That Sunday morning Ted Kennedy phoned both Clintons to inform them that he too would be endorsing Obama. Bill, who had already heard the news, called back first. As he began to outline his decision Kennedy heard nothing at the other end of the phone. «Mr. President, are you there?» Kennedy asked. «Okay, thank you, good-bye,» Bill said sullenly and hung up. Moments later he called back and said, «I want to know why.» Kennedy explained that it wasn’t about Hillary, but about a new chapter in history, a unique time and a unique individual suited to the times. Kennedy could hear Bill’s pen scratching down everything he said. After that conversation Kennedy predicted, accurately, that the former president would tell people privately that Kennedy had chosen race over gender and endorsed Obama mostly because he was black.
Bill Clinton knew that other Democrats were upset with him too. Word got back to the Obama and Clinton camps in February that Rahm Emanuel had phoned the former president and told him to «stop acting like the fucking hack-in-chief.»
Jonathan Alter (2010) – The Promise. President Obama, Year One. (s. 71).
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