Clinton: Kerrey was paying compliment

By Ed Tibbetts | Monday, December 17, 2007

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said today former Sen. Bob Kerrey’s invoking of rival Barack Obama’s middle name over the weekend had no ulterior motive.

Kerrey endorsed Clinton on Sunday and, while complimenting Obama, used his middle name, “Hussein.” The Illinois senator’s critics use that name, too, although usually in a derisive context.

There has been speculation today, over the Internet and in some mainstream media outlets, that the use of the name was a sly way of bringing up rumors that Obama is a Muslim. He’s not; he’s a Christian.

In a meeting with the Quad-City Times editorial board, Clinton said Kerrey’s use of Obama’s full name was nothing more than part of a compliment.

“I think the remarks were very positive,” Clinton said. “I know Bob. He was being very complimentary of Sen. Obama. He was making a point that Sen. Obama makes himself all the time, that because of his upbringing and his heritage he is, in his view, very well suited to communicate with the rest of the world. And he has just said himself that he wants to have a particular outreach to the Islamic world. So I think Sen. Kerrey was being, you know, very generous in what he said.”

Kerrey, while expressing his hope that Clinton would get elected, said Sunday that Obama has talents that shouldn’t be wasted.

“It’s probably not something that appeals to him, but I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim,” Kerrey said. “There’s a billion people on the planet that are Muslims, and I think that experience is a big deal.”

He also complimented Obama for having a great intellect.

Kerrey has since told reporters he had no cynical motive for using Obama’s full name.