Bill Clinton said Thursday that he was "very sorry" for suggesting President Obama should support the renewal of the Bush-era tax cuts before the election, a statement some have suggested undermined President Barack Obama.
“I’m very sorry for what happened. I thought something had to be done on the fiscal cliff before the election,” Clinton told CNN in an interview set to air Thursday. "I support his position, and I think on the merits, upper-income people will have to contribute to long-term debt reduction.”
While President Obama has expressed support for extending the tax cuts for middle-income Americans, the White House has signaled that they would demand an increase in taxes for the wealthiest of Americans. But Republicans, who support making the full range of tax cuts permanent, seized on Clinton's comment last week that extending the cuts was "probably the best thing to do right now."
In the interview with CNBC, Clinton did clarify that he was only for a temporary extension, and said the president should not concede the issue of permanent cuts for the wealthy. But the GOP nevertheless argued that Clinton was supporting their position on the issue.
Clinton insisted Thursday that wasn't the case, and said he fully supported the president's reelection effort.
“I have spoken up for him whenever I could. I have told people repeatedly I think he has done a good job, a really good job under very trying circumstances and better than some people give him credit for," Clinton said, adding he was"strongly committed to his reelection.”
The former president also seemed to downplay speculation that there was lingering tension with Obama, who defeated Clinton's wife, Hillary, in the 2008 Democratic primary.
“In 2008, when he ran for president and defeated Hillary in the primaries, I did 40 events for him," Clinton said.
Clinton also downplayed comments from earlier in the week where he defended the business record of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney as "sterling." The Obama campaign has questioned the business practices of Romney's venture capital firm, Bain Capital, in recent commercials, noting the layoffs and factory closings that occurred in some instances during Romney's tenure.
But Clinton said his instinct was to empahsize political differences rather than personal history.
“My instinct, you know me, I don’t think I should have to say bad things about Gov. Romney personally to disagree with him politically," Clinton said.
But the former president again emphasized that his comments should not be read as an endorsement.
“The fact that I was complimentary of his success as a businessman doesn’t mean that I think he should be elected and President Obama shouldn’t,” he added.
