Clintons rushed to reach Clyburn on race controversy

Seeking to quell the fight between the presidential campaigns of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), former President Bill Clinton spoke to House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) within an hour of the lawmaker returning from a 10-day trip abroad.

{mosads}Over the past few days, surrogates of the campaigns have traded accusations of whether the camps of the two leading candidates are trying to make race an issue in the Democratic nominating process.

Clyburn, who also noted that he “has no plans to make an endorsement,” also spoke with Obama and Hillary Clinton upon his return, he said Monday night on PBS’s “The Charlie Rose Show.” It is unclear who initiated the conversations, though Clyburn suggested that Bill Clinton reached out to him, saying he “heard” from the ex-president.

The swiftness with which the Clintons reached out to the lawmaker, who has remained neutral in the race for the nomination but said he was not pleased with statements from the campaign of the former first lady, highlights the urgency and importance of the issue.

“We talked about the unfortunate circumstances that we find ourselves in,” Clyburn, who is black, said with regard to his conversation with the former president. The lawmaker pledged to Bill Clinton that he would do his “level best to help get us beyond this, because this campaign is about change.”

Clyburn characterized the Clintons as “remorseful” over what has transpired since the senator made a remark that some have interpreted to belittle the accomplishment of Martin Luther King Jr.

Obama told Clyburn that he “would love for this to get behind us,” the lawmaker said in the interview.

Clinton issued a statement Monday expressing the same sentiment.

“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,” the former first lady stated. “And at this moment, I believe we must seek common ground.”

She added that “when it comes to civil rights and our commitment to diversity, when it comes to our heroes —President John F. Kennedy and Dr. King — Sen. Obama and I are on the same side.”

Clyburn, whose comments from abroad on the matter were widely published and resulted in speculation about whether he might endorse Obama as a result, said he is “hopeful now that this little episode will get behind us very soon, and we can go back to talking about which one of these three people [Obama, Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina] will best represent the interests of the Democratic Party as we go into the general elections.”