That didn’t take long, did it now? Via Talking Points Memo...
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) blamed the media at a press conference on Thursday morning for instigating and perpetuating the disagreement between himself and rival Hillary Clinton about their respective qualifications for the highest political office in America.
"So when, you have headlines in the Washington Post, 'Clinton questions whether Sanders is qualified to be president,' my response is well, you know, if you want to question my qualifications, let me suggest this," Sanders said. "That maybe the American people might wonder about your qualifications, Madam Secretary, when you voted for the war in Iraq, the most disastrous foreign policy blunder in the modern history of America." [...]
Sanders stressed that he was not willingly entering this "type of politics."
"This is not the type of politics that I want to get in, I know it's what the media loves," Sanders said in reference to Clinton and Sanders trading barbs. "It is not the type of politics that I want to get in, but let me also be very clear. If Secretary Clinton thinks that I just come from the small state of Vermont, we are not used to this, we will get used to it fast."
...which kinda makes everything worse. Democrats are outraged at his remarks. Republicans are saying they’re dumb and dishonest.
What’s needed right now isn’t some slop about how he was led by the nose, a blameless victim, into one of the biggest debacles of his entire campaign.
Rather, what’s needed is a simple apology and a strong walk-back by Senator Sanders himself. That would be the statesman-like thing to do, to affirm that no matter whom the party nominates, that person will be fit to govern. Hillary Clinton did just that, can he?
This is not a game or something trivial. Sanders wants to lead the most powerful nation on earth. If he can’t admit a mistake or apologize for it – which is what blame-shifting inevitably amounts to – his qualifications may be fine. It’s his character that becomes a matter of debate.
President Harry Truman famously said that “the buck stops here”. Where does it stop with Senator Sanders?