The bitter back-and-forth between former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama has led a prominent black lawmaker to tell the former president Monday to "chill a little bit."
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House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, one of the most powerful African Americans in Congress, weighed in on the feud Monday, saying it was time for Bill Clinton to watch his words.
Bill Clinton has delivered full-throated attacks on Obama in recent days, accusing him of overstating his opposition to the war in Iraq, complaining about Obama's union supporters in the Nevada caucuses last weekend and blasting his relatively mild praise for Republican icon Ronald Reagan during a Las Vegas newspaper interview.
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"I think they would say in 'Gullah Geechee' country he needs to chill a little bit. I hope he understands what that means," Clyburn told CNN.
"I can understand him wanting to defend his wife's honor and his own record, and that is to be expected. But you can't do that in a way that won't engender the kind of feelings that seem to be bubbling up as a result of this."
"Gullah Geechee" refers to African Americans who live in South Carolina's Low Country region near the Atlantic coast.
"He is revered in many sections of the African- American community, and I think he can afford to tone it down," Clyburn added.
Seriously. I like Bill, but he's kind of freaking me out lately.
