at marked variance from my oft-stated admiration for Senator Clinton and from the spirit, tenor, and purpose of the Obama campaign. And I extend my deepest apologies to Senator Clinton, Senator Obama, and the remarkable team I have worked with over these long 14 months."
Four of Clinton’s supporters from Congress teamed up on a conference call Friday morning to denounce the comments and urge Power’s removal from the campaign.
“We understand that politics is a contact sport, but the contact should be on the issues between one another and what their differences are politically, not personally,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.).
Power, a Harvard University professor, won a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for a book about foreign policy with respect to genocide.