On Friday, Clinton met with the Argus Leader Editorial Board for an interview covering her stance on the issues and the state of her campaign.
Clinton described strategies to encourage alternative energy production and to improve conditions on South Dakota's reservations.She also flatly denied reports that her campaign had been discussing an end to her campaign with Obama's representatives.
Clinton also vowed to keep her campaign going through South Dakota's primary.
But what made headlines nationally was a reference to the assassination of Bobby Kennedy in June 1968. Clinton referred to RFK in explaining that other primary campaigns had stretched into June, as hers will. In fact, she used another in the same breath - her husband's late victory in 1992.
But taken out of context, the reference to assassination was enough to spark a firestorm.
What follows is an edited transcript of the interview with Clinton. Argus Leader Publisher Arnold Garson, Executive Editor Randell Beck, Director of Administration Greg Robinson, Assistant Controller Barb Facile and Voices Editor Nestor Ramos conducted the interview.
Here's the transcript from the point where the Editorial Board begins to "turn the corner" of the direction of their interview questions:
EB: We're going to begin to turn the corner here a little bit with some other areas. Some of the biggest names in Democratic politics in South Dakota are on the Obama side of the ledger - former Senators McGovern and Daschle, for example. Who are your key people in South Dakota?
CLINTON: I just have a lot of grass-roots support. I have a very vigorous volunteer effort that understands the odds that we face but are undeterred. And I am very grateful for that. I think that if you look at this campaign starting in late February moving forward, I've done much better. The longer this campaign has gone on, the better I've done. Which I think is an interesting observation. I lead in the popular vote. More people have now voted for me, not only more than my opponent, but more voted for me than anyone who has ever run for the nomination of a political party in our country. There are a lot of people who really believe in me and support me because they think I would be the best president. I think having the campaign go on until the people in South Dakota actually get to vote is a very important part of democracy. I readily accepted Senator McGovern's offer that Senator Obama and I appear side-by-side. I have accepted that; I have urged that. I think that the people in South Dakota deserve it.
He doesn't seem to want to debate me or even appear on the same stage with me, which I think is kind of strange since he's going to have to certainly do that in the fall, I would expect, if he is our nominee. So I feel very good about my campaign, I'm very grateful for the support that I've received against pretty daunting mountains to climb because people have been declaring it over for many months and voters seem to have a different idea and keep coming out and voting for me, and I hope to do well here in South Dakota.
The EB now asks six consecutive questions that dance around the possibility of Senator Clinton dropping out of the primaries before the Democratic convention.
EB: The reports this morning and overnight were that your campaign had made certain contacts or overtures to Mr. Obama's campaign just in the past 24 hours and were working on some sort of deal for your exit.
CLINTON: That's flatly untrue. Flatly, completely untrue.
EB: No discussions at all.
CLINTON: No discussions at all. At all. Now I can't speak for the 17 million people who voted for me, and I have a lot of supporters. But it is flatly untrue, and it is not anything that I am entertaining. It is nothing I have planned. It is nothing that I am prepared to engage in. I am still vigorously campaigning. I am happy to be here. Looking forward to campaigning here.
Honestly, I just believe that this is the most important job in the world, it's the toughest job in the world. You should be willing to campaign for every vote. You should be willing to debate anytime, anywhere. I think it's an interesting juxtaposition where we find ourselves. I have been willing to do all of that during the entire process and people have been trying to push me out of this ever since Iowa.
EB: Why?
CLINTON: I don't know. I don't know. I find it curious because it is unprecedented in history. I don't understand it. Between my opponent and his camp and some in the media there has been this urgency to end this. Historically, that makes no sense, so I find it a bit of a mystery.
EB: You don't buy the party unity argument?
CLINTON: I don't because, again, I've been around long enough. You know my husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. You know, I just don't understand it and there's lot of speculation about why it is, but . . .
EB: What's your speculation?
CLINTON: You know, I don't know. I find it curious, and I don't want to attribute motives or strategies to people because I don't really know, but it's a historical curiosity to me.
EB: Does it have anything to do with gender?
CLINTON: I don't know that either. I don't know. I'm not one to speculate on that because I think I want to be judged on my own merits and I believe I am, but others have.
Here the EB has six questions about the same issue. Let me paraphrase this Q & A:
Q: Your people and Obama's people gonna do deal so you can bow out now?
A: No.
Q: No discussions about a deal?
A: No.
Q: Why so many trying to push you out of the race?
A: Don't know.
Q: Won'cha just drop out for the sake of party unity?
A: Nope - primaries go through June.
Q: What's your speculation about the speculation why you don't drop out?
A: Don't know.
Q: You speculate it's gender issues?
A: Don't speculate.
Reminder: No; No; Don't know; Nope; Don't know; Don't speculate.
EB: It sounds like what you're saying then is this: That South Dakotans who are certainly thinking ahead to voting on June 3 can be confident that there will be competitive race on the day they vote.
And having permitted her interviewers the prerogative of paraphrasing / parsing HER words, she takes the affirmative voice, and reparaphrases their paraphrasing / parsing:
CLINTON: That's right. That's right. Well, if I have anything to do with it. And the other thing that I want South Dakotans to really think hard about is winning in November. The electoral map is the target here and consistently over the last weeks, I have had a considerable lead in the electoral college calculation over my opponent. And a source that is, perhaps, suspect to all of us as Democrats but seems to have a pretty good track records, Karl Rove does a rolling assessment and ABC News got a hold of his maps and calculations last week. It coincides with everything that I've seen from every other source. If the election were held today, I would win. I would beat McCain, and McCain would defeat Senator Obama.
I respect Senator McCain. He's a friend of mine. But I do not believe that he has the right ideas for our country, and I do not believe he should be the president after George Bush. It would be like a continuation economically and in Iraq of Bush's policies. So I think Democrats need to think very carefully about this vote in South Dakota.
EB: If Obama were the nominee, would you campaign for him in those states?
CLINTON: Absolutely. Absolutely, I've said I will do anything and everything I'm asked to do. I am a Democrat, and I am an American, and I think the damage that George Bush has done to our country is considerable. Therefore, we must have a Democratic president. I think the odds are greater that I would be that president than my opponent. That doesn't mean he can't win.
EB: Fair enough. It sounds like your strategy to win essentially rests now on Michigan and Florida.
CLINTON: No. Neither of us has the delegates we need.
EB: But he's closer than you are.
CLINTON: He's slightly closer than I am, slightly. I mean less than 200 out of 4,400. One of us has to get to 2,210 and neither of us is near there yet. He keeps saying, 'Oh, but I've gotten to 2,025,' but that excludes Michigan and Florida. I don't think it's smart for us to have a nominee based on 48 instead of 50 states. Hopefully, Florida and Michigan will be resolved on May 31st when the DNC Rules Committee meets. But even then, we still have to convince superdelegates. Now, superdelegates are in the process for a purpose. Their task is to exercise independent judgment, and the independent judgment they should exercise is who is the stronger candidate to win in the fall. And, if they exercise that independent judgment, they should look at all the evidence, and they should make their conclusion. I'm waiting to see the electoral map that leads my opponent to the 270 electoral members. That's all I ask, and that's what a superdelegate should ask. Show me the map. It's not the math, it's the map. And I can show you the map about how I put together the 270 electoral votes.
EB: Senator, we really appreciate your time this afternoon.
CLINTON: Well, thank you.
EB: It was great to be able to pick your brain and thank you a lot, we appreciate it much.
CLINTON: My pleasure. Thank you all very much.
