Obama adviser quits after calling Clinton "a monster"
An aide to Barack Obama has been forced to quit
Friday, 07, Mar 2008 10:15
An aide to the Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has quit over a comment she made to a Scottish newspaper calling Hillary Clinton "a monster".
The Scotsman newspapers quoted Samantha Power as saying: "She is a monster, too – that is off the record – she is stooping to anything."
Robert Gibbs, Mr Obama's communication director, confirmed today that Ms Power had decided to resign from her post.
"She made the decision to resign and we accepted it," he said.
Ms Power had been an aide to the Democrat candidate in his Senate office before signing on as a foreign policy adviser to his presidential campaign.
The comments will cause great embarrassment to Mr Obama who has said throughout his campaign that he believes there is no place in politics for bickering and has accused his rival Ms Clinton of negative campaigning.
Before her announcement to resign, Ms Power issued an apology saying: "These comments do not reflect my feelings about Senator Clinton, whose leadership and public service I have long admired.
"I should not have made these comments and I deeply regret them. It is wrong for anyone to pursue this campaign in such negative and personal terms. I apologise to Senator Clinton and to Senator Obama, who has made very clear that these kinds of expressions should have no place in American politics."
Mr Obama and Ms Clinton are currently involved in a drawn out battle to see who will become the Democrat's nominee to face Republican John McCain in November's presidential election.