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Hindustan Times – June 16, 2007
Obama apologises for 'Punjab jab' in campaign
By Arun Kumar
Democratic presidential hopeful Barak Obama admits his campaign's Punjab jab against rival Hillary Clinton was a mistake and owns responsibility for the offending memo although he had not seen it before distribution.
"We have taken appropriate action to prevent errors like this from happening in the future," he said on Monday in a statement to South Asians for Obama, in response to the concerns expressed by the Indian American community.
In his first personal response to the outcry against his campaign's "research memo" last week implying that given Clintons' India connections, the former first lady was better suited to represent the state of Punjab, the rising black star said, "I believe that your concerns with the memo are justified."
"To begin with, the memo did not reflect my own views on the importance of America's relationship with India," he said of the document that identified Clinton as "D-Punjab", a play on journalistic shorthand meant to suggest the senator from New York was actually a Democrat representing the Indian state.
"I have long believed that the best way to promote US economic growth and opportunity for American workers is to continually improve the skills of our own workforce and invest in our own scientific research, technological capacity and infrastructure, rather than to try to insulate ourselves from the global economy," Obama said.
"More importantly, the memo's caustic tone, and its focus on contributions by Indian-Americans to the Clinton campaign, was potentially hurtful, and as such, unacceptable. The memo also ignored my own long-standing relationship to - and support from - the Indian-American community," he said.
"In sum, our campaign made a mistake. Although I was not aware of the contents of the memo prior to its distribution, I consider the entire campaign - and in particular myself - responsible for the mistake. We have taken appropriate action to prevent errors like this from happening in the future."
Earlier, during a meeting with Des Moines Register editors and reporters, Obama referred to the memo as "stupid" and "caustic".
"It was a screw-up on the part of our research team. It wasn't anything I had seen or my senior staff had seen," he was quoted as saying by the paper.
The memo, exposed by the Clinton campaign, referred to Clinton's investments in Indian companies and efforts to raise money from members of the Indian-American community.
It cited comments Clinton made to an Indian-American audience in March in which she said, "I can certainly run for the Senate seat in Punjab and win easily."
"That particular quote was a joke, I think, that Hillary Clinton made to an Indian-American audience," Obama told the Register. "The research team thought it would be clever to put that at the top."
Obama continued, "I thought it was stupid and caustic and not only didn't reflect my view of the complicated issue of outsourcing ... it also didn't reflect the fact that I have longstanding support and friendships within the Indian-American community."
"I take responsibility for it, as does our campaign. And we quickly apologised and are communicating that in various circles around the country."
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=82fdd0d4-fe1d-40e5-bde4-c6d26a943f61
THE Washington Times – June 19, 2007
Obama blames staff for memo
By Christina Bellantoni
Sen. Barack Obama yesterday blamed his campaign staff for crafting an opposition research document aimed at rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a memo that prompted accusations he is practicing the kind of negative campaigning he regularly assails.
It's the latest in a string of incidents in which the Illinois Democrat has distanced himself from actions taken by his staff, while his opponents say Mr. Obama's campaign is obviously employing tactics that top campaign officials and the candidate himself have said they wouldn't use.
The memo -- given to reporters Thursday -- outlined some of the disclosures filed on financial forms for Mrs. Clinton, New York Democrat, and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and highlighted the couple's ties to India and Indian-Americans.
The memo "was a screw-up on the part of our research team," Mr. Obama told the Des Moines Register yesterday. "It wasn't anything I had seen or my senior staff had seen."
The Obama campaign declined to comment further, but the senator issued a statement yesterday addressed to the Indian-American community, whose leaders took offense at the contents of the memo. Mr. Obama apologized and said he considers himself responsible.
"Our campaign made a mistake. Although I was not aware of the contents of the memo prior to its distribution, I consider the entire campaign -- and in particular myself -- responsible for the mistake. We have taken appropriate action to prevent errors like this from happening in the future," Mr. Obama said in the statement.
"Your concerns with the memo are justified," Mr. Obama said, adding it "did not reflect my own views on the importance of America's relationship with India" and noting its "caustic tone" was "potentially hurtful and, as such, unacceptable."
The initial memo, an opposition research document, referred to Mrs. Clinton as "D-Punjab," a twist on a joke she made in March 2006 that she has such a good relationship with the Indian community that she could be elected as the senator from the Indian state. The memo also suggested the Clintons are too closely tied to companies that outsource to India.
The document was first given out by Obama staffers only on background as from a "rival campaign." A Clinton staffer got a copy of the memo and sent it to reporters, forcing the Obama campaign to acknowledge its origin.
For many politicians, these types of memos are considered business as usual, but since Mr. Obama began his 2008 White House bid he has promised a "different" kind of politics with an elevated message of bringing people together.
The U.S.-India Political Action Committee sent a letter to Mr. Obama on Friday, accusing his campaign of using racial stereotypes.
"We have been encouraged by your message of inclusion and your promise to bring a new kind of politics to our country," the letter read. "This is why we are so concerned about media reports indicating your staff may be engaging in the worst kind of anti-Indian American stereotyping."
The senator also has criticized his staff for poor planning, telling a group of firefighters in May that he couldn't attend their meeting because his aides botched the scheduling.
"They heard from me a little bit because I wasn't happy I couldn't be there personally," he told the group in a conference call, CNN reported……
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20070619-121829-1752r.htm
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