Hillary Clinton ushered in the holiday weekend by reminding South Dakota voters that Bobby Kennedy was shot in June of 1968 the night he won the California presidential primary. She’s protested that this was a simple historic observation. True, but because she was explaining why she was sticking around in the 2008 primaries despite Barack Obama’s seemingly insurmountable lead in delegates, many people found this answer crude to the point of being creepy:  What they heard Mrs. Clinton saying was: “Well, anything can happen—Barack could get killed, and I’d have prematurely dismantled my campaign.” Let’s re-roll the tape. Sen. Clinton’s exact words were these:  

“Between my opponent and some in the media, there has been this urgency to end this… And historically that makes no sense. 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.”

Leaving aside that Bill Clinton actually wrapped up the 1992 nomination in March, Hillary’s comment was not just poor politics, it was irrelevant.(In the event of tragedy, Democrats would be more inclined, not less, to turn to Clinton if she bows out gracefully.) Still, it’s clear the harping on Hillary to leave the race has stuck in her craw—and her husband’s, who vented this Sunday.  This sentiment is understandable. But she might have said this instead:                                   

“Many in the media and my own party have urged me to quit, and I suppose they mean well, but I have a question for them: This is the closest primary campaign since 1952—maybe the closest ever. If the person who’s running second in the closest nominating contest in history is supposed to give up as soon as they fall a little behind, why were these primaries scheduled for May or June in the first place? Don’t South Dakotans want to participate? Don’t Montanans? Party leaders punished Michigan and Florida for wanting to move up—and now they want to penalize South Dakotans for honoring the rules. I think the people of this state want to vote, and I hope they will vote for me."